NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences

Postharvest Processing and Management (AGT-852)

ASSIGNMENT #1
Processing Steps of Rice

Submitted to: Dr. Khurram Yousaf

Submitted by: Amna Amir

Date of Submission: 28th September, 2022

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 Rice Processing Steps
Rice, which is harvested each year with 154 million ha, is the most common grain as well as
the most popular food in the world. Human consumption accounts for 85% of total production
for rice, compared with 72% for wheat and 19% for maize.

In addition, rice is the most important crop for many small farmers who grow it throughout
the world and the source of so many landless workers who can make a living from working
on farms. In the future, it is a necessity that the production of rice continues to grow with a
rapidly growing population.
Pre-planting

Preparing the rice field for planting:

Rice grows best with bright light and warm temperatures of at least 70° Fahrenheit
(approximately 21 °Celsius), so a place receiving full sunshine will be the first choice. The
planting soil should consist of slightly acidic clay for the best results. There will be a reliable
water source supplied and a proper way to drain that water when you ready to harvest.
Paddy transplanting:

The traditional way of rice planting is planting by hand. it is a kind of tedious and labor-
consuming work. With the development of economy, high-efficiency farming machines-
Paddy Transplanter. which is specialized equipment fitted to transplant rice seedl ings
onto a well-prepared paddy field, free farmers from the tedious planting works.
Mechanical transplanting requires considerably less time and labor than manual
transplanting. One hectare of land requires 1 person day to establish.
Rice harvesting:
Paddy harvesting activities include reaping, stacking, handling, threshing, cleaning, and
hauling. whether harvesting by hands or a machine depends on the size of the operation and
the amount of mechanization. However, traditional harvesting activities such as field drying

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and stacking/piling are not recommended because they can lead to rapid quality
deterioration and increased harvest losses. Considering

these, Rice Combine Harvesters are popular and accepted by farmers worldwide. They
combine all operations: cutting, handling, threshing, and cleaning. The driving type rice
harvester and crawler type rice harvester are among the best performers rice harvesters
during these years.

After the harvesting, there are some other problems troubling farmers that are the poor rice
quality. There are many ashes and impurities such as husks, small stones, and short stalks
left during harvesting processing. Though rice quantity has increased a lot, the quality still
troubled so many farmers. So, the advanced technological rice milling machine was
brought to farmers.

Post Production:
Fully automatic rice mill plant includes pre-cleaning, dehusking, paddy separating,
milling, grading, etc.

Pre-cleaning:
The pre-cleaning process consists of two procedures, cleaning and de-stoning. Paddy
cleaner is the most essential equipment in a rice mill. as it separates all the impurities like
dust, straw, sand, clay, and heavy particles of even uneven sizes from paddy.
Rice dehusking:
Dehusking is a process of removing the husk and bran from the paddy rice and producing
head white rice grains that are sufficiently milled, free from impurities and contains a
minimum number of broken grains.
Paddy separating:
Rice separator separates the unhusked paddy from the brown rice.

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Whitening:
Rice milling is the process that helps in the removal of hulls and brans from paddy grains to
produce polished rice. White rice is the result of further milling by machines that rub the
grains together under pressure. This abrasion removes the bran layers, revealing "white"
or "polished" rice. Rice milling machine is used.
Rice grading has several advantages:
 Immature grains are separated;
 A more precise adjustment of the huller is possible, which minimizes breakages;
 Independent milling of graded lots is possible.
Packing/Storage:
Rice is stored in 40−80 kg bags made from either jute or woven plastic. Depending on the size
of storage, these bags are normally formed into a stack. When using bag storage consideration
needs to be given to the following:
1. Jute bags should not be stacked higher than 4 m and plastic bags 3 m. 2. Plastic bags
are more slippery and the stacks will be less stable.
2. Bags should be stacked under cover e.g., under a roof, in a shed or granary or under
water proof tarpaulins.
3. A one-meter gap should be left between and around stacks and 1.5 m clearance between
the top of the stack and the roof.
4. Bags should be stacked on pallets or on an above ground structure to avoid the
possibility of absorbing moisture from the floor.
5. Bags should not be stacked on a bed of rice husks or bags filled with rice husks, as these
are difficult to keep free from insect infestation.
6. Bags should be stacked so that fumigation can be undertaken easily. The dimensions of
the stacks should be set to facilitate sealing with a single fumigation sheet.
7. Once rice reached to the manufacturer, they will pack it in bag size of 1kg - 20kg
depending on customers need or retailers to be sold in the market.
Store the rice at ambient temperature (20-25C) and Humidity <60% in dedicated area.

Transportation:
Approximately 15 to 40 percent of the crop is lost when transported. When working with rice
there are various risk factors that could cause loss of crop. These risks include temperature of

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storage, humidity, ventilation, odor, contamination, toxicity, shrinkage, and insect infestations
leading to disease.
There are a few methods of transport, which include by ship, railroad, and truck. All these
modes of transportation, along with storage units, require protection from moisture and sunlight
and have to have good ventilation. Optimum temperatures for transport have to be less than 25
degrees because when the temperature is greater, the metabolic processes are increased,
causing the rice to agglomerate and secrete CO2.
Correct transportation and storage methods are crucial to the number of crops available for the
people receiving the crop. This is why it is important for both the farmers, raising the crop and
storing it immediately, and the transporters to practice accurate ventilation and cargo
maintenance.
Weighing and bagging:
Preparing the milled rice for transport to the customer.
Furthermore, as the increasing cost of conventional fuel and environmental issues, people
have turned to clean fuel and energy for living and production, some waste material such as,
crop stalk and straw, rice husk, peanut shell, leaves, sawdust, etc.), can be pressed into solid
briquettes by using Biomass Briquette, which reduces environmental pollution and
recycling for crop wastes.