Drying of rice paddy using a microwave vacuum dryer
Special Symposium - Innovations in Food Technology (LMC Congress)
Innovations in Food Technology - Poster Session (Food - P2)
Keywords: drying, rice paddy, microwave-vacuum dryer
Drying of rice paddy is one of the important processes for the rice millers to produce good quality rice. A conventional drying process is done using hot air which results in time consuming and energy loss. In the present work, Pathumthani rice paddy was dried using a microwave-vacuum dryer. The drying experiments were carried out by varying two parameters affecting the drying performance including the microwave power and the pulsation period. The microwave incident powers varied from 170 to 500 watts while the pulsation periods varied from 30 to 120 seconds. Moisture contents in the rice paddy were observed for different drying conditions. The optimum operating condition was also investigated. The properties of paddy rice before and after cooking were determined including percents of whole kernels, brokens, elongation, and gelatinization temperature. The results showed that the removal rate of moisture in rice paddy reduced as the microwave power increased. The higher microwave power resulted in an increased portion of brokens. The optimum conditions for decreasing the moisture contents of the paddy were found at the pressure of 40 kPa, the microwave power of were 245 Watt, and pulsation period of 30/60 seconds/seconds. The properties of rice from microwave vacuum dryer and the conventional process are insignificantly different.
See the full pdf manuscript of the abstract.
Presented Thursday 20, 13:30 to 14:40, in session Innovations in Food Technology - Poster Session (Food - P2).
