PhilMech develops new farm technology for rice

MANILA, Philippines – Two locally-developed technologies will dramatically lower processing time for drying and milling rice.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) developed a fluidized bed drying system and the brown rice huller which are seen to benefit the local farming community.

PhilMech is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Rex Bingabing, executive director of PhilMech, said the fluidized bed  drying system was built to accommodate large volumes of high-moisture paddy rice for drying during the rainy months when drying under the sun isn’t possible.

The technology allows hot air or gas flow to pass through wet paddy rice for a short duration which results to fluidization on the drying bed, eliminating grain clumping and results to uniform efficient drying.  

PhilMech field tests show the optimal drying time for palay with 24 percent moisture content to 14 percent final moisture content using the fluidized bed dryer can be attained in about three hours, compared to the eight to 12 hours required in conventional mechanical drying.

“With the fluidized bed dryer, drying time is significantly reduced by 52 percent and consequently the drying cost is likewise lessened,” Bingabing said.

Powered by a biomass furnace that uses rice hull as energy source, the fluidized bed dryer that has a capacity to dry 500 kilograms per hour of wet paddy rice at a cost of P0.63 per kilogram.

“In addition, there is no risk in overheating the grains since drying temperature can be preset. Because of this, the quality of grains dried using the fluidized bed drier is better compared to conventional mechanical driers,” he said.

The fully automated dryer requires low energy, and made of locally available materials.

The brown rice huller, on the other hand, was developed to address the milling needs of farmers and retailers as a response to growing demand from consumers. 

The power requirement of the 95-kilogram huller is 373 watts from a single-phase electric motor, much lower than the conventional rubber-roll huller so cost of milling is reduced.