ZARAGOZA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

San Rafael, Zaragoza Nueva Ecija

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Design, Drying and Quality Evaluation of Thermal Controlled Rice

Grain Dryer

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Subject
Capstone Research
Academic Track-STEM Strand

NATHANIEL RAYMUNDO
PAUL JESTHER LULUQUISIN
AUSTIN GABRIEL DIAZ
RYAN CHRISTOPHER MACADAEG
GERALD BERNARDO

Mr. Albert Ramos

Research Adviser
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San Rafael, Zaragoza Nueva Ecija

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Introduction

Palay (Oryza Sativa) is an essential survival food of mostly

all Filipinos. Rice is the most important food crop, a staple

food in most of the country. It is produced extensively in Luzon,

the Western Visayas, Southern Mindanao, and Central Mindanao.

Historically, the Philippines has been a net importer of rice,

but in the late 1970s, it became a marginal rice exporter.

This was attributed to the rapid growth in production

brought about by widespread adoption of modern rice varieties

during that period (Inocencio and David, 1995). Growth in rice

production, however, slowed down from the mid-1980s to the late

1990s, which returned the country into its marginal rice importer

slot (Bordey and Castañeda, 2011). Since the early 1990s until

the late 2000s, an increasing ratio of rice imports to total

consumption has been observed, implying the rising relevance of

rice imports to the nation’s food security (Bordey, 2010).

Since the mid-1800s yields have increased substantially as a

result of the cultivation of high-yielding rice varieties

developed in the mid-1960s at the International Rice Research

Institute located in the Philippines. The proportion of "miracle"

rice in total output rose from zero in 1965-66 to 81 percent in

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1981-82. Average productivity increased from 1.23 metric tons per

hectare in 1961 to 3.59 metric tons per hectare in 2009. 

According to the study of International Rice Research

Institute (2013), the purpose of drying is to reduce the moisture

content of rough rice to a level safe for storage. As even short

term storage of high moisture paddy rice can cause quality

deterioration, it is important to dry rice grain as soon as

possible after harvesting - ideally within 24 hours.

To prevent rice damage following harvest of a high moisture

content product, the paddy should be dried to such a level of

moisture content that will enable safe storage by reducing

respiration, and by a prevention of mycotoxins production.

(Mehdizadeh 2009)

The production of palay in time is rising and the reason for

that is, more and more people are needing rice. The July-

September 2017 palay production at 3.39 million MT rose by 14.17

percent from the output of 2.97 million MT recorded in the same

quarter of previous year. Harvest area expanded by 14.43

percent from last year’s level of 745 thousand hectares to 853

thousand hectares this year. (Philippine Statistics Authority,

2017)
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As a process of turning palay into and edible food supply

for the people to eat, farmers often use the process of heat

drying for the palay to become more easier to be skinned. Due to

the complex process that is needed to perform palay drying, the

researchers comes with an idea of having a more simple and

convenient way of drying palay in short span of time with less

space consumption and less man labor fee.

Hosokawa (1995) stated that drying is the most critical

action after harvest time. This is where paddy reduces its

moisture content to a safe level for storage. Prolonged drying

period, inadequate drying or unsuccessful drying will result to

loss and reduction on grain quality. During harvest time, rice

grain contains approximately 20−25% of moisture. With that high

amount of moisture content (MC) there is increased natural

respiration in the grain that causes deterioration of the rice.

Drying and storage are related processes. Storing partly dried

paddy with a high amount of moisture content will lead to failure

regardless of any storage facility is used. In addition, the

longer the storage time of the grain, the lower its moisture

content must be.

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The main objective in drying is to be able to reduce the

moisture content of the rice grain to a safe level for storage.

It is important to dry rice immediately after harvesting, mostly

within 24 hours, as it can cause quality deterioration, rice

loss, and lower quality level of rice, even for short storage

periods. Drying of grain includes exposure of grains to ambient

air with low relative humidity or to heated air. Exposing of rice

grains to heated air makes the moisture content within the grains

to evaporate and then the dry air will be responsible for

removing the evaporating moisture content in the air from the

rice grains (Hosokawa, 1995).

According to Gayanilo (1998) “There is nothing wrong with

sun drying; just ensure that it will be done properly.” He also

presented how it should be done. According to him, rice grains

should be spread out in ample thick layers, and should be mixed

well continuously. In this manner rice grains will be prevented

from being exposed to the strongest rays of the sun that causes

rice cracking or fissuring.” The cheapest method of dry rice

grains is still sun drying but, unfortunately, sun drying is not

that dependable. The sun may not be available at the time when it

is needed the most; during harvest time in the rainy season when

it rains for days or a week then the grain will likely germinate,
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become yellow or worst is rottened; when sudden rains just pass

by while in the middle of sun drying, it will cause grain fissure

that can make its quality level low; and at strong rays of sun,

the workers tend to extend the grain mixing, which will again

result in rice grain fissure.

Sun drying still remains as the primary option for farmers

today to dry rice grains. But this method still has several pros

and cons as what the study states. Other options are still

available like the use of machines but most farmers especially

the small ones still opt to use the traditional sun drying mainly

because it is the cheapest.

The study intends to create a machine that will allow the

user to experience different methods of drying rice grain in a

convenient way. With the use of the existing heating coil

technology, the study’s main objective is to be able to dry grain

from its initial moisture content down to a quality grain faster

than that of the existing conventional method. Specifically, the

system sought to answer the following questions:

1. Hoe msy the Thermal Controlled Grain Dryer be described in

terms of:

1.1 Design
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1.2 Weight Capacity

1.3 Thermal Control

1.4 Timer

1.5 Hazard Analysis

1.6 Energy Consumption

2. How may the Palay (Oryza sativa) be described in terms of:

2.1 Time of Drying

2.2 Temperature

2.3 Moisture Content

3. Is there a significant difference between the Thermal

Controlled Rice Grain Dryer and the Sun drying in terms of

Time of drying?

Thus a project entitled “Design, Drying and Quality Evaluation

of Thermal Controlled Rice Grain Dryer” is conducted by the

researchers to improve and develop the drying of palay. This

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study aims to make farmer’s burden become less resulting to a

more easy drying of palay.

The research plays an important role in providing an easier

and faster way of drying newly harvested grains for farmers.

Moreover, with the success of the proposed research, the country

will benefit as it can make the drying process of grains faster

and easier. Lastly the researchers will also benefit from this

study as they can learn, enhance their skills, and apply the

knowledge that they have learned from their chosen field in STEM

which is related in Engineering.

The study focused on determining the final moisture content

of the grains. Its main goal is to dry the rice grains moisture

content at a faster time than sun drying. The system is only

responsible for providing 40-60ºC inside the chamber in order for

the drying to start. The study is not concerned with what kind of

rice grain will be used on the system.

Materials and Methods

Methodology
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The system will start by weighing the grains to be dried.

This will play an important role during the whole process of

drying because the initial weight of the grains will be used by

the control system in order to measure the moisture content. As

the grains pass through and out of the machine it will drop into

the weighing scale where the control system is located and thus

monitors the moisture content. The process will be repeated and

the grains will be taken again inside the machine until the

desired moisture content level will be achieved.

Research Design

This study “Design, Drying and Quality Evaluation of Thermal

Controlled Rice Grain Dryer” will use experimental research

design. According to (SAS institute inc., 2005) Experimental

design is the process of planning a study to meet specified

objectives. Planning an experiment properly is very important in

order to ensure that the right type of data and a sufficient

sample size and power are available to answer the research

questions of interest as clearly and efficiently as possible. It

refers to conceptual framework within which the experiment is

conducted. The two main variables evaluated were Drying of grain

and determining the moisture content of the grain.

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Measurement of Operating Characteristics of the Machine

Moisture Determination

This refers to the moisture content of the grains. The

moisture content will determined using:

Moisture Content Calculations Moisture content of grain is usually determined on wet basis (wb),

although scientists sometimes use dry basis (db):

MCwb = Moisture content wet basis

[%] MCdb = Moisture content dry basis

[%] mi = Initial weight mf = Final weight

Materials

The table 1 below shows the material to be used by the

researchers in order to create the palay drying machine.

Materials Use/s
Tungsten Wire For generating and
distributing the heat inside
the chamber.
Welding Rod Will be used to join metal
together
Flat Bar Used as a support for the
body of the unit.
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Galvanized Iron Sheet Will serve as the body of the

chamber.
Exhaust Fan For good circulation of
heated air in the system and
also releasing the water
vapor from the inside to the
outside of the chamber.
Heating Rod Primarily generates heat
inside the chamber
Transformer To regulate the voltage of
the electricity.
Tubelar Used as a support for the
body of the unit.
AC Line Cord Used to connect the unit in
the AV source.
Thermal Fuse A protective device that will
serve as a protection when
the unit overheats or a short
circuit occurs.
Heating Element A device that will provide
heat to the unit.
Thermostat A temperature sensing device
that turns an appliance or
circuit on or off when a
particular temperature is
reached.

Data Analysis

A z-test is a statistical test used to determine whether two

population means are different when the variances are known and

the sample size is large. The test statistic is assumed to have

a normal distribution, and nuisance parameters such as standard

deviation should be known for an accurate z-test to be performed.

( Investopedia, 2018)
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Risk and Safety

The experiment will require the researchers to wear

protective gloves, protective masks, since the experiment will

deal with high temperature and will encounter different dust that

will encounter during the experiment.

The experiment is also required to be done outdoors, most

preferably in exposed areas. This is done so that the excess heat

from the equipment can directly escape to the atmosphere.

The machine should use when it far from the children becomes

it contains high temperature that will not advisable to use when

young ages near from it.

The machine also should operate with knowledgeable person so

that the machine will operate well and it less danger for the

people around it.