915 MHz Microwave Heating Technology for One Pass Drying of Rice

he proposal addresses development of an innovative one-pass drying technology that uses 915MHz microwave heating characteristics to maximize head rice yield (HRY) recovery. Head rice-- which is the mass of milled rice kernels that are at least three-fourths of the original kernel lengthafter milling of brown rice--is the high-value portion of processed/dried rice. National revenuelosses related to HRY recovery in 2015 translated to ~$240 million (26 million bushels - HRYequivalent). Therefore the ability to prevent reduction in HRY values is critical to the rice industryand has significant economic impact on rice producers. The investigators propose to demonstratefeasibility of using 915-MHz microwave heating to dry freshly harvested rough rice in a one-passprocess that is not currently attainable using conventional means by pursuing the following threetechnical objectives: determine the (1) specific microwave energy required to achieve one-passdrying of rough rice; (2) extent to which microwave energy used affects millability of rice; (3)relationships among supplied specific energy during microwave treatment and the resulting HRY.The level of performance targeted is to achieve one-pass drying to a moisture content of 12.5-13%wet basis with HRY >65%. This level of success from the current average HRY of 58% which isachieved through conventional multi-pass drying will translate to a $145 million increase in ricevalue annually. Following proof-of-concept in Phase 1 the researchers anticipate to performdetailed studies in subsequent phases to optimize quality characteristics of dried rice and move thetechnology towards commercialization.