A Study of rheological behavior and oxidative stability of rice bran and corn oil using FTIR spectra

In the food industry, rheological behavior and thermal degradation is the important parameters required to determine the quality and stability of food system. In this paper, the rheological behavior and thermal degradation of rice bran and corn oil, is investigated. Redwood viscometer is used to measure viscosity at various temperatures. A 16F88 microcontroller based temperature controller is designed to measure and to keep the temperature of the oil at the desired temperature. The rice bran and corn oil exhibit Newtonian behavior during heating and cooling in the temperature range 30° to 90°C. The oils also exhibit Newtonian behavior even after heating to the frying temperature. A non-Newtonian characteristic is observed in sunflower oil due to rancidity that changes the complex chemical composition of oil. To characterize the cooking oils the structural study is carried out using FTIR spectra analysis and it is observed that the antioxidant activity is stronger in rice bran oil. The performance of Microcontroller based temperature controller is studied.