1B. Tech. student, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
2Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
3Director, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
*Corresponding author e-mail address: anandharamakrishnan@iifpt.edu.in
Online published on 12 March, 2020.
The soaking stage of parboiling is a critical unit operation that demands a cautious time-temperature relationship, which has direct implications on post-parboiling grain quality. This study aimed to two-dimensional computationally model moisture intake characteristics of paddy (var. ADT-39) when soaked at three different temperatures (60, 56 and 70 °C). Fickian diffusion was considered and hydration rates were found to be significantly temperature dependent, and were higher during the first 1 h soaking period, and the first 300 s period in specific, corresponding to moisture diffusion across the husk layer. Predicted values were validated against experimental results and were found to be in the acceptable range. This approach is simple, quick and can be extended as a tool to better understand the soaking process of food grains.
Paddy, soaking, computational model, parboiling, Fickian diffusion
