Specific Heat of Rice and its Prediction

Abstract

Specific heat of rice was measured by the method of mixture. Four varieties of rough rice and hulled rice were used in this study. The specific heat was found to vary linearly with moisture content and a linear regression equation was obtained, which is in accord with the results already reported elsewhere.
In order to investigate the contribution of water to the specific heat of rice, the specific heat of water in rice kernel was defined by taking account of differential heat of adsorption, and apparent specific heat of rice was predicted. The agreement between measured and predicted values showed the validity of the prediction equation. This fact also indicated that main energy of the water in rice kernel can be expressed by the enthalpy difference between saturated water and adsorption. In addition to this, the specific heat of water in rice kernel was quantitatively shown to be greater than that of saturated water.