Energy Consumption in Local Parboiling Processes

Abstract

Local parboiling processes (vessel, small boiler, medium boiler) were evaluated at Gazole under the Malda district in West Bengal, India. The energy consumption and the qualities of the parboiled rice produced in the vessel, small boiler and medium boiler process were measured. The initial installation cost of parboiling facilities was also worked out. Little difference in hardness value was observed among the processes. The color and lightness values were found to be the same in all processes. The parboiled rice produced under small and medium boiler methods had higher customer acceptance and market value compared to the vessel process but required higher initial installation cost. The small and medium boiler processes were found to be less tedious and provide better working environment compared to the vessel process. Among the studied processes, the medium boiler consumed the lowest amount of energy (1659MJ/t). The experimental results reveal that the local parboiling process can be improved in terms of energy consumption and market value of parboiled rice by adopting the medium boiler process.