Glass Transition Temperature, Mechanical Properties of Rice and their Relationships with Milling Quality
Abstract Glass transition temperatures (Tg) of MR219 rice variety were measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). State diagram was developed and used to evaluate drying process in this study. Glass transition temperatures range of 9.65- 61.79°C were observed for gains with moisture content of 26.8 7.4% (w.b.). For mechanical properties and milling test, statistical analysis was performed by using a two factor experiment in completely randomized design (CRD). Two selected factors were drying temperatures at 5 levels (40, 45, 50, 55, and 60°C) and final moisture content (FMC) at 4 levels (10-10.5, 11-11.5, 12-12.5 and 13-13.5%). Threepoint bending test was applied to measure the mechanical properties of rice kernel. Generally, bending strength, apparent modulus of elasticity and fracture energy of brown rice kernel increased with decreasing the grain moisture content. Maximum bending strength was 35.69 and 33.64 MPa for 55, and 60°C, respectively. All samples that were dried at 55 and 60°C experienced to go through the glass transition line after reaching their temperature to the room temperature at the end of drying process. The effect of drying temperature, paddy FMC and their interactions on whole kernel percentage (WKP) and mechanical properties were significant (α = 0.05). An inverse relationship was observed between WKP and the percentage of strong kernels for all treatments.