According to the reliable sources, it has been reported that two locally-developed technologies that aims to address the most common post-harvest problems of Filipino rice farmers are now being commercialized by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).In this matter, the PhilMech Executive Director Mr Rex Bingabing informed that these two technologies such as the fluidized bed dryer and brown rice huller are very beneficial to the local farmers. The moment local companies begin fabricating the both technologies; the farmers and millers can use them efficiently to dry and to mill the rice, as narrated by Mr Binging. Moreover, the fluidized bed drying system was built to accommodate large volumes of high-moisture paddy rice for drying during the rainy months, in particularly when drying under the sun is not possible.
Further, the technology allows hot air or gas flow to pass through wet paddy rice for a short duration which results to fluidization on the drying bed, eliminating grain clumping and results leads to a uniform efficient drying. The findings of PhilMech field tests has shown that the optimal drying time for palay with 24 percent moisture content to 14 percent final moisture content using the fluidized bed dryer can be attained in about three hours only ,as compared to the 8 to 12 hours which are required in the conventional mechanical drying. It has also been revealed that with the fluidized bed dryer, drying time is significantly reduced by 52 percent and consequently the drying cost is likewise also get lessened.
Furthermore, with regard to these developed technologies, it has also been explained that these technologies which are powered by a biomass furnace that uses rice hull as energy source and the machine that has a capacity to dry 500 kilograms (kg) per hour of wet paddy rice at a cost of P0.63 per kilogram only. In addition, there is no risk in overheating of the grains since drying temperature can be preset accordingly. Due to this, the quality of grains dried using the fluidized bed drier is obtained better as compared to conventional mechanical driers. The dryer is also fully automated, requires low energy and made of locally available materials. The second technology, the brown rice huller was developed to address the milling needs of farmers’ and retailers’ as a response to growing demand from consumers.
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