GRAIN STORAGE

Storage Management
Five related aspects to consider for
Storage management strategy
1. Warehousing
2. Inventory
3. Environmental conditions
4. Storage pests
5. Human resources
Losses in Stored Rice
Factors affecting losses in stored rice
grains
1. the nature and condition of grain,
2. temperature and relative humidity
of the storage atmosphere,
3. storage system and structure,
4. skill and capability of the personnel
in managing a storage facility.
Grain respiration
 One of the principal sources of quantitative
loss in rice storage can be attributed to the
rate of respiration of the palay grains.
 As the palay grain respires in the presence of
oxygen, giving-off carbon dioxide (CO2),
water (H2O), and heat, the nutrients stored
in the grains are being consumed – with the
resultant loss in the grain weight.
 This process is popularly known as grain
respiration, and expressed as:

C6H12O6 + 6O2  6H2O + 6CO2 + 2,820 kJ

Grain respiration
 The generation of carbon dioxide is desirable
- since it will replace the oxygen in the
surrounding air, and thus slow down the
process.
 The amount of carbon dioxide is used as a
determinant of the extent of respiration.
 The production of water and heat is
unfavorable.
- water will tend to increase the moisture
content of the grain
- heat will accelerate the
respiration process
 The respiration equation may be used
to determine the quantitative loss or
the level of dry matter loss due to
grain respiration.
 If the history of the grain is known,
then the dry matter loss from
respiration can be estimated using
the formula:
Table 1. Daily generation of carbon dioxide, water, heat
and dry matter loss of 1,000 tons of palay at different
moisture contents.
Grain hygroscopicity
 The hygroscopic nature of grains
is another factor that influence the
weight of stored grains.
 The grain can absorb and release
moisture to- and from- its
surrounding depending upon:
1. its moisture content
2. ambient relative humidity
3. ambient temperature
Table 2. Loss/gain in weight of stored palay as a function
of grain hygroscopicity.
Factors affecting Rice Storage
1. The stored product
2. The storage structure
3. Environmental factors
4. Storage pest
5. The personnel involved
 1. The stored product
Rice grain in palay form
 The rice grain, in palay form is a living organism
whose metabolic activities are influenced by the
storage environment.
 It respires in the presence of oxygen with the
subsequent loss of the dry matter.
 The generated water and heat of respiration would
ultimately result in the production of a heat damaged
grain kernel jeopardizing the quality of the palay
grain.
 This unfavorable condition can be corrected and
abated by introducing on the storage a natural process
called ventilation or by forced introduction of a small
amount of air called aeration.
1. The stored product
Rice grain in milled form
 Storing rice in milled form is not highly
advisable although it is considered as a non-
living organic substance.
 The hull and the bran layer have been
removed through the milling process,
making it unprotected from direct attack
of insect and molds.
 The whiteness of the milled rice is generally
bound to turn darker as time progresses.
Requirements for a successful
storage of rice grain, either in
palay or milled rice form:
1. The rice grains to be stored
should be free from damaged
or broken kernel.
2. The grains should be at the
safe moisture level of 14%
wet basis.
2. The storage structure
 Itis constructed primarily to
contain and protect the
stored product from several
unfavorable conditions.
 Contributors to unfavorable
conditions:
1. Environmental factors
2. Biological factors
3. Human factors
Considerations for the construction
of a BAG STORAGE structure:
1. A well-drained site should be chosen.
2. The best floor construction is reinforced
concrete with a thickness of about 15.24
centimeters. The floor level must be above
ground level and with sufficient elevation to
ensure drainage away from the building.
3. Walls should be made of masonry and
concrete blocks.
4. The doors must be large enough to permit
easy handling of the grains but should have
good fitting to prevent entry of rodents when
closed.
5. The roofs’ external surfaces should be
reflective or light-colored to reduce any
amount of absorbed heat. A sufficient roof
overhang helps to keep the store cool by
shading the walls.
6. Expanded metal screens or wire netting
should be permanently fitted to windows and
ventilators to prevent rodents from entering
the storage. All high levels openings should
be screwed with 25 millimeter mesh to prevent
the entry of birds.
7. The structure must be strong to withstand
natural calamities such as earthquakes,
typhoons, and others.
 For actual storage operation, the
maximum allowable safe height of
the sack pile should range from 5.0-
6.0 meters.
 Bottom bags can adequately support
18-25 bags of palay without
damage for at least 6 months,
using the recommended pile height.
 Inestimating the required bag
warehouse capacity, the following
information can be used:
Sample problems:
1. A pile of milled rice is 8 meters long,
6 meters wide and 3.6 meters high.
Estimate the number of bags in the
pile.

 Stacking density for milled rice = 15 bags per m3

Answer: (8 m * 6 m * 3.6 m) * 15 bags/ m3 = 2592

bags
Sample problems:
2. Four thousand five hundred bags of
rough rice are to be piled 20 bags
high. How many square meters of
floor space is required?

 Height of bag in pile = 0.225 meter

 Stacking density for rough rice = 10 bags per
m3
 Answer: 4500 bags / 10 bags per m3 = 450 m3

= 450 m3 / (20 bags * 0.225 m) = 100 m2

Sample problems:
2. Four thousand five-hundred bags
of rough rice are to be filed 20
bags high. How many square
meters of floor space is required?
Allow 1 meter space between
the pile and the walls.
Table 3. Typical warehouse dimension of the National
Food Authority bag warehouse
BULK STORAGE of rice grains
 Integral parts of a bulk storage systems
are:
1. Proper instrumentation
2. Aeration system
3. Pest control measures
4. Materials handling equipment
 It is recommended that accurate
monitoring of the grain mass and the
condition of the storage atmosphere
should be undertaken in order to maintain
the quality of the stored grains.
3. Environmental factors
 The principal storage factors:
1. Moisture content and inter-
granular relative humidity of
the product
2. Temperature of the stored
product
3. Temperature and relative
humidity of the surrounding air
 Variation in ambient temperature and
relative humidity at any given period of the
day or specific month of the year implies that
certain measures are required when
atmosphere air is used for ventilation or
aeration of the stored product.
 This suggests the need for a good storage
structure so that grains could be isolated
from the ambient atmosphere when the
relative humidity is high.
 Appropriate aeration management
system should be considered to prevent
entry of atmospheric air which has exceeded
the equilibrium relative humidity of the
stored product.
4. Storage Pests
 This includes insects, fungi or molds, rodents
and birds.
 The moisture content of the stored product
should be at the safe storage level.
 Any storage that exceeds the recommended
moisture level for storage would adequately
result to some biological activity leading to
grain spoilage.
 Acceptable combinations of temperature,
moisture content, and equilibrium relative
humidity should be taken into account for safe
storage.
 Prevention and eradication
measures against storage pests are
well-established procedures in the
storage operation.
 In storage, sanitation is the most
and effective preventive measure.
 It is said that 50% of the problem of
pest control is solved by observing
and enforcing cleanliness.
5. The personnel involved
 The success of the storage
operation is entirely dependent upon
the human resources manning the
storage facilities.
 These warehouse personnel are
needed to plan, organize, coordinate
and manage the rice storage
operations.
 The efficiency of these personnel
are required for the maintenance and
safety of the stored rice grains.
For a storage facility, the following are the
recommended qualified personnel that
would constitute a balanced and effective
unit:
1. Engineers - to take charge of the
storage and environmental problems
2. Entomologists - responsible for the
biological aspect
3. Technicians - to carry-out the
operation, maintenance and repair
4. Managers - to orchestrate the various
management and liaison functions
 Estimating Grain Storage Size
 The size of a storage structure can be
estimated using the systems approach under
an Input-Process-Output (IPO) framework.
 Three main subsystems of the grain enterprise
system:
1. Procurement subsystem
2. Processing subsystem
3. Marketing subsystem

Figure 1. The input-process-output (IPO) framework to be used in estimating

the size of a storage structure for specific grain enterprise operation
1. Procurement subsystem
 Assesses the quantity and timing of
grain procurement being handled by
the grain enterprise.
 Data to be gathered by farmers-
cooperatives:
1. Total number of members
2. Total landholding
3. Yield per hectare
4. Receival rate per day
5. Mode of procurement
2. Processing subsystem
 Evaluates the grain processing
operations such as drying and milling
operations.
 Relevant information to be obtained:

1. Type and number of processing

facilities
2. Capacity of processing facilities
3. Processing schedule
4. Quantity of input and output grain
products
3.Marketing subsystem
 Should examine the:

1. sale volume
2. rate of sale
3. mode of sale.
Under the IPO framework, the procedure of
storage sizing will be as follows:
1. Determine the grain inflow from the analysis
of the procurement subsystem. (type of grain being
handled, receival rate and the mode of procurement)
2. Determine the grain processed per time
interval. (process schedule as well as input and output
grain products)
3. Determine the grain outflow. (sales schedule and
mode of sale)
4. Establish the projected cumulative quantity of
stored products. (graph of the grain inflow, grain
processed and grain outflow per unit time)
5. Identify the peak inventory level.
6. Using the peak inventory level, compute for
the storage volume and area based from
the stacking density and recommended pile
height for bag-warehouse.
Economics of Storing Rice
The total cost of storing grain products can
be estimated by computing the:
1. Initial cost of the structure
 Allocated into items called DIRTI
(Depreciation, Interest, Repairs, Taxes,
Insurances), (N.C.Teter (1981) - DIRTI
may vary from 11-21% of the initial
cost)
2. Interest on inventory
3. The cost incurred due to grain
deterioration {loss estimates by Araullo
et al. (1976) or BPRE (1993)}
 Incalculating for an estimate of the cost
storing grain products, the following
formula should be used:
1. DIRTI = 11-21% of the initial cost per ton
capacity
2. Interest on inventory = value of stored
product x prevailing interest rate
3. Deterioration cost = {2-6%(1976) or 0.35-
5.20%(1993) x value of stored product}
4. Total Storage Cost = DIRTI + Interest on
inventory + Deterioration cost
5. Percent Storage Cost = (Total Storage
Cost/Product Value) x 100
RICE MILLING
Rice milling
 The process wherein rice paddy is
transformed into a form suitable
for human consumption.
 The end-product form is called milled
rice.
 The milled rice is a mixture of whole
and broken kernels.
 Rice milling has to be done with utmost
care to prevent breakage of the kernel
and ensure higher milled rice recovery
of the paddy.
Quantitative or physical losses
are manifested by low milling
recovery.

Quality parameters that accounts

for loss in quality of the milled
products
1. Low head rice recovery or high
percentage of broken grains
2. Presence of discolored grains
 Cause of losses
1. Improper adjustment of individual
machine
2. Improper selection of the type of
equipment used
3. Improper arrangement and combination
of the different machine components
4. Lack of proper training of mill technicians
5. Lack of proper maintenance
6. Other machine factors which the mill
owner can possibly control
 The extent of losses could also be
attributed to the inherent quality of paddy
which the mill owner may have no control.
Flow Process
Diagram of
Milling
Operation, Equipment and Product and By-Product in Milling
Pre-cleaning of Paddy
 Paddy for milling has to undergo
the pre-cleaning process as an
initial step to remove
impurities such as straws,
chaffs, dust, weeds seeds,
stones, etc.
 A de-stoner is part of the cleaning
system in modern mills.
 This simple machine used to
remove stones that are mixed with
the paddy.
Paddy grading
 This is normally practiced in
more advanced rice exporting
countries.
 The process involves the
separation of grain of different
thickness or length.
 The objective is to obtain a
more uniform milled rice
product.
 Segregating paddy of different sizes
also improves efficiency of
Hulling or De-Husking
 Hulling is the process of
removing the husk of the paddy
to produce the brown rice.
 The process subjects the grain to
mechanical and thermal
pressures.
 Hence, it must be done with extra
care to minimize breakage of the
brown rice product.
 There are two hullers commonly used in the
industry.
 These are the under-runner stone disc huller
and rubber roll huller.
 The rubber roll huller is considered
more efficient than the under-
runner stone disc huller with
roughly 3 kg more production of
brown rice for a given amount of
paddy dehulled.
 Broken brown rice is also lower in
rubber roll huller.
 The resilient property of the rubber
material allows it to absorb pressures
imparted on the paddy during
hulling. Thus, contributing to better
Paddy and Brown rice
Separation
Two common types of paddy
separator used in the industry:
1. The conventional mills adopt
the compartment type
2. The modern rice mill now used
the specific gravity type
 The compartment type separator
separates paddy and brown rice using
the difference in the texture of the grains
and the nature and design of the sliding
surface.
 The specific gravity type of paddy
separator is a standard unit of the
modern mills.
 The thickness of the grain layer is
critical and affects the separating
capacity. This thickness should be
maintained at 7mm to 9mm for
optimum separation efficiency.
Whitening Polishing
Operation
 The removal of the bran layer in the kernel
and polishing it to produce white and
pearly milled rice is accomplished in the
whitening-polishing operation.
 It is one of the operations in milling where
the grain is subjected to excessive
pressures due to abrasive action and
frictional force that cause stress or could
fracture and break the grain.
 A lot of heat is likewise generated in the
process causing the grain to become brittle
and therefore more prone to breakage.
To minimize or avoid grain
breakage in the whitening–
polishing operation, the multi-
pass scheme is adopted.
The process allows the grain to
pass through a series of 2 or
more whitening-polishing
machines.
The objective is to remove the
bran layer in stages or through
several passes in the
Rice Sifter
The last major step in the
basic milling process is the
removal of the brokens
from the milled rice.
A screening process does this
process.
Grading and Blending
Stations
 For millers catering to the high-end market, or for
export, they have length graders and blending
stations.
 Graded milled specifies that allowable broken
grains, grains size less than 3/4th the length, to be
mixed with the whole or head rice.
 Grade-1 rice of the Philippine Grade Standards
specifies no less than 95% head rice and 5%
large brokens.
 To attain this mix length graders and blenders are
used.
 The blending station mixes the correct
proportions by weight.
Bagging Station
 The standard milled rice is made of
polypropylene woven bag that can
contain 50 kgs.
 The NFA requires the use of color-
coded bags for the different grades of
milled rice and specifies the markings.
 The basic bagging station consists
of a bagging bin, a platform scale and
a bag closing-sewing machine.
CLASSIFICATION/GRADE COLOR OF
SACK
Special Rice Sky blue

Premium Grade Rice Light Yellow

Well Milled Rice White

Grade No. 1
Grade Nos. 2,3,4 or 5 (Super)
Regular Milled Rice White
Grade Nos. 2,3,4, or 5
Under Milled Rice White
Grade Nos. 2,3,4, or 5
(Ordinary)
Shelled Corn (All grades) Light Green