Vol. 10, Issue 8 (2021)

Author(s):
Indumathi C, D Manoj, Kamatchi Devi and S Shanmugasundaram

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different moisture content on heating rate of rice during RF heating. Rice samples with different moisture content (10. 12%, 11. 06%, 12. 14%, 13%, 14. 16%, 15. 22% dry basis, db) were obtained by adding predetermined quantity of distilled water and treated in a RF heating system with 40.68 MHZ. RF treatment significantly reduced the moisture content of rice in all samples. The heating rate of the rice was found to be dependent on moisture content. Accordingly, moisture content should be taken into account as a factor in RF heating of rice. The impact of RF heating in different moisture content rice samples were studied in terms of microstructure change through SEM analysis. Results in this study suggest that moisture content of samples should be considered for attaining effective heat treatment.