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Biosystems Engineering (2003) 86 (2), 145150 doi:10.1016/S1537-5110(03)00119-3 IT}Information Technology and the Human Interface
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Simulation of a Rice Mill Process

J.H. Chung1; Y.B. Lee2
1

Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Chonnam National University, 300 Yongbong-dong Puk-gu, Gwangju, South Korea; e-mail of corresponding author: jhchung@chonnam.ac.kr 2 Department of Food Science and Technology, Pukyong National University, Pusan, South Korea; e-mail: yblee@pknu.ac.kr (Received 24 September 2002; accepted in revised form 13 June 2003; published online 31 July 2003)

A rice mill plant with a capacity of 3 t h1 was constructed with automated facilities at Chonnam National University in Korea. A simulation model was developed with the simulation language for alternative modelling (SLAM) for evaluating and improving the rice mill process. The developed model was validated in relation to hulling efciency, milling efciency, milled rice recovery, other materials produced, and ow restrictions in the processes. The hulling efciency, milling efciency and milled rice recovery in the simulation were, respectively, 811, 895, and 731%, while those of the actual mill plant were, respectively, 815, 902, and 735%. The simulation results include the contents of other materials (chaff, bran, broken rice and stone) produced in the processes were almost similar with those of the actual process. In the simulation, the ow restrictions were found in the processes for separating brown rice and for sorting coloured rice and needed an increase in the hourly capacities of the brown rice separator and the rice colour sorter. As the automated rice mill plant was described by the developed model, it could be used for designing and improving rice mill plants.
# 2003 Silsoe Research Institute. All rights reserved Published by Elsevier Ltd

1. Introduction More than 300 rice processing complexes have been constructed to produce rice with high quality in Korea since 1991. Each complex consists of a rice mill plant and drying and storage systems. However, many have been inadequately designed and the operational problems have been investigated using simulation language for alternative modelling (SLAM) (Pritsker, 1986). A simulation model was developed to analyse the ow restriction, the output, machine utilisation and productivity and improved the system of a rice mill plant constructed at Chonnam National University (CNU) (Chung & Youm, 2000). Chung and Kim (1995) applied a simulation technique to the design of a small rice mill and developed a simulation model to analyse the performance of a brown rice separator on the ow of materials. They recommended that an increase to 6070% in the separating efciency of brown rice separator was necessary to remove ow restriction of materials in the separating process of brown rice. Chung et al. (1995) developed a rice mill pilot plant based on the simulation and
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evaluated its performance in relation to ow restriction, efciency and productivity. In this study, the main objectives were to develop a simulation model of a rice mill plant and to analyse the process in relation to ow restriction, performance efciency and process automation.

2. Materials and methods 2.1. System description of rice mill plant The milling capacity of a rice mill plant constructed at CNU is 3 t h1 of paddy. Figure 1 shows the main processes of the rice mill plant, and the specications of the milling machinery are shown in Table 1. 2.2. Process automation The milling machines are controlled by a central control panel. A huller, a whitener, a colour sorter, and a packer can be also controlled locally. All the machines
145 # 2003 Silsoe Research Institute. All rights reserved Published by Elsevier Ltd

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Intake hopper Paddy cleaner
J.H. CHUNG; Y.B. LEE

Paddy silo

General destoner

Huller

Screen sorter

Brown rice seperator

Thickness grader

Brown rice destoner

Brown rice silo

Horizontal whitener

Vertical whitener

Rotary sifter

Colour sorter

Polisher Main flow of grain

Impact feeder

Polished rice silo

Auto vinyl packer

Sub flow of grain

Fig. 1. The block diagram of the rice milling plant at Chonnam National University

Table 1 Machinery of a rice mill plant at Chonnam National University (CNU) Machinery Paddy cleaner General de-stoner Huller Screen sorter Brown rice separator Thickness grader Brown rice de-stoner Horizontal whitener Vertical whitener Rotary sifter Colour sorter Polisher Impact feeder Auto vinyl packer Model/specication PPC-300, Booksung Kookgwang, 6 t h1 MJH-SBCA, Myungjin Screen type, Booksung C2, 5 trays, Daeryuk Twin rotary type, B.S. Kookgwang, 4 t h1 Complex, Booksung HRW-4, Hyundai HRS-400, Hyundai DCS-98S40, Daewon Co. BCPWJ-2400, Bochun SI-20F, Sejin Tech. Co. SP-10, Sejin Tech. Co. Maximum capacity, t h1 100 60 45 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 27 30 20 18 Normal capacity, t h1 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 21 20 20 15 20 20 18

are sequentially operated, while the machines are conversely stopped if an overload is detected. The main silos such as paddy silo, brown rice silo and polished rice silo are very large, compared with the auxiliary hoppers for each machine which can be used as buffer hoppers. Their levels can be detected by proximity sensors (switches) attached to the main silos and auxiliary hoppers. So, the exit gates of silos or hoppers are automatically controlled by the signals from the proximity sensors. The amount of materials in the main silos is automatically measured by the load cells installed at the bottom of the main silo legs. Figure 2 shows the proximity sensors, load cells and air cylinder gates attached to main silos and auxiliary hoppers. 2.3. Milling experiment Milling experiments were conducted for obtaining data such as the capacity of each unit machine and the

contents of foreign materials (stones, straw, foreign grains, etc.) and by-products (chaff and bran). The capacities of silos were also measured with the load cells. The current capacity of the machinery determined by adjusting the exit gates of silos and hoppers was measured through the preliminary milling tests for each machine. 2.4. Model validation The results of the simulation for paddy of 20 000 kg were compared with those of the three replicated experiments down-sized to validate the developed model. The main performance characteristics analysed were: (1) hulling efciency, milling efciency and milled rice recovery, (2) the amount of foreign materials discharged from each machine, (3) ow restriction in process, (4) stopping of individual machines, and (5) capacity of individual machines.

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Paddy silo

General destoner hopper

Huller hopper

Brown rice separator hopper

Thickness grader hopper

Brown rice silo

Complex whitener hopper

Vertical whitener hopper

Colour sorter hopper

Hi brilliant polisher hopper

Impact feeder Polished rice silo

Auto vinyl packer hopper

Grain flow

Proximity switch

Air cylinder gate

Load cell

Fig. 2. The sensors and air cylinder gates attached to main silos and auxiliary hoppers

3. Development of simulation model 3.1. Assumption A simulation model for system evaluation of a rice mill plant was developed with SLAM. The assumptions used in the model were the following: (1) The intake period of materials was 4 h in the morning and 4 h in the afternoon with 1 h for lunch break, but the milling operation was carried out continuously. (2) The weight of an entity in the simulation was assumed to be 5 kg. (3) The conveying time for chutes was included in the conveying time of the bucket elevator. (4) No machine breakdown occurred. (5) The duration time of each process was determined on the basis of actual data with a normal distribution and a standard deviation of 5%. (6) The materials separated from each machine did not include other foreign materials. (7) The capacity of the processes were: intake 25 t h1, hulling 25 t h1, milling 20 t h1, and packing 17 t h1. The unit of simulation time in the model was minute.

The automatic operation of each machine and the hopper exit gates were considered as nodes of SLAM. The network model consists of the main network for the automated basic milling process, sub-network for the creation of entities according to time, and control network. The automated basic milling process was modelled in the main network, and the creation of entities according to time was modelled in the subnetwork. The intake time of materials was modelled with GATE, OPEN and CLOSE nodes. The signals for the control of each machine and exit gates of hoppers was described in the control network. The levels inside the hoppers were described with a DETECT node, and exit gates of hoppers were automatically operated with OPEN and CLOSE nodes and ALTER node according to the signals of DETECT nodes. The duration time of each process was modelled in the user insert model. Also, the amount of intake materials was controlled in the user insert model using SUBROUTINE EVENT.

4. Results and discussion 3.2. Model characteristics The model consisted of a network model and an user insert model. The main milling process controlled by a programmable logic controller was expressed with the network model, while the duration time of each process and the control on the materials intake process were expressed with the user insert model. 4.1. Simulation results The amount of outputs produced in each process was analysed through the simulation. The hulling efciency, milling efciency and the milled rice recovery were 814, 901, and 732%, respectively. The average utilisation of each machine except the colour sorter was 033, so it was known that all the machinery were operated for about

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600 500

J.H. CHUNG; Y.B. LEE

60 50

Entity number

Entity number

400 300 200 100

40 30 20 10 0

0 1 101 201 301 401 501 601 701 801 901

101

201

301

401

501

601

701

801

901

Time, min

Time, min

Fig. 3. The entity change in the paddy silo in the basic model, 5 kg entity1
25 20 Entity number 15 10 5 1 51 101 151 201 251 301 351 401 451 501 551 601 651 701 751 801 851 901 951 0

Fig. 5. The entity change in the auxiliary hopper with a capacity of 45 entities (225 kg) for a brown rice separator in the basic model
1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1 101 201 301 401 501 601 701 801 901 Time, min

Time, min

Fig. 4. The entity change in the auxiliary hopper with a capacity of 45 entities (225 kg) for a huller in the basic model

Fig. 6. The entity change in the auxiliary hopper with a capacity of 200 entities (1000 kg) for a colour sorter in the basic model

8 h during the simulation time of 24 h. The average utilisation of the colour sorter was 06. This meant that the colour sorter was operated for about 14 h longer than the normal operation time of other machines because of less capacity of the colour sorter. Namely, a severe ow restriction of materials happened in the process of the colour sorter. The entity change in the paddy silo was shown in Fig. 3. Initially, the amount of the paddy increased gradually up to about 2800 kg. After the initial 2 h, the level of the paddy silo was constant, and it decreased during the lunch break. Although the level increased a little after the lunch break, it was stable and decreased as materials were not taken in the paddy silo. Anyway, there was no problem in the paddy silo because the maximum capacity of the paddy silo was more than 5000 kg. Figure 4 shows the entity change in the huller auxiliary hopper in the basic simulation model. There was no ow restriction in the auxiliary hopper for a huller as the capacity of the huller was enough. The high- or the low-level sensor of the auxiliary hopper for

a brown rice separator was often detected in Fig. 5 because the capacity of the brown rice separator was not enough. The detection of the high-level sensor of the auxiliary hopper let the exit gate of the paddy silo close, and the detection of the low-level sensor stopped the brown rice separator. The screen sorter and the brown rice separator should be efciently operated with a capacity of more than 25 t h1 in the proper angle to solve such a problem. Figure 6 shows a simulated entity change in the auxiliary hopper for the colour sorter in the basic simulation model. There was a severe ow restriction in the process of a colour sorter because the maximum capacity of the auxiliary hopper for the colour sorter was only 1000 kg (200 entities). The capacity of the colour sorter should be at least increased to 2 t h1 with adjusting the feeder of the sorter.

4.2. Model validation Hulling efciency, milling efciency and milled rice recovery are indexes indicating the efciency of a rice

Entity number

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mill plant. The comparison of milling efciency factors between experimental results and simulation results is shown in Table 2. The differences of hulling efciency, milling efciency, milled rice recovery between experiment and simulation were 04, 07, 04%, respectively. Although the simulation results were a little lower than experimental ones, they are close. The materials produced in the processes of simulation were compared with those in experiment like Table 3. As the hulling capacity and the milling capacity were, respectively, 25 and 20 t h1 in the simulation, these results were also similar to actual results. From these results, the developed simulation model could be used for analysing the rice mill plant and for predicting the outputs produced in the processes. There were no ow restrictions in the processes of destoning, hulling, milling, polishing, but there was a severe ow restriction in the colour sorting process due to high sensitivity and low feed-rate of a colour sorter in the simulation. This phenomenon happened in the actual process of the mill. Also, there was a ow restriction in the process of the brown rice separator with a tray type due to less capacity of brown rice separator and its auxiliary hopper. The ow restriction in the brown rice separating process often closed the

gates of the auxiliary hopper of a huller and of the paddy silo, while the brown rice separator often stopped if the low leveller of the auxiliary hopper for the brown rice separator was off. This stopping of the brown rice separator also happened in the actual process. Namely, ow restrictions in the process were well found through the simulation.

5. Conclusions A rice mill plant with a capacity of 3 t h1 in paddy was constructed with automated facilities of a programmable logic controller, load cells and proximity sensors at Chonnam National University. A simulation model was developed with simulation language for alternative modelling for evaluating and improving the rice mill plant and its automation. The simulation results of the hulling efciency, milling efciency and milled rice recovery were 811, 895, and 731%, respectively, in comparison with observed ones which were 815, 902, and 735%, respectively. The simulation results including the rates of other materials (chaff, bran, broken rice, stone) produced in the processes were almost similar to those of the actual process. In the simulation, the ow restriction were found in the processes of separating brown rice and of sorting coloured rice. The same phenomena occurred in the actual process. As the automated rice mill plant was well modelled, the model could be used for designing and improving rice mill plants.

Table 2 Comparison of milling efciency factors between experimental results and simulation Milling efciency factors Hulling efciency Milling efciency Milled rice recovery Experimental results, % 815 902 735 Simulation results, % 811 895 731 Difference, % 04 07 04

References
Chung J H; Kim B G (1995). Optimal design and development of a rice mill pilot plant by computer simulation (I)}Simulation of a rice mill pilot plant. Journal of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery, 20(1), 4757

Table 3 The comparison of quantity of materials between experimental results and simulation results Machine Materials Experimental results Weight, kg General de-stoner Huller Thickness grader De-stoner Whitener Rotary sifter Colour sorter Polisher Polisher Total Stone Husk Unripe grain Stone Bran Broken rice Coloured rice Bran Polished rice 0649 3909 1238 154 9878 549 1537 370 1598 2195 Proportion, % 003 178 058 007 45 25 07 017 735 100 Simulation results Weight, kg 50 3490 90 25 915 535 240 40 14 490 20 000 Proportion, % 0025 1745 045 013 458 268 120 020 731 100 005 035 013 006 008 018 05 0031 04 Difference %

Experiments were down-sized and their results were mean values of three replicates.

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Chung J H; Youm G O (2000). Simulation and automation of a rice mill plant. Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Agricultural Engineering, The Korean Society for Agricultural machinery, pp 378387 Chung J H; Kim B G; Choi Y S (1995). Optimal design and development of a rice mill pilot plant by computer

simulation (II)}Development and performance evaluation of a rice mill pilot plant. Journal of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery, 20(3), 262274 Pritsker A A B (1986). Introduction to Simulation and SLAM(II) (3rd Edn). A Halsted Press Book, John Wiley & Sons, New York