Moisture Content Determination I.

INTRODUCTION

The amount of water present in the grains expressed as a percentage of the original weight is referred to as the moisture content. But in terms of drying and storage, the equilibrium moisture content is more important. It is the amount of moisture that is in equilibrium with the existing environment for the grain can either gain or lose moisture from or to the surrounding air. The gain of moisture will be because of high moisture content of surrounding air, whereas the loss of moisture will be because of lower moisture content of the surrounding air than the grain (Ramos, 2003).

The purposes of determining the moisture content are to be able to know the maturity of grains to be harvested, to know the threshold value for safe storage, to know the degree of dehydration in drying for the maintenance of product quality, and to be able to control losses and breakage in milling.

One of the criteria in the standards for paddy and milled rice is its moisture content. Its moisture content determines its quality. This is why paddy and milled rice are traded with 14% moisture content as its basis for pricing.

In this exercise, we determined the moisture content of the working sample using the laboratory methods. This was done for us to know the primary and secondary methods of determining moisture, to correctly operate the moisture testing equipment and lastly, to know the importance of moisture content determination.

II.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The materials and equipment/instruments used in this exercise were the following: DOLE 400 moisture tester, MOTOMCO 919 moisture tester, Cenco oven, Brown-Duvel fractional distillation set-up, digital weighing scale, and thermometer. Wet and dry paddy, and tin foil cans were also used.

As for the methodology, the following steps were executed for the operation of MOTOMCO 919 moisture tester: The tester was plugged to a 220 volt power source. Then it was calibrated. It

was done by moving the power supply to switch ON position, the function knob was turned to CAL (calibrate position). Then the right hand dial knob was turned to 53, which was indicated by the red arrow wherein the word CAL was directly beneath the hairline. After that, the left hand dial knob was rotated until the needle is at lowest position. A sample of 200 grams was weighed. Then the grain was placed in the dump cell and a thermometer was inserted to measure the grain temperature. The thermometer bulb was made sure that it did not come in contact with the dump cell to insure accuracy. Three minutes was allotted for the thermometer, and then the reading was recorded. After the reading was recorded, the sample was dumped into the test cell by pushing the release button of the dump cell butterfly mechanism. Then the function knob was turned to OP (operate position) and the right hand dial was rotated. This was done until the needle reached the lowest position. The meter reading was noted and it was applied to the proper calibration charts. It was made sure that the temperature correction factor was used to obtain the corrected moisture content.

The Brown-Duvel fractional distillation method was done with the following steps: A 100gram sample was weighed using the digital weighing scale. The oil for distillation (150 ml) was measured. It was made sure that the sample is clean. Then the oil and the sample were mixed in a flask and were heated in the distillation set-up. The condensed moisture was collected using a graduated cylinder. Then the moisture content was calculated with the following formula: %M.C.wb = number of millilitre of water collected.

For the air-oven method, the following steps were done: A clean 25-gram sample was weighed using the digital weighing scale. Then the oven was calibrated by adjusting the power and heater knobs of the oven to obtain 100 C. The sample was then placed in tin can and was put inside the oven. The time and day was recorded. Then the final weight was recorded after 72 hours, using the digital weighing scale. After that, the percent moisture was computed with the following formula:

Wi W f % MC wb = x 100 Wi
where: %MCwb = moisture content wet basis Wi = initial weight, gram Wf = final weight, gram

For the DOLE 400 moisture tester, the following steps were done: the tester was plugged to a 220 volt power source. Then the testers circuit was balanced by turning the main dial until the red line marked balance is directly under the upper hair line. Then the power switch was rotated and held until the needle is at zero position. Then the sample to be tested was weighed. The grain cup and yoke assembly of the tester were used. The grains were poured into the cup until the red line is on the center of the window. Then using the testers thermometer, the temperature was

obtained. This was done by placing the thermometer in the grain sample for three minutes. After that, the grains were poured quickly, without spilling, into the hopper of the tester. The power switch was rotated and held to on position and the main dial knob was turned until the pointer of the balance was at the center. The proper scale on the main dial for grain being tested was located and the percent moisture under the indication hair line was read. After that, the dump button was pressed and the grain sample from the test cell was removed. Then the corrected moisture content was computed using temperature correction factor from the testers drawer.

III.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 shows the summary of using primary and secondary methods of moisture determination. It can be seen that the secondary method has closer value of moisture content to 14% than the primary method. This is due to the electrical moisture meters used such as the DOLE 400 and the MOTOMCO 919. These electrical moisture meters exploit the electrical properties of water in the grains such as the resistance (DOLE 400) and the capacitance (MOTOMCO 919). Moisture content is directly proportional to capacitance but inversely proportional to resistance (Ramos, 2003). Furthermore, the results are due to the existing environment wherein the seeds are stored for a period of time. The surrounding air affects the moisture content of the grains--the higher the moisture content of the surrounding air, the higher

the moisture content of the grain. The lower the moisture content of the surrounding air, the lower the moisture content of the grain.

Table 1. Moisture content determination of palay using primary and secondary methods.

Method I.Primary Method 1.Brown-Duvel 2.Air- Oven II.Secondary Method 1.DOLE 400 2.MOTOMCO 919

Average Moisture Content 9.4 % 14.27% 13.95% 14.81%

I.

CONCLUSION

The primary method (air-oven method and Brown-Duvel fractional distillation method), is too bulky and time consuming, therefore not suitable for use in the field.

The secondary method (DOLE 400 and MOTOMCO 919) is more convenient to use and efficient for use in the field.

II.

REFERENCES

Ramos, C.L., et al. (ed). 2003. Rice Postproduction Technology: A Technical Reference Guide. Philippine Rice POSTPRODUCTION CONSORTIUM, NFA.QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES.

ABE 2 Lecture and Laboratory Discussions

APPENDIX

Data Sheet on Moisture Content Determination

A. Air Oven Method Air Oven Method Sample Number Grain Initial Weight Wt. of tin foil can,gm Initial wt.of grain and can,gm Final wt.of grain and can,gm Grain final wt.,gm Wt. of water removed, gm Moisture content, % WB Average moisture content, % B. Dole 400 Moisture Tester Dole 400 Moisture Tester Sample Number Grain Temp. deg. C Moisture content, % Temp. Correction Factor Corrected Moisture Content, % Average moisture content, % C. Motomco Moisture Meter Motomco Moisture Meter Sample Number Grain Temp. deg. C Meter reading Moisture content (from Table) 1 80 22 14.64 1 26.68 15.4 0 15.4 Palay 2 25.05 8.65 35.64 30.12 21.47 3.58 14.29 14.27 Palay 2 27.22 13.2 0.05 13.15 13.95 Palay 2 81 24 15.16

1 25.04 9.42 34.46 30.89 21.47 3.57 14.30

3 25.01 9.34 34.35 30.79 21.45 3.56 14.23

3 27.78 13.4 0.1 13.3

3 82 23 14.90

Temp. Correction Factor Corrected Moisture Content, %

0.06 14.58

0.09 15.07 14.81

0.12 14.78

Average moisture content, % D. Brown-Duvel Fractional Distillation Method Palay 2:06 PM 2:42PM 36 mins 9.4

Starting time Ending time Duration of test, min. Moisture content, % Summary of Results Method Air Oven Brown-Duvel Dole 400 Motomco

%MCWB of Palay 14.27 9.4 13.95 14.81