The development of a frictional Rice Polishing Machine (RPM) is a major effort made to increase the acceptability of local rice owing to the importation ban placed on the imported rice and the willingness of the government to encourage the adequate processing of the local rice. This work is intended to: bridge the wide gap existing between the local/traditional ways of polishing rice and the modern methods; reduce the amount of premium placed on the use of sophisticated imported rice polishers and the local fabricated machines; improve the attractive shinning appearance of polished rice and packing properties; and remove final traces of dust, bran and flour from the rice surface. The machine developed in this work processes local rice at the rate of 25 g/s. As of February 2005, it costs Nigerian Naira (N) 50,950 (approx. 13,185 Thai Baht) to produce this unit using locally available materials. The machine competes favorably with the imported ones.
Keywords: Rice, polishing, machine, design, fabrication