2.

1 Climate on the Philippines

The Philippines have a tropical maritime climate, meaning the weather is generally hot and quite

humid. The region only encounters three seasons, a hot dry summer between March and May

known as “tag-init”, a wet season between June and November known as “tag-ulan” and a cooler

dry season between December and February known as “tag-lamig”. The Philippines weather

patterns are created by the prevailing winds of the southwest monsoon (known as the habagat) and

the northeast monsoon (known as the amihan)

Fig. 2.1: Northeast Monsoon on February 11, 2017 Fig. 2.2: Southwest Monsoon on September 30, 2016

Northeast Monsoon (Amihan) is the season dominated by the trade winds, which are experienced

in the Philippines as a cool northeast wind. It is characterized by moderate temperatures, little or

no rainfall, and a prevailing wind from the east. It begins sometime in November or December and

ends sometime in May or June. There may, however, be wide variations from year to year.

Throughout the rest of the year, the Philippines experiences south west monsoon (Habagat). The
south west monsoon season is characterized by hot and humid weather, frequent heavy rainfall,

and a prevailing wind from the west.

2.2 Storage of rice grain

The cultivated rice plant, Oryza sativa, is an annual grass of the Gramineae family. It grows to

about 1.2 meters (4 feet) in height. The leaves are long and flattened, and its panicle, or

inflorescence, is made up of spikelets bearing flowers that produce the fruit, or grain [1]. The

harvested rice kernel, known as paddy, or rough, rice, is enclosed by the hull, or husk. Rice is a

hygroscopic material. When dry rice is exposed to air with high relative humidity (RH) the rice

grains will absorb water from the air (re-wetting). The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is the

final moisture content of the grain or seed after being stored for some time with surrounding air of

a certain temperature and RH. When wet rice is exposed to air with low RH the rice grains will

release water to the air (drying). The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is the final moisture

content of the grain or seed after being stored for several period with surrounding air of a certain

temperature and RH [2].

Fig. 2.3 EMC Table Equilibrium Moisture

Contents (EMC) of paddy at different
storage

Note: The colored fields in the table

represent the ranges on the IRRI moisture
meter- orange: wet paddy - needs to be
dried, green: safe for storing grain for
milling / consumption, yellow: safe for
storing seeds
During storage, the final moisture content of grain will be determined by the temperature and RH

of the air that has surrounds the grain. If the grain is not protected against the humidity in the air,

particularly during the rainy season when the RH is very high, the grain moisture content will rise,

and this will lead to deterioration in both grain and seed quality. The longer the grain needs to be

stored, the lower the required moisture content will need to be. Grain and seed stored at moisture

contents above 14% may experience the growth of molds, rapid loss of viability and a reduction

in eating quality [3].

Purpose Required MC for Potential problems

safe storage
Weeks to a few months storage 14 % or less Molds, discoloration, respiration
loss, insect damage, moisture
adsorption
Storage for 8 to 12 months 13 % or less Insect damage
Storage of farmer's seeds 12% or less Loss of Germination
Storage for more than 1 year 9 % or less Loss of Germination
Fig. 2.4 Safe moisture content required for different storage periods

2.3 Moisture content of rice grain

Moisture content (MC) is the mass of water contained in paddy or rice to the total mass of the rice

expressed in percent. In the study of moisture contained in biological materials, it is considered

that water is contained in one of the three forms; water of crystallization, bound water, and free

water. Water of crystallization is where water molecules that compose a part of the molecule of

base material. The water is strongly necessary to maintain the structure of the base molecule.

Bound water is the water molecules bound to the surface of the base molecule. Free water is a bulk

water contained in a rather macroscopic structure. This form of water may cause deterioration by

bacteria. Water in the forms of water of crystallization and bound water does not freeze below 0

ºC, and it's tough to get rid of them by heating without modifying (or destroying) the base material.
In grain moisture measurements, ‘dry sample’ means a condition without free water. Rice grains

contain primarily of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water. These compounds have a hydrophilic

(water friendly) part in the molecules, thus microscopic structure changes with absorption of water.

In a dry grain, molecules are connected tightly with strong bonds. In a wet grain, the bonds become

weak and the structure inflates because of absorption of water. The density of rice has a peak at

lower moisture content of near 7 % [4]. This phenomenon is considered because of moistening

procedure. In this procedure, free water filled the space between microscopic structures composed

of grain molecules which have a density higher than that of water.

Fig. 2.5 Moistening procedure of rice

Free water freezes at 0 ºC and 1 atm. A peak of specific heat capacity of grain is therefore observed

because of the phase change at a temperature close to 0 ºC. The moisture content of grains in a

condition of constant temperature and humidity becomes closer asymptotically to a steady state

called as ‘equilibrium’.
 Fig. 2.6 Moistening and drying process of rice

Because of this phenomenon, moisture content of grain in equilibrium with the atmosphere has a

close relationship with the environmental conditions as shown in Figure 2.7.

Fig. 2.7 Moisture content of paddy rice in equilibrium with the environment

The moisture content of paddy rice exposed to the environmental condition of 15 ºC and 70 % RH (indicated as ‘A’) gradually gets
closer to 15 %
However, the moisture content also has a ‘hysteresis’ in which different values are observed between

moistening and drying processes. A typical hysteresis curve of grain is given by Figure 2.8.

Fig. 2.8 Moisture content of corn in equilibrium with

the environment

2.4 Measuring moisture content of rice grain

Accurate moisture content testing is important in gathering data for our project proposal. The amount of

moisture in a product can greatly affect perceived quality. For these reasons, it is crucial to have accurate

moisture content readings when performing inspections and examinations, to maintain and adjust quality.

In measuring the moisture content, it can be measured using weight reduction and using electrical

characteristics. In a weight reduction, water content is determined by removing moisture and then by

measuring weight loss. It can be done by an oven method and infrared reflectance moisture balance.
𝑊𝑤 −𝑊𝑑
Moisture content is given with the relation %𝑀𝐶𝑤𝑏 = × 100, where moisture content is expressed
𝑊𝑤

on wet basis (Ww is wet weight and Wd is dry weight). Moisture can be expressed on dry basis, as the
𝑀𝐶 𝑀𝐶
conversion of 𝑀𝐶𝑤𝑏 = 𝑀𝐶𝑑𝑏 is given by the following formula, 𝑀𝐶𝑤𝑏 = 1+𝑀𝐶𝑑𝑏 and 𝑀𝐶𝑑𝑏 = 1−𝑀𝐶𝑤𝑏 .
𝑑𝑏 𝑤𝑏

The principle for the oven method is that the evaporation of water at high temperature and the calculation

of moisture from initial weight and dry matter weight. For the principle of the infrared radiation moisture
balance is where detection of weight loss by heating and drying. A light source (typically quartz halogen

bulb) is collimated and filtered into specific wavelengths. The filters, mounted in a rotating wheel, chop the

light into a series of pulses of specific wavelength. The filtered beam is directed onto the surface of the

product to be measured. A portion of the light is reflected back to a detector (usually lead sulfide). Specific

wavelengths of light are absorbed by water. If the filters are chosen such that one wavelength will be

absorbed by water (sample beam) and one wavelength will be unaffected by water (reference beam), then

the amplitude ratio of the two reflected wavelengths will be proportionate to the amount of water in the

product. The ratio technique eliminates effects of product distance and source aging. Weight reduction

methods are considered to provide true measurements of moisture content and are used to calibrate more

practical. Weight reduction methods are mainly devoted to research purposes because it requires special

equipment (e.g. an oven and analytical balance), and measurements can only be implemented in

laboratories. They also take time.

Electrical moisture meters enable a quick measurement of moisture content in grain. Therefore, electrical

moisture meters are widely used in the inspection and the quality control of rice and other grains. Electrical

characteristics method is where an intermediate variable is measured and then converted into moisture

content. An electrical current unit, resistance or capacitance, is measured and then converted into moisture

content. There are two types of an electrical characteristics method, the Capacitive moisture content meter

and the Resistance moisture content meter. The Capacitive moisture content meter measures an electrical

current between two plates of a condenser which constitute the walls of a recipient. A precise weight of

sample is required. Electrical capacitance type moisture meter utilizes electromagnetic wave (20-150 MHz)

applied to a sample between a pair of electrodes. The electromagnetic wave is partly absorbed by molecular

movements of the sample. The absorption ratio of the wave has a close relationship with the electrical

capacitance of the sample [5].

Fig. 2.9 A schematic diagram of an electrical capacitance type moisture meter and its outside view

1: sample chamber (annular shape), 2: outer electrode, 3: center electrode, 4: weighing instrument (load cell), 5: temperature sensor,
6: electric circuit (including a processing unit and a display unit), and 7: housing

While the Resistance moisture content meter measures the electrical resistance of rice grains when a current

is applied between two electrodes. Rice grains are placed in a constant and known volume. For measurement

of the moisture content, a small amount of sample (1 g typically) is crushed and sandwiched between two

electrodes and electric current flows through the sample from one electrode to another. The magnitude of

current, measured by the electronic circuit, is converted into moisture content and is indicated on the display

unit. This type of meter has advantages such as, small size, light weight, easy operation/maintenance, rapid

measurement, and long-time stability in metrological characteristics [6].

Fig. 2.10 A cross-sectional view of an electrical resistance type grain moisture meter
A grain sample is set on a sample tray in the testing chamber (4) between upper electrode (2) and lower
electrode (3) and crushed by the handle (1). A/D converter (5) detects the electric current passing through
the sample and converts it to digital data in order to compute moisture content. Temperature sensor (6)
measures the temperature of the moisture meter simultaneously.
In both techniques, temperature corrections are required for accurate measurements. The advantage of the

Capacitive moisture content meter is that it is more accurate than resistance type moisture content meters.

But for measuring moisture content, the most practical option is to use a resistance-type moisture meter that

gives quick results, only uses small samples and its more affordable.