Enhancing Puffed Rice Production in Thailand: A Performance Comparison of Traditional and Mechanical Methods

Abstract

This study compares traditional manual and modern mechanical methods of producing puffed rice in Thailand, in order to improve the efficiency and quality of the process and increase its scalability. Thailand is one of the world’s leading rice producers, but the industry faces challenges due to limited mechanization, high labor intensity, and underdeveloped value-added applications. Experimental trials were conducted using selected rice varieties with different grain sizes and amylose contents. The findings showed that rice with higher length-to-width ratios and amylose contents had better results. The mechanical method exhibited a higher average expansion ratio (12.50) than the manual one (11.80), and doubled production capacity (400 kg/day versus 200 kg/day). Furthermore, the mechanical method achieved a production rate of 55.81 kg/h, a lower loss rate of 7.67%, and batch time reduced to 10 min, with no significant taste quality differences. Using salt soaking and maintaining an optimal moisture content of 10%-13% improved puffing consistency. This research introduces a novel, semi-automatic, double-head puffing prototype that integrates electro-pneumatic actuation and a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), enabling synchronized, continuous puffing operations. This increases automation and labor efficiency beyond the capabilities of conventional single-head machines. Although traditional methods are appropriate for smallscale use, the mechanical system offers significant advantages in consistency, and ergonomics.