How Do You Process Rice Bran?
In October, Belen Cisneros, Sales Manager in South America, wrote a blog explaining the benefits and effects of extruding rice bran, which is a by-product of the rice milling process. In this blog, I will discuss the extrusion process from a technical standpoint.
The profile of rice bran is similar to soybeans as it relates to the oil content and the extrusion process is very similar to running soy. Unstabilized rice bran is delivered to a unique feeder which helps convey the bran into the extruder barrel. The extruder processes the bran and releases moisture as the extruded bran exits the extruder. The stabilized rice bran is conveyed to a cooler to reduce the product temperature to safe levels prior to bagging or storage. The actual extrusion and cooling process is very similar to creating full-fat soy.
Additional differences between the two processes are within the extruder configuration because it is slightly less restrictive and a water injection system is used at a low level to help with the dry bran. The combination of the unique feeder, less restrictive barrel configuration and the water injection operation creates a high-performance process to stabilize the fatty acids and ensure a high-quality, finished product.
The process temperature is also slightly lower than soy, yet we are currently in the middle of a research project to determine optimized extrusion temperatures for stabilizing rice bran. It has proved to be a fairly simple process to turn what use to be considered a bothersome by-product into a valuable feed or food ingredient. Send us a message if you are interested in learning more about our rice bran stabilization process and future developments.
