Cleaning is a material separation process. The objective is to separate undesirable foreign materials from the paddy and leave a cleaned paddy for storage and process. The paddy procured from the farmer may be dried, if necessary and stored in storage bins, and then it is cleaned with the help of paddy cleaners.
The removal of impurities from grain is essential to protect the subsequent milling machinery from unusual wear and tear as well as to improve the quality of the final product.
The cleaning process involves
*scalping to remove sticks, mud lumps, etc
*bearding to remove the awns, culms and leaves
*monitoring or cleaning to remove sterile florets and any remaining foreign matter.
Rice cleaning process