Modeling First Break Milling of Debranned Wheat Using the Double Normalized Kumaraswamy Breakage Function

Debranning of wheat affects flour quality, initially by altering the breakage of wheat kernels during first break. The double normalized Kumaraswamy breakage function was applied to model the effect of debranning on wheat breakage during first break milling, in which type 1 breakage describes a relatively narrow distribution of midsized particles, whereas type 2 breakage describes a wide size range of predominantly small particles extending to very large particles. Mallacca (hard) and Consort (soft) wheats were debranned and milled at three roll gaps under sharp‐to‐sharp and dull‐to‐dull dispositions. Type 1 breakage increased at longer debranning times, whereas type 2 breakage decreased, for both wheat varieties under both dispositions. Sharp‐to‐sharp milling tended to produce more type 1 breakage than dull‐to‐dull. A mechanism of wheat breakage is proposed to explain the coproduction of very large and small particles via type 2 breakage and, hence, the effect of debranning. The proposed mechanism is that small particles of endosperm arise from scraping of large flat particles of wheat bran under the differential action of the rolls, such that removal of the bran reduces the production of the large bran particles and thus reduces the opportunity for the scraping mechanism that produces the very small particles.     

Physical and Milling Characteristics of Wheat Kernels After Enzyme and Acid Treatments

The current wheat milling process separates bran from endosperm by passing tempered wheat kernels through successive break rolls and sifters. Using hydrolytic enzymes during tempering degrades bran and aleurone layers and can improve milling efficiency and yield. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of chemical and enzymatic treatments of wheat kernels before milling on physical and milling characteristics of the resulting wheat and flour quality. Hard wheat kernels were soaked in dilute acid or water and dried back to original moisture before being tempered with enzymes in water. Kernel physical and milling characteristics (600 g) were evaluated. Dilute acid soaking did not affect the 1,000‐kernel weight and diameter but softened treated kernels. When treated kernels were pearled, bran removal was mostly from ends; and the reducing sugar content in enzyme‐treated bran was significantly higher than the control. Compared with the control, acid‐soaked enzyme‐tempered kernels showed small but significant improvement in straight flour yield, with virtually no difference in protein content, and flour color. Chemical and enzyme treatment resulted in higher ash in flour. These differences were not seen in milling of larger batches (1,500 g) of kernels.     

Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Pearled Wheat and Roller‐Milled Fractions

Wheat contains phenolic compounds concentrated mainly in bran tissues. This study examined the distribution of phenolics and antioxidant activities in wheat fractions derived from pearling and roller milling. Debranning (pearling) of wheat before milling is becoming increasingly accepted by the milling industry as a means of improving wheat rollermilling performance, making it of interest to determine the concentration of ferulic acid at various degrees of pearling. Eight cultivar samples were used, including five genotypes representing four commercial Canadian wheat classes with different intrinsic qualities. Wheat was pearled incrementally to obtain five fractions, each representing an amount of product equivalent to 5% of initial sample weight. Wheat was also roller milled without debranning. Total phenolic content of fractions was determined using the modified Folin‐Ciocalteau method for all pearling fractions, and for bran, shorts, bran flour, and first middlings flour from roller milling. Antioxidant activity was determined on phenolic extracts by a method involving the use of the free radical 2,2‐diphenyl‐l‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Total phenolics were concentrated in fractions from the first and second pearlings (>4,000 mg/kg). Wheat fractions from the third and fourth pearlings still contained high phenolic content (>3,000 mg/kg). A similar trend was observed in antioxidant activity of the milled fractions with ≈4,000 mg/kg in bran and shorts, ≈3,000 mg/kg in bran flour, and <1,000 mg/kg in first middlings flour. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were highly correlated (R² = 0.94). There were no significant differences between red and white wheat samples. A strong influence of environment (growing location) was indicated. Pearling represents an effective technique to obtain wheat bran fractions enriched in phenolics and antioxidants, thereby maximizing health benefits associated with wheat‐based products.     

Stress‐Strain Analysis and Visual Observation of Wheat Kernel Breakage During Roller Milling Using Fluted Rolls

The endosperm and bran of a wheat grain have different mechanical properties and break differently under the same stresses. Stress‐strain analysis was used to model the factors affecting wheat kernel breakage during milling using fluted rolls. The planes of principal compressive and tensile stress and the maximum shear stresses, along which the kernel is most likely to be broken, were calculated for a sharp‐to‐sharp roll disposition. With the occurrence of compressive stress in the horizontal direction and shear stress in the vertical direction, a kernel tends to break along a principal tensile stress plane because the tensile strength of the endosperm is much smaller than its compressive strength. The model presented quantifies the mathematical relationship of three design and operational factors affecting the principal stresses and the maximum shear stresses: roll gap, differential, and roll diameter. High‐speed video was used to observe wheat breakage events during milling; the results show consistency with the theoretical analysis.     

Mechanical Properties of Wheat Seed Coats

The crumbliness of starchy endosperm and the resistance of bran are key characteristics that enhance milling behavior of wheat and are dependent on the genetic origin and moisture content of the grain. A method was developed to measure the mechanical properties of bran samples based on the measurement of tensile stress and strain. Tests conducted with this highly reproducible and sensitive method documented cultivar and moisture‐content effects (6.3, 13.8, and 18%, wb) on rheological behavior of wheat seed coats. A moisture‐dependent reduction in stress to fracture (‐15 to ‐30%) and in Young's modulus (‐45 to ‐55%) was quantified. An increase in deformation to fracture of seed coats was also correlated with bran size differences after milling. The energy required to fracture a sample (from 0.4 to 1.3 J/mm³) was considered the most valid of all presented parameters for assessing the milling behavior of wheat seed coats and the size of bran fractions.     

Stability of Vitamin E in Wheat Flour and Whole Wheat Flour During Storage

The stability of vitamin E during 297 days of storage of wheat flour and whole wheat flour ground on a stone mill or a roller mill, respectively, were studied. One day after milling, the total content of vitamin E, expressed in vitamin E equivalents (α‐TE), was 18.7 α‐TE and 10.8 α‐TE for stone‐milled and roller‐milled wheat flour, respectively. The difference in total vitamin E content was primarily due to the absence of the germ and bran fractions in the roller‐milled flour. The total loss of vitamin E during storage was 24% for stone‐milled wheat flour but 50% for roller‐milled wheat flour. These results indicate that vitamin E, which is present in high amounts in wheat germ, functions as an antioxidant in the stone‐milled wheat flour. Hexanal formation showed that lipid oxidation in roller‐milled flour occurred just after milling, whereas the formation of hexanal in the germ fraction displayed a lack period of 22 days, confirming that vitamin E functions as an effective antioxidant in the wheat germ. Results showed no significant difference in total loss of vitamin E for stone‐milled and roller‐milled whole wheat flour. Total loss after 297 days of storage for both milling methods was ≈32%.     

Effect of Kernel Size and Mill Type on Protein,Milling Yield,and Baking Quality of Hard Red Spring Wheat

Optimization of flour yield and quality is important in the milling industry. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of kernel size and mill type on flour yield and end‐use quality. A hard red spring wheat composite sample was segregated, based on kernel size, into large, medium, and small kernels, as well as unsorted kernels. The four fractions were milled in three roller mills: Brabender Quadrumat Jr., Quadrumat Sr., and Bühler MLU‐202 laboratory mills. Large kernels had consistently higher flour yield than small kernels across mills, with the Quadrumat Jr. mill showing the lowest flour yield. Mill type and kernel size significantly affected variation in flour protein molecular weight distribution. When compared with larger kernels, flour milled from the small‐kernel fraction contained a higher gliadin fraction and SDS‐unextractable high‐molecular‐weight polymeric proteins, which had positive correlations with bread loaf volume (r = 0.61, P < 0.05) and mixograph peak time (r = 0.84, P < 0.001). Overall, small kernels could contribute to enhancing flour breadmaking quality while having a detrimental effect on milling yield.     

Evaluation of Degree of Elasticity and Other Mechanical Properties of Wheat Kernels

Three samples were selected representing bread, soft, and durum wheat. Uniaxial compression and stress relaxation tests were performed on wheat kernels. Force‐deformation curves from intact wheat grain typically exhibited at least two points of inflection (PI) at ≈0.1 and 0.2 mm displacement. The first PI is related to the mechanical properties of all the bran layers. The second PI (0.2 mm) seems to be the endosperm boundary near the aleurone layer. These structures had higher degree of elasticity (DE) compared to the inner endosperm (0.5–0.6 mm). Besides wheat class and specific structures of the caryopsis, moisture content is a prominent factor affecting the mechanical strength of kernels. Stress relaxation tests show that bread wheat kernels with 69.2% DE at 13% moisture decreased to 31.6% DE with additional 6% moisture content. Soft wheat kernels DE of 61.0% at 13% moisture decreased to 22.7% at 19.7% moisture. Stress relaxation revealed pronounced time‐dependence. However, the differences of stress values at 120–180 sec were not significant in all wheat classes and moisture contents evaluated. The stress values after 120 sec might be attributed to the elastic deformation of the kernels.     

Tocopherol and Tocotrienol Content in Commercial Wheat Mill Streams

The content of tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively known as vitamin E (tocols), was determined in fractions of roller‐milled wheat grains. The results showed that vitamin E components are present in all major flour fractions of wheat, but that the vitamin E content and composition differed significantly between fractions. The total content of vitamin E, calculated as alpha‐tocopherol equivalents, changed from 16.1 mg α‐TE/g in wheat grain to 12.2 mg α‐TE/g in roller‐milled wheat flour. The germ fraction had the highest content of tocopherols, and the content of α‐tocopherol (195.2 μg/g) was 16 times higher (on average) than in any other fraction. The content of tocotrienols was distributed more uniform in the wheat grain with the highest content in the bran fractions, and the content of β‐tocotrienol was higher than the content of α‐tocopherol in all milling fractions except the wheat germ. The content of β‐tocotrienol was 24.1 μg/g in wheat grain, 25.3–31.0 μg/g in the bran fractions, and 14.3–21.9 μg/g in the fractions of endosperm. Overall, germ and fine bran fractions represent good sources of vitamin E and might be used in breadmaking.     

玉米籽粒冲击破碎特性试验研究

农业物料的冲击破碎特性对运输、排种和粉碎等机械设备的工作参数设定具有重要参考意义。该研究以玉米籽粒为研究对象，设计并搭建了单颗粒物料冲击破碎试验装置，开展了5种不同含水率（10.86%±0.13%，13.87%±0.18%，17.24%±0.08%、20.23%±0.19%和23.46%±0.23%）玉米籽粒的冲击破碎试验，并以籽粒破碎模式、临界速度和破碎程度表征籽粒的破碎特性。试验结果表明，玉米籽粒的破碎模式可分为未破碎、破裂和破碎3种形式，其中破裂形式包括整体破裂和局部破裂；以碎粒中大颗粒质量与玉米籽粒质量间的比值W界定玉米籽粒的破碎模式，并建立了不同含水率玉米籽粒的W值与冲击速度间的回归模型，模型的决定系数均大于0.92，确定了5种不同含水率（含水率由低到高）玉米籽粒的临界破裂速度分别为11.45、15.54、19.84、30.49和34.28 m/s，临界破碎速度分别为19.55、23.75、28.68、42.07和46.79 m/s，表明玉米籽粒的临界破裂速度和破碎速度均随含水率的增加而增加；采用响应曲面法建立了破碎颗粒平均粒径与冲击速度和含水率之间的回归模型，模型的决定系数为0.96，方差分析结果表明冲击速度、含水率及其交互作用对玉米籽粒的破碎程度影响极显著（P<0.01），且破碎程度随冲击速度的提高而增加，随含水率的提高而降低。该研究可为玉米籽粒处理设备的工作参数设定提供参考，并为农业物料颗粒的冲击破碎特性研究提供理论依据和试验方法参考。     

Influence of UV Exposure on Phenolic Acid Content,Mechanical Properties of Bran,and Milling Behavior of Durum Wheat (Triticum Durum Desf.)

Durum wheat bran was exposed to UV radiation up to 48 hr and the changes in ferulic acid (FA) content in the peripheral part s of grain were measured. The treatment resulted in a 25% decrease in FA monomer and a 44% decrease in dehydrodiferulic acid (DHD) ester‐linked to the cell‐wall arabinoxylans. This reduction was partly explained by a significant increase of FA (30%) and DHD (36%) engaged in hot alkali‐labile linkages. The results suggest that UV irradiation induced the formation of new cross‐links between feruloylated arabinoxylan and lignin in the pericarp. The effects of UV treatment on bran mechanical properties and wheat milling behavior were investigated. UV irradiation for 15 hr increased the stress to rupture by 30% and decreased the extensibility of bran tissues by 54%. This stiffening was associated with an increase in bran friability during grinding. Although this effect was due in part to the hydrothermal history of the grain, chemical modification induced by UV significantly influenced the size reduction of bran particles, which can be explained by the modification of the mechanical properties of bran. Relationships between the organization of cell‐wall polymers, the mechanical properties of tissues, and the behavior of wheat grain during milling were investigated.     

Influence of Foliar Iron Fertilization Rate on the Breakage Susceptibility of Wheat Seeds

The objectives were to determine the effect of different levels of foliar iron fertilization on the some physical properties and breakage susceptibility of wheat seed. Foliar iron treatments were combinations of three fertilization rates [0 (control), 1.2 and 2 L ha^?1, Fusin] at three replications. The harvested seeds were then subjected to impact energies of 0.1 and 0.2 J, at moisture contents of 8.5, 15, 20 and 25% (w.b.), using an impact test apparatus. Results indicated that the values of the seed physical properties increased with increasing iron rate. Iron fertilizer rate, moisture content and the interaction between two variables significantly influenced breakage susceptibility of wheat seeds at the 1% probability level (P < 0.01). Resistance to the breakage of wheat seeds increased following a polynomial relationship with increase in the foliar iron rate. Increasing the rate of foliar iron from 0 to 2 L ha^?1 caused a significant decrease in the mean values of damage by a factor of 1.8 from 66.188 to 36.688%. As the moisture content of the seeds increased from 8.5 to 25%, the amount of the percentage breakage of seeds decreased, as a polynomial. The maximum rate of decrease in the damage to seeds, with increasing moisture content, was obtained at higher iron fertilizer rates.     

Genotypic and Environmental Effects on Oat Milling Characteristics and Groat Hardness

The production of oat bran involves the dehulling of oats, inactivation of their enzymes, and the subsequent grinding and sieving of the clean groats to isolate the larger bran particles. The bran yield from the oat groats may be related to their hardness, as it is in wheat. Groat breakage, which occurs during the dehulling process, reduces milling yield and may also be related to groat hardness. This study sought to investigate genotypic and environmental effects on oat dry milling and oat dehulling characteristics, and attempted to define properties associated with oat groat hardness. Significant genotypic differences in bran yield were largely attributed to groat composition, where higher β‐glucan and oil concentrations in the groat were associated with higher bran yields. Bran composition was largely dependent on a combination of the bran yield and the groat composition. Although groat breakage was correlated with bran yield and with groat β‐glucan concentration, environmental factors appeared to be more influential. Locations that had suffered severe crown rust infestations exhibited higher rates of groat breakage during dehulling. Bran yield was not as strongly affected at the locations infested with crown rust, indicating that bran yield and groat breakage are manifestations of different types of groat hardness and are only partially related.     

Milling Quality and White Salt Noodle Color of Chinese Winter Wheat Cultivars

Improvement of milling quality is an important aspect in wheat breeding programs. However, the milling quality of Chinese wheats remains largely unexplored. Fifty‐seven Chinese winter wheat cultivars from four regions were used to investigate the variation of milling quality parameters and to determine the associations between milling quality traits and color of noodle sheet. Substantial variation was presented for all measured parameters in this germplasm pool. Complete soft, hard, and medium‐hard types were observed. Soft wheat and hard wheat show significant differences in flour ash content, flour bran area, and flour color grade. No simple trait can be used to select for flour milling quality. High flour ash content and bran speck area contributed negatively to brightness of dry flour. Correlation coefficients (r) between L* value of dry flour and flour ash content and bran speck area were ‐0.47 and ‐0.65 for hard cultivars, and ‐0.51 and ‐0.72 for soft cultivars, respectively. Flour color grade (FCG) was significantly and positively associated with bran speck area; r = 0.56 and 0.73 for hard and soft wheats, respectively. There was a high correlation between FCG and L* value of flour water slurry (r = ‐0.95). Strong associations were also established between milling quality index (MQI) and FCG, L* value of dry flour, flour‐water slurry, and white salted noodle sheet for both hard and soft wheats. In conclusion, substantial progress could be achieved in improvement of milling quality in Chinese winter wheats through genetic selection, and FCG and MQI could be two important parameters for evaluation of milling quality in breeding programs.     

Effect of Single‐Pass and Multipass Milling Systems on Whole Wheat Durum Flour and Whole Wheat Pasta Quality

Single‐pass and multipass milling systems were evaluated for the quality of whole wheat durum flour (WWF) and the subsequent whole wheat (WW) spaghetti they produced. The multipass system used a roller mill with two purifiers to produce semolina and bran/germ and shorts (bran fraction). The single‐pass system used an ultracentrifugal mill with two configurations (fine grind, 15,000 rpm with 250 μm mill screen aperture; and coarse grind, 12,000 rpm with 1,000 μm mill screen aperture) to direct grind durum wheat grain into WWF or to regrind the bran fraction, which was blended with semolina to produce a reconstituted WWF. Particle size, starch damage, and pasting properties were similar for direct finely ground WWF and multipass reconstituted durum flour/fine bran blend and for direct coarsely ground WWF and multipass reconstituted semolina/coarse bran blend. The semolina/fine bran blend had low starch damage and had desirable pasting properties for pasta cooking. WW spaghetti was better when made with WWF produced using the multipass than single‐pass milling system. Mechanical strength was greatest with spaghetti made from the semolina/fine bran or durum flour/fine bran blends. The semolina/fine bran and semolina/coarse bran blends made spaghetti with high cooked firmness and low cooking loss.     

Effect of Moisture Content on the Viscoelastic Properties of Individual Wheat Kernels Evaluated by the Uniaxial Compression Test Under Small Strain

Wheat product quality is related to its physicochemical properties and to the viscoelastic properties of the kernel. The aim of this work was to evaluate the viscoelastic properties of individual wheat kernels using the uniaxial compression test under small strain (3%) to create experimental conditions that allow the use of the elasticity theory to explain the wheat kernel viscoelasticity and its relationships to physicochemical characteristics, such as weight tests, size, and ash and protein contents. The following viscoelastic properties of the kernels of hard and soft wheat cultivars at two different moisture contents (original and tempered at 15%) were evaluated: total work (W_t), elastic work (W_e), plastic work (W_p), and modulus of elasticity (E). There was a significant decrease in W_t as the moisture content increased. In the soft wheat Saturno, W_t decreased 80% (from 0.217 to 0.044 N·mm) as the moisture content increased. Individual wheat kernels at their original moisture content showed higher W_e than under the tempered condition. W_p increased as the moisture content increased. E decreased as the moisture content increased. The soft wheat Saturno showed the highest decline (54.9%) in E (from 14.18 to 6.39 MPa) as the moisture content increased. There were significant negative relationships between the viscoelastic properties and the 1,000‐kernel weight and kernel thickness. The uniaxial compression test under small strain can be applied to evaluate the viscoelastic properties of individual wheat kernels from different classes and cultivars.     

Milled Rice Breakage Due to Environmental Conditions

Milled, long-grain rice was exposed to air at temperatures (T) of 20, 30, and 40°C, and relative humidities (RH) ranging from 25 to 85%. The kernels then were subjected to a breakage test to determine the extent of damage that occurred during each exposure condition. Increasing air T levels produced higher amounts of broken kernels across the RH range. Milled rice at higher moisture content (MC) levels sustained more extensive stress crack damage at low RH conditions and less stress crack damage at high RH conditions relative to milled rice at lower MC levels. Varietal differences were also present, but were overshadowed by MC effects.     

Bran Size Distribution at Milling and Mechanical and Biochemical Characterization of Common Wheat Grain Outer Layers: A Relationship Assessment

Mechanical properties of wheat grain outer layers from common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars known to display distinct milling behavior were analyzed using uniaxial tension tests. Tensile modulus and strain to rupture of the tissues distinguished between the wheat cultivars. Values of strain to rupture were related to coarse bran size generated by grain milling, a characteristic that distinguishes the two hardness classes. As content of an aleurone marker in total or first break flour was also related to coarse bran size, extensibility of wheat grain outer layers' could be a key parameter to explain the observed tissue mechanical behavior and thus distribution of the aleurone layer content in flours. As tissue mechanical properties are generally linked to the cell wall biochemical composition and structure, analysis of the main wheat outer layers' cell wall compounds was undertaken to establish relationships with the differences observed in mechanical properties. No clear correlation could be found with one of the wheat outer layers' component but involvement of the outer layers' cell wall structure in the tissues behavior at milling was confirmed.     

Predicting Wheat Quality Characteristics and Functionality Using Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy

The accuracy of using near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for predicting 186 grain, milling, flour, dough, and breadmaking quality parameters of 100 hard red winter (HRW) and 98 hard red spring (HRS) wheat and flour samples was evaluated. NIRS shows the potential for predicting protein content, moisture content, and flour color b* values with accuracies suitable for process control (R² > 0.97). Many other parameters were predicted with accuracies suitable for rough screening including test weight, average single kernel diameter and moisture content, SDS sedimentation volume, color a* values, total gluten content, mixograph, farinograph, and alveograph parameters, loaf volume, specific loaf volume, baking water absorption and mix time, gliadin and glutenin content, flour particle size, and the percentage of dark hard and vitreous kernels. Similar results were seen when analyzing data from either HRW or HRS wheat, and when predicting quality using spectra from either grain or flour. However, many attributes were correlated to protein content and this relationship influenced classification accuracies. When the influence of protein content was removed from the analyses, the only factors that could be predicted by NIRS with R² > 0.70 were moisture content, test weight, flour color, free lipids, flour particle size, and the percentage of dark hard and vitreous kernels. Thus, NIRS can be used to predict many grain quality and functionality traits, but mainly because of the high correlations of these traits to protein content.     

Composition of Oat Bran and Flour Prepared by Three Different Mechanisms of Dry Milling

Three mechanisms of oat milling were tested for laboratory-scale oat bran production. Oat bran consistent with AACC definition and commercially obtained product was generated with either roller-milling or impact-milling of groats, followed by sieving to retain larger particles. These bran preparations were enriched ≈1.7-fold in β-glucan and ash, 1.4-fold in protein, and 1.1-fold in lipid. Bran finishing made further enrichments in protein, β-glucan, and ash. Tempering oat (to 12% moisture for 20 min) improved bran yield from roller-milling nearly two-fold but had little effect on bran composition. Bran yield from the impact-type mill was significantly affected by grinding screen size. Oat bran obtained from a pearling mill was only slightly enriched in β-glucan and protein, but it was more heavily enriched in ash and oil than brans from roller or impact mills. The pearling mill isolated the outer layers of the groat directly, but because of its low β-glucan composition it did not meet the AACC definition of oat bran, indicating a relatively uniform distribution of β-glucan in the groat.