Coding of orthogonal experimental factors.

To optimize the microwave drying process of paddy rice and improve its quality, the effects of hot air temperature, microwave power, and grain layer thickness on the post-drying potassium content, calcium content, vitamin B₁ content, and free fatty acid content of rice were investigated. Using response surface methodology, an experimental scheme based on the Box-Behnken design was constructed to analyze the influence of these three factors on the four nutritional and biochemical indicators. A multi-index optimization model was established and validated. The results showed that all response indicator models were statistically significant. The optimal process parameters were determined as follows: hot air temperature of 52.47°C, microwave power of 20 kW, and grain layer thickness of 2.78 cm. The corresponding predicted values were potassium content of 3724 mg/kg, calcium content of 113.7 mg/kg, vitamin B₁ content of 0.290 mg/100g, and free fatty acid content of 21.5 mg/100g. Validation experiments demonstrated that the dried rice under these conditions exhibited excellent quality, with relative errors between predicted and measured values below 3%, indicating the reliability of the model and the significant improvement in rice drying quality achieved by the optimized process. Furthermore, visual process reference charts were developed to provide a theoretical basis for adjusting process parameters in practical production.