The Environmental Footprint of Rice Milling: Assessing Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions

ABSTRACT Rice milling plays a crucial role in the global food supply chain; however, its environmental footprint remains a significant concern. While existing research examines broad environmental impacts, few studies have focused on energy use and emissions at specific rice milling stages or compared mill sizes. This study addresses these gaps by analyzing energy consumption and carbon emissions across mills of varying capacities (4 TPH, 8 TPH, and 12 TPH) in India. Using a combination of energy auditing, process mapping, and life‐cycle assessment, this study assesses energy consumption and carbon emissions at each stage of the rice milling process. Rice milling consumes 817.10 MJ of energy and emits 61.76 kg of CO 2 equivalent per ton. The total environmental footprint of rice production, including cultivation to white rice production, amounts to 3234 MJ and 402.96 kg of CO 2 equivalent emissions per ton. Energy use decreases with an increase in mill capacity and CO 2 emissions. Among various milling operations, whitening and polishing were the dominant hotspots (45%–58% of the total). Scaling from 4 to 12 TPH rice mill in India reduced energy consumption and CO 2 emissions by 28.3% and 27.6%. These findings are intended to guide policymakers, mill operators, and industry stakeholders in mitigating the environmental impacts of rice production, thereby contributing to broader global sustainability goals.