Microstructure and Rheology of Starch-Gelatine confectionery products as a function of manufacturing process. We propose to develop a novel continuous extrusion process for manufacturing confectionery jellies. Jellies are traditionally manufactured in a multi-step labour and capital-intensive batch process with inter-batch variability and difficult to automate. Continuous processes offer many advantages including high throughput, efficiency, straightforward automation including quality monitorin ....Microstructure and Rheology of Starch-Gelatine confectionery products as a function of manufacturing process. We propose to develop a novel continuous extrusion process for manufacturing confectionery jellies. Jellies are traditionally manufactured in a multi-step labour and capital-intensive batch process with inter-batch variability and difficult to automate. Continuous processes offer many advantages including high throughput, efficiency, straightforward automation including quality monitoring and control. They are little used in this industry because of the inability to relate product requirements through fundamental microstructural properties to processing conditions. This project addresses these key technical obstacles to gain the competitive advantage of continuous extrusion processing, through advanced mathematical modelling informed by experimentation. The proposed techniques derive from advanced polymer processing and characterisation capabilities.Read moreRead less
Developing a smart supervisory control system for pan stage operations in sugar factories. This project aims to develop a prototype smart supervisory control system for pan stage crystallisation operations in raw sugar processing. Intelligent systems technologies will be tailored to provide a standardised approach for pan operations by using key process measurements and combining them with the collective expertise and knowledge of pan operators. This project will lead to a significant advance in ....Developing a smart supervisory control system for pan stage operations in sugar factories. This project aims to develop a prototype smart supervisory control system for pan stage crystallisation operations in raw sugar processing. Intelligent systems technologies will be tailored to provide a standardised approach for pan operations by using key process measurements and combining them with the collective expertise and knowledge of pan operators. This project will lead to a significant advance in the development of intelligent systems techniques for industrial applications and provide a better decision making strategy for pan stage operations with the benefit of reduced costs of sugar manufacture and increased profitability of the Australian sugar industry.Read moreRead less
Surface Modification of Spray-Dried Powders By Surface-Active Proteins. Internal wall deposits in spray dryers lead to product degradation and pose fire hazards. This situation has limited the manufacturing of high value bio-food powders by the Australian bio-food and dairy industry, which exports 13% of the milk powder in the world. The specific economic benefits to Australia from this project arise from innovative surface modification of powder particles by proteins, development of scientific ....Surface Modification of Spray-Dried Powders By Surface-Active Proteins. Internal wall deposits in spray dryers lead to product degradation and pose fire hazards. This situation has limited the manufacturing of high value bio-food powders by the Australian bio-food and dairy industry, which exports 13% of the milk powder in the world. The specific economic benefits to Australia from this project arise from innovative surface modification of powder particles by proteins, development of scientific instruments and predictive tools based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). These outcomes will lead to production of free flowing powders from bio-food materials.Read moreRead less
Engineering Nanostructured Bio-inspired Products. New nanostructured products that draw on biology promise to revolutionise our lives and economy. Designer emulsions and self-assembling particles inspired by viruses are two such products that form the focus for this research programme. The constitutive behaviour of bio-molecular films that control emulsion performance will be characterised and linked to molecular properties and manufacturing conditions. A broad-based technology platform for t ....Engineering Nanostructured Bio-inspired Products. New nanostructured products that draw on biology promise to revolutionise our lives and economy. Designer emulsions and self-assembling particles inspired by viruses are two such products that form the focus for this research programme. The constitutive behaviour of bio-molecular films that control emulsion performance will be characterised and linked to molecular properties and manufacturing conditions. A broad-based technology platform for the in vitro creation of self-assembling biological nanoparticles will also be developed. Key outcomes will be valuable IPR and fundamental engineering science knowledge to ensure that the value chain for this class of products can deliver commercial outcomes.Read moreRead less
Understanding of structure development in drying droplets through the stickiness paradigm. The aims of this research are to develop a new model for multicomponent droplet drying. This model will provide predictions of conditions where composition variation exists in the drying particles. Validation of the model will be made using a novel instrument to measure the in-situ development of surface stickiness during drying. Stickiness is an important issue encountered during drying and handling of so ....Understanding of structure development in drying droplets through the stickiness paradigm. The aims of this research are to develop a new model for multicomponent droplet drying. This model will provide predictions of conditions where composition variation exists in the drying particles. Validation of the model will be made using a novel instrument to measure the in-situ development of surface stickiness during drying. Stickiness is an important issue encountered during drying and handling of some key food and consumer materials. Currently, there is no technique to measure the evolution of stickiness during drying. Key outputs will include the model, the instrument, and the development of efficient methods to generate the multicomponent data.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC130100011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,695,000.00
Summary
Agents of change: transforming the food industry for Australia, Asia and beyond. Agents of change: transforming the food industry for Australia, Asia and beyond. This Training Centre will train a cohort of innovation scientists who will facilitate transformation of the Australian food industry. This will include manufacturing, processing and value chain analysis, and take advantage of opportunities for Australia to meet the demand for safe, healthy and high quality foods and retail-ready ingredi ....Agents of change: transforming the food industry for Australia, Asia and beyond. Agents of change: transforming the food industry for Australia, Asia and beyond. This Training Centre will train a cohort of innovation scientists who will facilitate transformation of the Australian food industry. This will include manufacturing, processing and value chain analysis, and take advantage of opportunities for Australia to meet the demand for safe, healthy and high quality foods and retail-ready ingredients in the Asian century.Read moreRead less
Intelligent bioprocessing for next-generation nutritional yeast extracts. This project aims to provide new, science-based levers for optimising the industrial production of tailormade yeast extracts for food applications. Advanced biochemical and engineering methods will be used to develop new knowledge of the links between yeast growth conditions, cell biochemistry, processing and the flavour and texture profiles of yeast hydrolysates. This understanding will allow the properties of yeast hydro ....Intelligent bioprocessing for next-generation nutritional yeast extracts. This project aims to provide new, science-based levers for optimising the industrial production of tailormade yeast extracts for food applications. Advanced biochemical and engineering methods will be used to develop new knowledge of the links between yeast growth conditions, cell biochemistry, processing and the flavour and texture profiles of yeast hydrolysates. This understanding will allow the properties of yeast hydrolysates to be accurately tuned during yeast production and processing. The resulting process improvements and innovations will increase the efficiency and quality of current yeast extract products and allow the development of new food products.Read moreRead less
Markers of milk quality in commercially produced UHT milks and milk powders. Efficient production of safe, wholesome food relies on the application of the best available knowledge of the food material and the processing technologies involved. This project applies proteomics, the most advanced protein analysis technique, to determine the changes that occur in milk during high heat treatment and subsequent storage of the heat-processed milk product. Armed with such knowledge, the dairy processin ....Markers of milk quality in commercially produced UHT milks and milk powders. Efficient production of safe, wholesome food relies on the application of the best available knowledge of the food material and the processing technologies involved. This project applies proteomics, the most advanced protein analysis technique, to determine the changes that occur in milk during high heat treatment and subsequent storage of the heat-processed milk product. Armed with such knowledge, the dairy processing industry will be able to make informed decisions about processing and storage conditions to ensure the final products provided to the consumer are of the highest possible quality. Read moreRead less
Novel Multilevel Modelling Framework to Design Advanced Food Drying Process. In this project, a novel multilevel modelling framework for food drying will be developed by integrating the micro, macro, and dryer scale transport process and considering the dynamic changes in the drying environment under the intermittent application of microwave energy (IMCD). This modelling framework will be the first comprehensive scientific tool for industry for developing next-generation food drying systems, whi ....Novel Multilevel Modelling Framework to Design Advanced Food Drying Process. In this project, a novel multilevel modelling framework for food drying will be developed by integrating the micro, macro, and dryer scale transport process and considering the dynamic changes in the drying environment under the intermittent application of microwave energy (IMCD). This modelling framework will be the first comprehensive scientific tool for industry for developing next-generation food drying systems, which are expected to deliver significant improvement in energy efficiency and product quality and reduction in drying time and food waste. Finally, based on the outcomes of the modelling framework, a smart IMCD drying system will be developed to demonstrate the feasibility of the framework in industry application.Read moreRead less
A Concurrent Multiscale Model for Improved Prediction of Drying Process. This project aims to develop an innovative multiscale model for food drying, which integrates spatial and temporal nonlinear behaviours at different scales. The proposed unifying theory will capture dynamic micro level features and upscale them to macro level features through a concurrent bridging scheme. As cellular elements critically govern the drying process, the fundamental understanding captured through this theory wi ....A Concurrent Multiscale Model for Improved Prediction of Drying Process. This project aims to develop an innovative multiscale model for food drying, which integrates spatial and temporal nonlinear behaviours at different scales. The proposed unifying theory will capture dynamic micro level features and upscale them to macro level features through a concurrent bridging scheme. As cellular elements critically govern the drying process, the fundamental understanding captured through this theory will lead to more accurate prediction of drying kinetics, deformation and quality changes, and hence the development of efficient drying systems. This project will overcome a longstanding research problem and position Australia at the forefront in world drying research to reap substantial economic benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less