Food Process Engineering Laboratory

Food process engineering deals with the characterisation of food by means of physical processes and the investigation, planning and optimisation of processes. For this purpose, processes and process steps are analysed and processes including the necessary plant technology are developed and modelled. Specifically, it deals with questions such as: How can a certain foodstuff be processed? How can manufacturing processes be optimised for industry? What about the safety of a foodstuff with regard to its processing (for example, can foreign substances get into the machines)?

The extensive and versatile equipment in the laboratory and the pilot plant enables both comprehensive basic training in food process engineering and application-oriented research. For example, there is a 3D printer for printing foods such as chocolate or snacks. In addition, new food shapes can also be created, for example for the adapted care of elderly people. In addition, the laboratory has various rheometers that can be used to determine the flow behaviour of substances. The results enable conclusions to be drawn about how these substances can be processed on industrial equipment and thus insights into how this equipment must be designed.

The practical courses in the 4th semester cover the topics of food technology and process engineering. In the first part, the students learn everything important about food emulsions. They compare different homogenisation processes with each other. The effect of emulsifiers is examined as well as the influence of different pressures and speed profiles. In the second part, the students deal with the production of apple juice. They investigate the influence of the particle size of the fruit pieces and different pressing methods on the juice yield. The apple juice obtained is then analysed in terms of density, colour, sugar content and viscosity. In a results protocol, the students document the experiments and learn to draw conclusions or critically question their data.

In the 6th semester, the focus is on food process engineering. In this module, the students independently research various current issues from the main research areas of the subject area in small groups. They coordinate the task, time and experimental planning as well as the execution of the experiments with the supervising teachers.

Due to the extensive experience that the department can demonstrate, both publicly funded projects and projects in cooperation with companies from the economy, for example industrial clients, are carried out. Visiting scientists, doctoral students and graduates as well as, above all, partner universities of Fulda University of Applied Sciences can collaborate on ongoing research projects by arrangement.

Ongoing projects:

• Studies on the utilisation of organic laying hens as raw material for convenience food
• Investigations into the structure formation and processing of food foams
• 3D printing of food
• Optimisation of extrusion processes

Completed projects (excerpt):

• Hygienic design in planning and construction of equipment
• Investigations into automated cutter control
• Development of a thermoanalytical classification and prediction model using a multi-sensor system and neural networks for thermal cooking of food products
• Experimental comparative studies on the pumping of food suspensions using different food-based model systems (ZIM)
• Temperature control of food in catering to ensure product and consumer safety (ZIM - together with Department of Electrical Engineering)
• Investigation and modelling of rheological properties of medium- to high-viscosity foods with the development of a prediction model
• Investigations into the quality description of foodstuffs by means of contactless impedance measurement (HSProfunt together with HS Würzburg-Schweinfurt)

• Extruder: This device can be used to produce all kinds of shapes of a food product under pressure (e.g. from pasta dough).
• Several oscillating rheometers: This measuring device can be used to determine the flow behaviour of substances (e.g. measurement of vegan egg foam from chickpeas).
• Viscometer: physical measuring device for determining viscosity.
• High-pressure homogeniser: This device can be used to stabilise the consistency of products by homogenising them, e.g. milk.
• Foaming machine
• 3D printer
• Machines for the production and processing of food on a small scale
• Double boiler plant for thermal treatment and processing of food and intermediate products (e.g. wort boiling, production of cheese curd, preparation of food with chunky ingredients)
• Pumps for gentle conveyance of foodstuffs (flow and displacement machines)
• Heat exchangers
• Flow equipment for investigating the behaviour of fluids