400:402 - Introduction to Food Engineering Processes, 4 credits

Textbook: Introduction to Food Engineering, Singh and Heldman (third edition), Academic Press, 2001.

Software: MS Word, and MS Excel

Syllabus:

Lecture #	Topic
1	Review of mass and energy balances during dehydration
2	Unsteady-state heat transfer; use of transient heat conduction charts
	Team project 1– Heating and cooling of foods in containers during thermal processing
	Field trip 1 – CAFT’s FMT facility
3	Preservation concepts; kinetic parameters, influence of temperature on inactivation of microbial populations
4	Process calculations; general methods, applications to pasteurization and commercial sterilization
5	Applications to aseptic processing systems; design criteria for continuous liquid food systems
	Team project 2 – Design of a thermal process for a packaged food, steam requirements and equipment specifications.
6	Process calculations; use of mathematical methods to determine process times
7	Refrigeration; system components, refrigeration properties, thermodynamics of mechanical refrigeration
8	Refrigeration; charts and tables, computation of system components. Introduction to freezing systems
9	Freezing of foods; system description, freezing time prediction, freezing system design
	Team lab 1 – Plate freezer (hamburger and green pea)

Syllabus (continued):

Lecture #	Topic
10	Introduction to mass transfer; steady state diffusion in solids, convective mass transfer
	Team lab 2 – measurement of diffusion coefficient of a solute in liquid
	Field trip 2 – National Starch Pilot Plant
11	Mass transfer; unsteady state diffusion in solids, typical applications in foods
12	Concentration of liquids foods; introduction to evaporation systems
	Team project 3 – Design of a single-effect evaporation system
13	Membrane separations; basic concepts and membranes
	Team lab 3 – concentration of skim milk using ultrafiltration/reverse osmosis membrane systems
14	Review of food dehydration; system description, prediction of drying times, and various industrial drying system
	Team project 4 – Design of a spray dryer for a liquid food
15	Extrusion processes for food products, types of extruders and description of extrusion operations
16	Extrusion system design; factors influencing extrusion, flavor encapsulation and processing nanocomposites

Mode of instruction: lectures and group activities (lab, team project, and field trip). Lectures periods include problem solving and interaction between students and instructors. Group activities normally involve small groups of students going about accomplishing a preset goal of the activity. Instructors, students, a TA and outside practicing food technologists work together to construct these activities in a way that is more realistic and mission-oriented.

Number of students in class: fluctuating between 9 – 35

Work required of students:

Reading assignments

Students are expected to read textbook material associated with a lecture topic, prior to the lecture period.

Homework assignments

Homework problems (generally 4 to 6 problems) are assigned once a week.

Lab reports

Reports on lab learning are based on observations and computations as well as discussions during the lab session. Each student has to submit an independent report and make comments on the observations from the other groups.

Field trip discussions

Each student has to make an informal oral presentation about the observations they make during the trip and group discussion with instructors is scheduled.

Project reports

Reports on team designing problems are based on discussions and computations during the team project session. Each student has to submit an independent report, even though students work in teams during the session.

Examinations

Comprehensive examinations are scheduled during the semester. Examinations are based on all material from lectures, homework, team projects, field trips, and labs during the period prior to the examination. 2 midterms and one final examination are scheduled.

Grading format

1st Examination                                        15 %
2nd Examination                                       15 %
Homework                                               15 %
Laboratory                                                15%
Team Project/Field Trip                           15%
Final                                                          25%
Total                                                        100%

Grade: Percentage of points earned:

A                                             90% an above
B+                                           85% - 89%
B                                             80% - 84%
C+                                           75% - 79%
C                                             70% - 74%
D                                             60% - 69%
F                                              59% and below