Scientific activity

Topics of MSc and PhD thesis proposed by the Department of Food Process Engineering:

• extrusion-cooking of plant materials for food purposes (crisps, snacks, snack pellets, instant pasta, plant-based meat substitutes, modified starches and flours),
• extrusion-cooking of plant materials for feed purposes (pet food, fish food, farm animal food),
• modification of starches of various origins using extrusion-cooking or thermal methods for food and industrial purposes,
• the use of functional additives and their impact on the process and the characteristics of extruded products,
• the use of by-products from agri-food processing in extruded products,
• gluten-free products: cookies, bread, pasta, pastries, plant-based meat substitutes,
• testing the physical properties of extrudates,
• testing the mechanical properties of extrudates,
• testing the texture of food products,
• testing the strength properties of packaging materials,
• modern solutions in the packaging industry,
• extrusion-cooking of starch biopolymers,
• extrusion and blowing of biodegradable films,
• studying the effect of raw material composition and additives on product color,
• development of processing and logistics issues for FMCG products,
• design and construction of equipment and devices used in process engineering.

More information can be found on the Department of Food Process Engineering website: https://ekstruzjaproces.pl/

Research

The Department’s research and development activities include:

• HTST pressure-thermal processing of plant materials for food and feed purposes, particularly using extrusion-cooking technology;
• production and testing of convenience foods enriched with health-promoting additives;
• production and testing of extruded products using by-products from agri-food processing;
• production and testing of gluten-free products: cookies, bread, pasta, pastries, and plant-based meat substitutes;
• physical, chemical, and functional properties of extrudates;
• extrusion-cooking process engineering;
• starch biopolymer engineering;
• starch modification by extrusion-cooking;
• development of technologies for the production of food and feed extrudates;
• design of multi-purpose single- and twin-screw extruders and peripheral machines for technological lines used in the production of extruded food and feed.

Research conducted at the Department of Food Process Engineering, within the leading Discipline of Mechanical Engineering, concerns the design of equipment, process, and operational aspects of pressure-thermal processing of plant raw materials for food, feed, and industrial purposes, as well as the production of environmentally friendly biopolymer materials, including biodegradable ones, from renewable raw materials. The Department research focuses on various aspects of extrusion-cooking technology, including the design and modification of multi-purpose extruders and machines used in production lines for extruded food, feed, functional additives, and biopolymers. Within the Discipline of Environmental, Mining, and Energy Engineering, we conduct research on environmental aspects, including process energy consumption, research to reduce process water demand, the potential for byproduct management and waste reduction, and the development of biomaterials from renewable resources. Within the Discipline of Food Technology and Nutrition, we conduct work on developing new product formulations, including functional foods, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, low-fat, low-sodium, sugar-free, and health-promoting products.

Research facilities:

1. Extrusion-cooking laboratory equipment:

– EXP-45-32 modular single-screw extruder

– TS-45 single-screw extruder,

– Evolum25 twin-screw extruder,

– 2S 9/5 twin-screw extruder,

– forming dies for extruders of various shapes and sizes,

– cutting system with feeder,

– preconditioner,

– SW MINI 8+P liquid chiller,

– 5 heating and cooling chillers,

– water purification and steam generation plant,

– biodegradable film extruder,

– ribbon mixer,

– paddle mixer,

– drying chamber,

– pressure, temperature, and energy consumption measurement equipment.

2. Research laboratory equipment:

– Zwick BDO-FB 0.5H testing machine with instrumentation and attachments for assessing strength, texture, and surface properties, including tensile jaws, compression plates, a three-point bending attachment, a piercing attachment, penetrators of various shapes and sizes, a cutting knife, a 5-blade Kramer cell, an Ottawa cell, a Kiefer extensibility rig, a back extrusion cell, and a surface testing attachment, along with testXpert II software,

– Brabender Micro-Visco-Amylograph with software for testing rheological properties,

– IKA Lo-Vi rotational viscometer for testing the viscosity of liquids and suspensions,

– Lovibond CAM System 500 colorimeter,

– NH310 colorimeter,

– SLW 53 STD laboratory drying oven,

– laboratory scales,

– 3 moisture analyzers,

– shaker water bath,

– instruments for measuring physical properties: angle of repose and tapped density,

– Pfost apparatus in various configurations,

– magnetic stirrer,

– optical microscope with polarizing light attachment,

– sifters,

– laboratory glassware,

– small laboratory equipment.

More information can be found on the Department of Food Process Engineering website: https://ekstruzjaproces.pl/

Achievements

Significant achievements of the Department of Food Process Engineering include the design and implementation of a series production of a family of single-screw extruders and a twin-screw extruder at ZMCh “Metalchem” in Gliwice. These solutions were developed by Prof. dr hab. Leszek Mościcki and MSc Eng. Stanisław Juśko. As a result of the Department’s participation in the international COST’93 research project, a method for processing a wide range of raw materials from legumes and oilseeds to obtain a high-quality feed product using extrusion technology was developed. As part of international cooperation under the EUREKA program, prototypes of a new-generation, multi-functional, segmented twin-screw extruder were designed and manufactured. An international consortium established under the BIOPACK program has developed a technology for producing starch biopolymers using extrusion-cooking technology, which can be used to produce biodegradable packaging films and rigid injection molds for packaging, as well as a variety of industrial applications, such as spoons, flowerpots, and shapes formed using high-pressure injection molding. As a result of the N N312 162334 project on extruded pasta, solutions enabling the production of gluten-free pasta were implemented in two production plants. As part of the LIDER project, solutions for the production of snack pellets, including gluten-free ones, with vegetable, fruit, and multi-grain additions, were developed and implemented in production plant. In collaboration with numerous companies, we participated in commissioned work on product and process innovations.

The Department maintains close formal collaborations with numerous European research centers, including departments from universities located in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Algeria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, as well as with many national centers.

Particularly noteworthy is the long-standing collaboration with the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen of the Royal University of Groningen and the Food and Bioprocess Engineering Group of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. This collaboration was confirmed in 1997 by the Department’s request for an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Lublin to Professor Dr. D.J. van Zuilichem from Wageningen University.

Department staff have completed numerous long- and short-term research internships in Wageningen and Groningen.

The Department of Food Process Engineering has the best-equipped laboratory in Poland for the extrusion-cooking of plant materials for food and feed purposes, with four extruders: two single-screw and two twin-screw, along with measurement equipment, and an prototype extruder with a film-blowing system for the production of plastic films and biodegradable starch-based materials.

The Department’s employees are the authors of many innovative solutions in the field of production and research of extruded food, feed and biopolymers, hence their scientific achievements in the form of: original scientific works (over 250), books (2), articles and scientific communications (over 100), papers presented at national and international conferences (over 100), patents and utility models (12).

Participation in projects:

ACTT4Cosmetics: Improve Interconnected innovation ecosystems supporting Actions for Citizen awareness and Twin Transition in the entire cosmetic value chain, Grant Agreement no N°101112710, Call: HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02, Topic: HORIZON-EIE-2022-CONNECT-02-01, Type of action: HORIZON-COFUND, 2023-2028, in progress.

NCN.WVB.23.001, UMO-2022/45/B/NZ9/01892, VKB/PB/210-TŻ-OPUS23: Fungal bioactive substances with targeted health-promoting potential – the role of interactions, bioavailability, and bioavailability as factors shaping the functionality of microencapsulated functional additives in an in vitro and in vivo model, 2023-2027, in progress.

MEiN contract SKN/SP/534982/2022: Technical and technological aspects of the production of enriched gluten-free extruded snacks, under the “Student science societies create innovations” competition, 2022-2023, amount PLN 69,000.00.

Implementation Doctorate DWD/4/84/2020: Development of a method for modifying the properties of wheat flour for bakery applications, 2020-2024, amount PLN 338,632.36.

NCBR contract LIDER/29/0158/L-10/18/NCBR/2019: Development of a comprehensive technology for obtaining high-quality extruded snacks based on minimally processed plant and animal raw materials, 2019-2023, number 180/L-10/2019, amount PLN 1,499,915.00.

NCBR contract POIR.04.01.04-00-0055/17: Development and implementation of an innovative mobile installation for optimizing the nutritional value of plant materials, under scientific-industrial consortium, 2019-2020, amount PLN 4,262,541.25.

Development of a technology for the production of dietary snack pellets expanded in a magnetic field for POL-FOODS sp. z o.o., implemented in 2014, amount PLN 69,000.00.

N N312 162334 “The impact of pressure-thermal processing on the quality of enriched pre-cooked pasta,” 2008-2010, amount PLN 248,018.00.

N N313 065936: “Studies of the pressure-thermal modification process of starch,” 2009-2011, amount PLN 350,000.00.

NN313 275738: “Influence of extrusion process parameters on the functional properties of starch biopolymers with natural fiber addition,” 2010-2013, amount PLN 288,600.00.

NN313 275838: “Influence of pressure-thermal treatment conditions on the physical properties of starch films obtained by the film-blowing method,” 2010-2012, amount PLN 298,976.00.

BIOPACK (Project no. G5ST-CT2001-50120: BIOdegradable extruded starch-based plastics for PACKaging materials, 2001-2004.

EUREKA (Project no. EU 1274 VALEUREX: Design, construction and testing of low cost, high capacity twin-screw extruder equipment for biopolymers esp. food, feed and fibers, 1995-1997.

COST’93 (Project no. PROJECT 5840: Development of HTST treatments for protein crops, e.g. pulses, like extrusion-cooking, pressurized steaming, enzymatic treatment, 1992-1999.

More information on the website of the Department of Food Process Engineering: https://ekstruzjaproces.pl/

Offer

The Department conducts research in the following areas:

1. Food Extrusion-Cooking – comprehensive research on the extrusion-cooking process of plant materials of various origins for food, feed, and industrial purposes; possibilities of regulating and shaping the desired characteristics of food and feed;
2. Convenience Food – possibilities of developing new recipes and technologies for producing a wide range of products exhibiting characteristics of convenient, functional, and health-promoting foods; the use of non-standard raw materials and additives to influence the final nutritional and functional characteristics of food products, particularly using extrusion-cooking technology to model the functional characteristics of food; increasing nutritional value through the use of natural additives that increase dietary fiber content, exhibiting the characteristics of stabilizers, emulsifiers, hydrocolloids, etc.; developing recipes and techniques for producing health-promoting cereal snacks, examining the effect of extrusion-cooking parameters on product characteristics (instant, pre-cooked, functional products);
3. Plant-Based Meat Substitutes – application of extrusion-cooking technology to the production and testing of plant-based meat substitutes and plant-based textured food using dry and wet processes, with the potential use of high-protein plants, including legumes and oilseeds, as well as protein concentrates and isolates;
4. Starch Modification by Extrusion-Cooking – imparting precisely defined functional properties to starch raw materials (thickeners, stabilizers, binders, adhesives) and the potential use of modified starches in food and feed processing, as well as in industrial applications such as the chemical, paper, and textile industries; the impact of extrusion-cooking parameters on the physicochemical, rheological, and functional properties of starch modifiers;
5. Research on the physicochemical and functional properties of food and feed products and packaging materials – testing density, water absorption, WAI, WSI indices, and water stability of pet food; testing mechanical and strength properties (hardness, elasticity, deformation, damage resistance); product color assessment using a CIE-Lab colorimeter; testing the texture characteristics of food products using a Zwick apparatus using a Kramer chamber, an Ottawa chamber, a reverse extrusion chamber, and various probes and cutting knives; testing the functional and strength characteristics of packaging materials, such as tensile strength, tear resistance, puncture resistance, etc.;
6. Biodegradable Biopolymers – the possibility of developing manufacturing technologies and conducting operational tests using extrusion-cooking technology to produce packaging biopolymers and using a film-blowing line to produce biodegradable films from starch raw materials on a semi-industrial scale; the use of functional additives and their impact on the characteristics of biodegradable packaging films;
7. Studies on the management of by-products from agri-food processing and post-industrial waste using extrusion-cooking technology to produce a wide range of food, feed, biomaterial, and biogas products.

In the laboratories of the Department of Food Process Engineering, the following equipment for operational and technological research is used:

– EXP-45-32 modular single-screw extruder in 12:1, 16:1, and 20:1 versions with individual heating/cooling of each extruder zone, a chiller system, a set of forming dies for obtaining various product shapes, a die cutting system and a spacer system,

– TS-45 single-screw extruder in 12:1, 16:1, and 18:1 L/D versions with the option of controlled barrel cooling/heating using a wide range of forming dies, and a forced air dryer,

– Evolum25 (Clextral) modular twin-screw extruder in 24:1 version, with individual heating/cooling of modules, a set of individual modules for configuring working screws, and a set for texturizing plant proteins using on-line technology. Wet extrusion, with a die-cutting system, a set of forming dies, and the option of using a preconditioner.

– 2S9/5 co-rotating twin-screw extruder with a wide range of forming dies (round and flat), equipped with a conditioner with the option of steam humidification (steam generator).

– Film-blowing extrusion line for biodegradable starch and plastic films.

Our research equipment allows us to analyze the process and technical aspects of manufacturing extruded products, including those from gluten-free and high-protein raw materials. We also assess the physical, functional, mechanical, textural, color, and consumer and technological properties of a wide range of food, feed, industrial, and packaging products.

We invite entities interested in the possibilities of using extrusion-cooking technology, developing technologies for manufacturing new products, and conducting tests on our own products and those manufactured in our laboratories upon your request.

More information on the website of the Department of Food Process Engineering: https://ekstruzjaproces.pl/