Continuous processing of fibrous plant-based meat structure

To provide consumers with ethical plant-based meat products, it is

intrinsic that manufacturing processes are sustainable. Widely used

screw extrusion type processes are energy intensive, and are limited

in terms of fibrous structure generation, lipid inclusions and

sustainable plant protein ingredients. Therefore, there is a need to

design alternative, energy efficient processes which provide the

necessary flow and structuring operations to produce such products at

industrial scale and from a wider range of plant biopolymers.

Improving our ability to create hierarchical aligned fibre structures

will allow manufacture of products with superior sensory properties

(e.g. juiciness, tenderness, flavour).

The EngD project will advance the understanding of fibrous structure

creation for the production of meat analogues in a continuous

manner. The aim is to develop a novel, scalable technology for the

manufacture of fibrous plant based materials in the presence of al

lipid phase at different inclusion levels. The EngD candidate is

expected to utilise a set of research tools including computational

fluid dynamics (CFD), microstructure engineering and process

rheology. Research into minimising the processing of the bioresource

while still delivering the desired product texture will also be carried

out. Ideally, we are looking for a candidate with a first degree in

Chemical Engineering, or similar as long as they offer a good

foundation in fluid mechanics and colloid science.