Continuous processing of fibrous plant-based meat structure

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To provide consumers with ethical plant-based meat products, it isintrinsic that manufacturing processes are sustainable. Widely usedscrew extrusion type processes are energy intensive, and are limitedin terms of fibrous structure generation, lipid inclusions andsustainable plant protein ingredients. Therefore, there is a need todesign alternative, energy efficient processes which provide thenecessary flow and structuring operations to produce such products atindustrial scale and from a wider range of plant biopolymers.Improving our ability to create hierarchical aligned fibre structureswill allow manufacture of products with superior sensory properties(e.g. juiciness, tenderness, flavour).The EngD project will advance the understanding of fibrous structurecreation for the production of meat analogues in a continuousmanner. The aim is to develop a novel, scalable technology for themanufacture of fibrous plant based materials in the presence of allipid phase at different inclusion levels. The EngD candidate isexpected to utilise a set of research tools including computationalfluid dynamics (CFD), microstructure engineering and processrheology. Research into minimising the processing of the bioresourcewhile still delivering the desired product texture will also be carriedout. Ideally, we are looking for a candidate with a first degree inChemical Engineering, or similar as long as they offer a goodfoundation in fluid mechanics and colloid science.