Dr T Koidis, Prof M Atkins
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Background and significance of research
Vegetable oils are present in the majority of foods and are produced mainly in SE Asia, S America and Africa using extensive agriculture practices. Oils such as palm oil are usually refined in large industrial sites with high operating costs, and increasingly environmental challenges with waste and by-products entering the food chain. This current process also impacts the nutritional fraction of these oils e.g. their vitamin content. Introduction of chemical and biological technologies such as ionic liquids that minimise the processing steps can increase efficiency during refining. For example, the quality of the oil crop and the resulting crude palm oil will be greatly improved, undesirable compounds such pigments, secondary metabolic products, potentially carcinogenic compounds will be removed with mild, less aggressive methods. On the other hand, the majority of food producers demand traceability and certification of the oils and have committed to source oils exclusively from sustainable sources from 2015 and onwards. There is currently no analytical method to verify the authenticity/method of production of refined oil. The industry and legislation enforcement agencies (sustainable food labelling) demand it. This project builds into the successful application of ionic liquid system at QUILL for the removal of certain compounds (free fatty acids) from crude oil using a patented method and brings together expertise in advanced multiclass oil analysis from the Institute for Global Food Security.
Research will focus on developing, validating these potentially breakthrough processing technologies combined with the analytical development to meet future standards for oil processing in the food industry.
This project fits with ‘green chemistry’ and ‘food security’ priority areas and addresses global challenges in food production and processing in the vegetable oils sector, one of the most important sectors in agriculture. More specifically it looks into chemical and biological technologies what minimise the vegetable oil processing footprint by introduction of innovative green processes that lead to more efficient production with less postharvest losses, lower operating cost and significantly lower impact of waste losses and load to the environment. These patentable technologies will lead to added value markets for the producers and safer food grade products to feed the growing global population.
Funding Notes
This research project is in competition for funding with other projects offered by the School. The projects which receive the best applicants will be awarded funding from DEL (Department for Employment and Learning). If you are resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EU, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you refer to the terms and conditions of DEL postgraduate studentships (http://go.qub.ac.uk/delterms) to ascertain whether you are eligible for a studentship covering fees and maintenance or a studentship covering fees only. Please note that non-EU residents are NOT ELIGIBLE for DEL studentships.