Modeling of unit operations

Development of empirical, semi-empirical and deterministic models for the description of unit operations and processes of food and biotechnology interest

This research activity cuts across the other research topics. Model development is accompanied by the design of efficient experiments suitable for model identification and estimation of unknown parameters. 

The methods used refer to traditional methods of experimental design, such as factorial and response surface designs, and more modern methods such as computer-generated optimal designs, model-based optimal experiments. The approach has enabled the characterization of several systems of food and biotechnology interest, such as: extraction of lycopene from tomato industry wastes, effect of different components of model wines on urease enzyme activity, refining of cocoa and hazelnut creams in laboratory and industrial ball mills, extraction of polyphenols from blueberry processing wastes for the production of functional food ingredients, production of the enzyme laccase from filamentous fungi on media formed from citrus and tomato industrial wastes, formulation of food suspensions. 

A further development of this activity involved the application of multiphysics modeling to reaction-diffusion problems in biocatalytic particles for use in the food field. 

Characterization of processes by these methods is also fundamental to the application of Quality by Design, a modern approach to quality in industrial processes that has long been applied in the biotechnology industry and is beginning to involve the food industry as well. In this area, many collaborations for training courses and study and research activities have been carried out with Italian and foreign universities and companies.