Food Process Engineering MSc

The aim of this module is to help our graduates gain the necessary skills-set required for process engineering design and project management skills for future career development; be it Chemical, Environmental or Food. Student-led under the guidance of an academics who are all industrial specialists with extensive experience working for chemical, environmental and food manufacturing companies. Workshops and lectures are held by department staff in key areas. AutoCAD instruction is also provided. Regular mentoring sessions by an appointed team tutor to support your group work.

Modern engineering is not just motivated by profit and productivity, we must make decisions considering the technical, safety, economic and sustainability aspects, and these four factors will form the basis of our design. The focus of your process project is multi-disciplinary and rooted in “cutting-edge” research taking place around the world.

In this module, you will study the flow behaviour of complex fluids, building on your prior knowledge of fluid mechanics and materials science. You will explore rheological models, learn key characterisation techniques, and apply these concepts to real-world scenarios such as pipe flow, coatings and material processing.

You will also gain hands-on familiarity with both shear and capillary rheometry and develop the skills to solve simple flow problems involving non-Newtonian fluids.

This module gives the students an introduction to industrial scale food processing. A $12 trillion industry that represents greater than 10% of global consumer spending and 40% of employment. Topics covered included: Food structure, food safety and hygiene, freezing, baking, frying, separation, drying and packaging. There is a large amount of industrial context with several guest lectures delivered by industrial engineers working within the fast-growing food and drink sector.

The module develops the skills required to design, plan, implement and manage a research project. Students will be given instruction and practice in problem definition; collection, synthesis and critical review of information from a range of traditional and electronic sources; definition of scope, aims and objectives; development of a project plan and schedule; management of project progress.

Particular emphasis of the module is towards quality control and quality assurance and how these underpin measurement activities. The use of statistics for the assessment of data quality in measurement is also emphasised. Students will also develop their writing and practical skills through exercises and coursework.

In this module, you will study the behaviour of systems involving the simultaneous flow of gas and liquid phases, as commonly encountered in industrial processes. You will explore the principles of fluid flow and heat transfer in multiphase systems, along with their impact on process design.

You will also learn design methods for gas-liquid systems and develop practical skills through lab work, applying quantitative engineering tools to analyse complex flow scenarios.

In this module, you will undertake a combined group design and individual research project. You will study a chosen topic through critical literature review, process design and independent research.

Working in a team, you will develop a complete process flowsheet with mass and heat balances, considering control, safety, environmental and economic factors. Then, through individual research (experimental, computational or theoretical), you will explore a topic that supports and enhances your design.

Finally, you will re-evaluate your group design in light of your research findings, developing key skills in planning, analysis and critical thinking, which are essential for professional and academic progression.

This module introduces students to a range of knowledge and skills applicable to water and wastewater treatment. Students will gain an understanding in water availability, sources of pollution and the legislative framework for water quality from an EU perspective. Municipal water and wastewater treatment processes will be covered, focusing on key unit processes including sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. The module will also be supported by 2 site visits.

This module covers underpinning aspects for bio-processing technologies including: an overview of microbes, including structure, function, kinetics and components; metabolism and biomolecules; microbial technology including industrial biosafety and reactor systems; and industrial enzyme biocatalyst technologies with applications.

In this module, you will study the fundamentals of Matlab programming and learn to model engineering systems using tools such as arrays, loops, functions and plotting.

You will develop and apply numerical models, such as Finite Difference and Monte Carlo methods, to solve real-world chemical and environmental engineering problems, including flow and transport.

This module prepares you to apply computational methods in both coursework and research projects.

This module will concentrate on water treatment technologies covering those applicable to both the treatment of wastewater and the treatment of water for potable (drinking water) use. The beginning of the module will review current practice and scientific principles in water treatment.

Case Studies across the water industry will be utilised to demonstrate problems and potential solutions and gain an understanding of design considerations and operation of water treatment processes. Emerging issues in water treatment and the developing technologies to address these issues will be presented. Guest speakers from industry and 2 site visits will support the module delivery. 

Content to be confirmed.

In this module, you will study how to make informed decisions under uncertainty, with a focus on the risks and challenges involved in large-scale engineering projects.

You will explore frameworks for balancing risk and benefit, particularly in contexts involving safety, environmental impact and financial or technological uncertainty. Through real-world case studies on plastics, metals, industrial minerals and energy, you will examine how innovation drives sustainable and responsible engineering solutions.

This module introduces students to a range of knowledge and skills applicable to water and wastewater treatment. Students will gain an understanding in water availability, sources of pollution and the legislative framework for water quality from an EU perspective. Municipal water and wastewater treatment processes will be covered, focusing on key unit processes including sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. The module will also be supported by 2 site visits.

This module will develop your knowledge and understanding of air pollution problems. It includes a categorisation of the types of natural and anthropogenic air pollution sources, sinks, and the effects that air pollutants may produce within natural and manmade environments. You’ll learn about the processes of selection and design of pollutant monitoring and control technologies that may be applied to control atmospheric emissions from industrial processes.

This module includes an introduction to Matlab Programming: writing code for modelling engineering systems; script files, arrays, loops, if statements, functions, plotting; application to Finite Difference and Monte Carlo modelling methods.

Advanced features of HYSYS:

• using the dynamics package to simulate (a) fluid flow in tanks in series (b) the control of a separator drum;
• students devising their own steady-state question.

This module will concentrate on water treatment technologies covering those applicable to both the treatment of wastewater and the treatment of water for potable (drinking water) use. The beginning of the module will review current practice and scientific principles in water treatment.

Case Studies across the water industry will be utilised to demonstrate problems and potential solutions and gain an understanding of design considerations and operation of water treatment processes. Emerging issues in water treatment and the developing technologies to address these issues will be presented. Guest speakers from industry and 2 site visits will support the module delivery. 

Content to be confirmed.

In this module, you will study how to make informed decisions under uncertainty, with a focus on the risks and challenges involved in large-scale engineering projects.

You will explore frameworks for balancing risk and benefit, particularly in contexts involving safety, environmental impact and financial or technological uncertainty. Through real-world case studies on plastics, metals, industrial minerals and energy, you will examine how innovation drives sustainable and responsible engineering solutions.

This module covers underpinning aspects for bio-processing technologies including: an overview of microbes, including structure, function, kinetics and components; metabolism and biomolecules; microbial technology including industrial biosafety and reactor systems; and industrial enzyme biocatalyst technologies with applications.

This module aims to provide you with a thorough understanding of how process, hygiene and material characteristics influence the total transformation design of chemical process plants via analysis of exemplar plant designs. 

You'll learn how to assess the basis for safe process design and selection of construction materials. Demonstrate what influence whole system thinking, total life-cycle and critical analysis have upon the basis of process designs and influence process economics. Explain control choices, evaluate interactive risk and understand the potential influence of that environmental impact and societal opinion has upon process design.

The module is designed to give you experience of advanced software applications in chemical engineering, and their potential application to research projects. You will learn how to use advanced features of HYSYS, including the optimiser for (a) a two-stage compressor (b) an economic assessment of a refrigeration process; and the dynamics package to simulate (a) fluid flow in tanks in series (b) the control of a separator drum.

This module will concentrate on water treatment technologies covering those applicable to both the treatment of wastewater and the treatment of water for potable (drinking water) use. The beginning of the module will review current practice and scientific principles in water treatment.

Case Studies across the water industry will be utilised to demonstrate problems and potential solutions and gain an understanding of design considerations and operation of water treatment processes. Emerging issues in water treatment and the developing technologies to address these issues will be presented. Guest speakers from industry and 2 site visits will support the module delivery. 

Content to be confirmed.

In this module, you will study how to make informed decisions under uncertainty, with a focus on the risks and challenges involved in large-scale engineering projects.

You will explore frameworks for balancing risk and benefit, particularly in contexts involving safety, environmental impact and financial or technological uncertainty. Through real-world case studies on plastics, metals, industrial minerals and energy, you will examine how innovation drives sustainable and responsible engineering solutions.