Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research
Project Number: 2030-30600-005-004-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2024
End Date: Dec 31, 2026
Objective:
(1) Conduct techno-economic analysis to evaluate the economic feasibility of upcycling industrial processing byproducts to plant-based proteins.
(2) Determine the impact of plant-protein incorporation across varied food matrices on essential product qualities and assess its techno-economic feasibility.
Approach:
Task 1 Develop process models to quantify the chemical and energy utilizations of plant-based protein production.
Under this task, we will design the process flow diagram, conduct the process simulation, and determine the economics of protein production from different food processing byproducts. Material, energy balance, and flow rate information will be quantified based on the simulation of heat and mass balances using SuperPro Designer®. The data will be translated into the production cost of the plant-based protein.
Task 2: Determine the impact of plant-protein incorporation across varied food matrices on essential product qualities and assess its techno-economic feasibility. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will conduct experiments to incorporate plant-based proteins into different food matrices (e.g., beverage, bakery, snacks) at different inclusion levels under matrix-appropriate conditions. Essential attributes, such as nutritional composition, texture, color, digestibility, and sensory properties, will be quantified. Techno-economic aspects will be incorporated to assess the economic feasibility of plant-based protein incorporation in food products.