Project Description

The aim of the project is to improve the competitiveness of the date fruit industry by adding value to lost dates and processing byproducts. Both existing and improved ingredients from lost raw materials in the date fruit processing industry will be evaluated for functional products especially with focus on the fiber and phenolic antioxidant contents. The main focus will be on the application of emerging technologies (microwave drying, membrane technology…) to add value to lost dates and processing byproducts. Within this project, the Ph.D. candidate will be part of a collaboration with local and international teams (Masdar Institute, UAE; Queensland University of Technology, Australia). The project will consist of two aspects; (a) processing and characterization (heat & mass transfer, comsol Multiphysics), & (b) development of new functional foods, consumer acceptance and attitude.