Course coordinator
Dr Alberto Baldelli
Consultation is by appointment. To make an appointment, please email.
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Agriculture and Food Sustainability School
Physical principles, associated calculations & basic equipment relevant to food processing operations, including heat transfer & heat exchangers, thermodynamics, gases & vapours, steam, psychrometry, mass & energy balances, fluids & fluid flow, basic rheology, refrigeration, & instrumentation & control.
FOOD3023 replaces FOOD2003 — Food Process Engineering I from 2021 onwards.
This course involves the fundamental learnings on physical principles, associated calculations & basic equipment relevant to food processing operations, including basics of material properties, thermodynamics, mass and energy balance, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, refrigeration and evaporation food processing systems, psychrometry, separation processes, resources sustainability and instruments and process control.
Course requirements
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
FOOD1001
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
FOOD2003, FOOD7123 (Co-taught)
Jointly taught details
This course is jointly-taught with:
This course is co-taught with FOOD7123, and both courses share the same lectures and tutorials.
However, the mid-semester and final examinations will be different for each course. Additionally, the poster assessment differs between the two courses. In this course, only one poster is required, and there are no mandatory references or report submission. Furthermore, students must work in groups of four for the poster assignment.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Alberto Baldelli
Demonstrator
Ms Sanstuti Prasad
Ms Shuting (Tina) Xu
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The aim of the subject is to provide students with an overview of food engineering principles and processes involved in the manufacture of food products and to provide practice in the use of these principles to solve real industrial problems.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Apply the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, units and dimensions, and the theory of fluid mechanics in practical situations in food engineering.
LO2.
Apply the basics of heat and mass transfer in the use of different techniques in food processing.
LO3.
Describe the concepts of phase and state transitions in foods, food freezing, interfacial phenomena in food to the structure and properties of food materials.
LO4.
Evaluate separation processes, resources sustainability, control processes and instruments used in food processing.
LO5.
Demonstrate problem-solving skills and critical thinking by correctly evaluating problems, performing necessary calculations, and assessing practical situations in food engineering.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination |
In-semester Examination
|
35% (Modules 1 to 5) |
2/04/2025 8:00 am
See Timetable for Venue details. |
| Presentation, Poster |
Presentation (poster style)
|
20% |
30/05/2025 5:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final Examination
|
45% (Modules 6 to 12) |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
In-semester Examination
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 35% (Modules 1 to 5)
- Due date
2/04/2025 8:00 am
See Timetable for Venue details.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02
Task description
This assessment will evaluate students on their theoretical knowledge from Modules 1 to 5, covering content from both lectures and tutorials.
Exam Details:
- The mid-term exam consists of 16 questions, including:
- 6 to 7 open-ended questions
- The remaining questions will be numerical exercises
- Duration: 90 minutes
- In-Person Attendance Required:
- Students must attend the exam in person.
- A UQ student ID card is required for verification.
Hurdle requirements
The In-semester and Final examinations share a combined hurdle of 50% for passing the course. Refer to additional course grading information: Course Grading Rules and Assessment Hurdles for further details on the hurdle.Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | Casio FX82 series calculator only |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Presentation (poster style)
- Identity Verified
- Team or group-based
- Online
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Presentation, Poster
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
30/05/2025 5:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L05
Task description
This assessment covers Modules 1 to 12 and evaluates students on teamwork (group of 4) and their practical understanding of key course concepts.
Assessment Details:
Students must create a poster and record an oral presentation following this structure:
- Introduction, Experimental Setup, Main Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
- The assessment focuses on home-based experiments, introduced during the Week 6 tutorial.
- Experiments will be conducted in groups of four, and the final mark will be shared equally among all group members.
- No written report is required.
Marking criteria:
Clarity of speech (25%): This refers to how engaging the speech is - every individual should say something.
Content (30%): This refers to the understanding of the home-made experiment and the theory behind it.
Style and layout (30%): This refers to the quality of pictures, images, layout, and flow.
Critical point of view (15%): explanation of why certain events and provide reasons and solutions.
Submission guidelines
Submission Instructions:
- You can submit multiple times; the final uploaded version will be marked.
- To avoid duplications, ONE student from each group does the submission.
- Please follow the guide shared in blackboard to submit the file (power point file with video recorded included). You can upload your video file to Echo along the way.
Student Guide:
- Submit a Video with EchoVideo
- There are several steps in the process, so allow yourself plenty of time to ensure you complete the process before the submission deadline.
Technical issue?
- Contact the UQ Library AskUs Team
Groups will be formed within the first five weeks of the course. Details on the submission process will be provided on Blackboard and explained during the Week 6 tutorial.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Final Examination
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 45% (Modules 6 to 12)
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L03, L04
Task description
The final examination will assess content from Modules 6 to 12.
Exam Details:
- The exam will be conducted on campus, and students must attend in person.
- A UQ student ID card is required for verification.
- The exam consists of 16 questions, including:
- 6 to 7 open-ended questions
- The remaining questions will be numerical exercises
- Duration: 90 minutes.
Hurdle requirements
The In-semester and Final examinations share a combined hurdle of 50% for passing the course. Refer to additional course grading information: Course Grading Rules and Assessment Hurdles for further details on the hurdle.Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | Casio FX82 series calculator only |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 0 - 34% |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 35 - 46% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: 47% - 49% OR failure to meet course hurdle requirement. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 50% - 64% |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 65% - 74% |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 75% - 84% |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 85% - 100% |
Additional course grading information
COURSE GRADING RULES AND ASSESSMENT HURDLES
Students must achieve an average pass mark (50% or above) taking into account their score for both In-semester and End-of-semester exams, in order to pass this course.
In other words, if students achieve below 50% for either of the In-semester or End-of-semester exams, but their average of the combined marks of both In-semester and End-of-semester exams is 50% or above, the student will pass this course assessment hurdle.
If a student obtains an overall percentage greater than the cut-offs set to achieve a 4 or higher for the course based on marks from a combination of other assessment/s and the In-semester and End of semester exams, but the student does NOT score a passing mark in the combined In-semester and End of semester exams, they are unable to achieve a grade higher than a 3 (failing grade) for the course.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Assignment writing
You must not re-use past work from previous assessments in your assignments. You are encouraged to:
- read the instructions for assignments carefully and ensure that you address all the requirements,
- refer to references both in the readings and beyond, and cite references in the appropriate manner,
- reflect on your own experience and provide insight and critical thinking,
- write clearly and concisely.
Turnitin Assignments
Assignments that are required to be submitted through TurnItIn, must only be uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the relevant course Blackboard site. ﾠIf you submit any version of your assessment item to any other Turnitin link, this is considered cheating, and you will be held liable for this action.
Release of marks
Unless specifically indicated by the course coordinator, every attempt will be made to have the results for progressive assessment available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will not be available until grades release day. Results and feedback availability will be advised to you by email or announced via the course Blackboard site.
Re-mark Applications – refer to the University's Re-mark Policy to check your eligibility.
Remark applications will not be considered without first having contacted your Course Co-ordinator.
Information for students can be found at : https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/querying-result
Deferred and Supplementary assessment (including Deferred Examinations)
Deferred and Supplementary information can be located on the my.UQ website
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Lecture |
Lectures Explanation of the following subjects: material properties, thermodynamics, mass and energy balance, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass transfer, psychrometry, sustainable processes, refrigeration, dehydration, and evaporation systems, sustainability, and instrument control. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial Development of exercises on the following subjects: material properties, thermodynamics, mass and energy balance, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass transfer, psychrometry, sustainable processes, refrigeration, dehydration, and evaporation systems, sustainability, and instrument control. Learning outcomes: L05 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.