Capabilities

DPTC works with world renowned experts across all of our partner academic institutions. These experts are well placed to support the industry in enhancing product portfolios and resilience through innovation and product differentiation.
DPTC works with world-renowned experts that bring a wealth of expertise, know-how and thought leadership to our Centre. These experts work across our multi-disciplinary, integrated research theme areas which are as follows:

Adaptive and Predictive Process Control

This Research Focus Area lays the foundations for predictive and adaptive control and management of milk supply variability and products through establishing best practice in rapid compositional analytical tools and techniques, milk adaption (next generation of milk standardisation), data generation and management, and predictive analytics leading to accurate process models and a better understanding of process variability.

Academic Lead
Prof. Diarmuid Sheehan

Teagasc

Sustainable Milk Processing

The aim of this Research Focus Area is to initialise a system change within the whole process chain for dairy products by closing loops and recovering and re-using resources, such as energy, water and nutrients, reducing chemical loading through minimal processing and clean design. Achieving the aim will involve the integration of economically and environmentally innovative technological models, processes and equipment.

Academic Lead
Prof. Vincent O’Flaherty

University of Galway

Dairy Industry Contaminants of Emerging Concern (DICE) – Emerging Contaminants Forum

Identify the real food safety risks to the dairy industry from emerging contaminants, act early to assess proposed regulatory limits, focus industry member’s business resources on identifying and managing emerging risks, use industry’s pooled knowledge to quickly identify the external experts that need to be engaged with to evaluate the risk, and proactively address customer and regulatory challenges that may be faced.

Academic Lead
Prof. Enda Cummins

UCD

For further details of DPTC world-renowned experts and core capabilities see the following:
PROCESS OPTIMISATION USING DATA CAPTURE AND ANALYTICS
People, culture and technologies are essential components of digital transformation. The operational approach of DPTC research programme encompasses all three components to support our partners on their digital transformation journeys. This will enhance Irish dairy processing companies efficiency of product, processing and sustainability. DPTC achieves this through the delivery industry led research projects and our Knowledge Transfer initiatives. We apply novel technologies such as process analytical tools and data visualisation to deliver bespoke programmes.

MILK POWDER PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISATION

Milk powder production involves the removal of water from milk solids, leaving a product that is easily transportable, small in volume and has a long shelf-life, where current drying techniques require energy intensive processes. DPTC are working on research that identifies low energy and high efficiency powder processing techniques. Through a network of vendors and suppliers, the DPTC are collaborating to leverage best in class powder characterisation methods.
CARBON, NUTRIENT AND ODOUR MANAGEMENT

Supporting the dairy industry to achieve Irelands Carbon Action Plan targets is an essential mission in the DPTC. The development of sustainable systems, processes and technologies to mitigate and reduce carbon and odour from current and new products is an integral theme in the DPTC. Novel technologies are been developed and tested to recover and reuse nutrients produced during processing.

DIGITAL TWIN AND PROCESS MODELLING

Modelling of dairy production processes is seen as a method to significantly improve on dairy producers efficiency, competitive advantage and sustainability targets. The DPTC are at the forefront of dairy process modelling, utilising unique capabilities in machine learning for adaptive process control. Digital twin developed through mechanistic models are utilised to accelerate new product design, and control existing production processes. Using varying modelling methods based on chemo-physical models and numerical simulations from food science, process modelling provides information about the actual dairy products been produced and supports real-time feedback to the process operation.

ENERGY, WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT
The DPTC are working towards a sustainable manufacturing approach to dairy production. Wastewater is now recognised as a resource for many valuable materials such as reuse of water, nutrient recovery and valorisation, feedstocks for bioplastics, and chemical energy and heat efficiency. The DPTC proactively seeks out techniques and technologies to improve the systems and processes the dairy processing industry apply to collect, treat and valorise wastewater.
View DPTC Specialists

Assoc Prof. Tom Curran

Prof. Mark Fenelon

Dr Sean Hogan

Prof. Aoife Gowen

Prof. Alan Kelly

Prof. Kieran Kilcawley

Prof. J.J. Leahy

Dr Matteo Lusi

Dr Jonathan Magan

Dr Eoin Murphy

Dr Tom O’Callaghan

Prof. Colm O’Donnell

Prof. Vincent O’Flaherty

Prof. Seamus O’Mahony

Dr Norah O’Shea

Prof. Ramesh Padamati

Dr Orest Shardt

Prof. Diarmuid Sheehan

Dr Mark Southern

Dr John Tobin

Prof. Vivek Ranade

Dr Alan Ryan