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Novel low fat food products leading to improved health and new market share using soft solid microstructures

Summary of the impact

The impact presented is the use of research carried out in the School of Chemical Engineering by a range of multinational food industries (inc. Unilever, Cargill, PepsiCo) to engineer a series of fat-reduced foods such as low fat spreads (LFS), dressings, margarine, sauces and mayonnaise. This has allowed them to build up a portfolio of novel low fat products; this portfolio would be much reduced or in some cases non-existent without the research contribution and capability generated by the Birmingham group as stated by Peter Lillford5.1 (former Chief Scientist, Unilever) and John Casey, (Vice President Biological Sciences, Unilever)5.2. These products are a significant and growing market segment e.g. LFS now outsell margarine/butter in a number of countries and are estimated to be worth globally 10 Billion Euros per year between 2008-13. Thus these products are having a significant impact on the industries' profitability. In addition, consumption of low fat foods act to tackle obesity with knock on effects for government (health service, lost GDP etc.) and the community as a whole.

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)

Creation of new ingredients for the food industry

Summary of the impact

The University of Nottingham (UoN) has developed two novel food-allowed additives based upon xanthan gum. The generation of these structurally modified forms allow xanthan to be used more efficiently in food manufacturing applications and provide nutritional and health benefits. The invention of the new xanthans benefits the global food industry by facilitating new product development and formulation.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry
Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Food Sciences

Economic impact through improved product and process development within Carron Phoenix.

Summary of the impact

Initial research into polymer nanocomposites and their formation took place at Strathclyde from 2000 - 2010. This was followed by a collaboration with the world's largest manufacturer of composite kitchen sinks, Carron Phoenix Limited, through a 6-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) which resulted in a successful new production process of its high-end synthetic granite kitchen sinks. This led to £4 million of capital investment in new production facilities at their Falkirk site, enabling the company to sustain its leading position in the designer kitchen sink market and retain its workforce of over 400 employees in central Scotland, including the 170 workers in the composite sink division in Falkirk. Within the REF period, the research has led to the manufacture and sale of in excess of one million kitchen sinks, generating sales revenue in excess of over £50M and supporting the UK economy.

Submitting Institution

University of Strathclyde

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy

Transferring biopolymer technology to the food industry

Summary of the impact

Research at the University of Nottingham (UoN) has generated a deep understanding of how semi-crystalline biopolymers, particularly starches and cellulosics, can be controlled through processing to create products with predictable behaviour and with enhanced functionality, especially for texture creation. This knowledge has been transferred to the food industry and to other manufacturers who use natural materials. Concepts developed by UoN have become the bedrock of understanding for large and small manufacturers, enabling them to reduce waste, adapt recipes allowing for cleaner labels and additive reduction, expand the range and quality of materials they can utilise and attempt novel manufacturing procedures.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Analytical Chemistry, Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry, Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)

Enval

Summary of the impact

Research conducted at the University of Cambridge under an EPSRC grant between 1999 and 2002 established the viability of using microwave induced pyrolysis as a process for recovering clean, elemental aluminium and hydrocarbon liquids and gases from waste laminate packaging, thus preventing the need to send this material to landfill. The research has been commercialised by Enval Limited — a multi-award-winning University spin-off founded in 2006 that has attracted approximately £2M funding during the REF period and employs 7 people. A pilot scale unit has been operational since 2011, and the first commercial-scale unit has been constructed and has operated since April 2013.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Materials Engineering

Supercritical Fluids – Critical Pharmaceuticals Ltd (CS1)

Summary of the impact

The University of Nottingham's School of Chemistry has developed a novel method of incorporating thermally or chemically labile biologically active substances into polymers. This has been achieved by using supercritical carbon dioxide as a medium for the synthesis and modification of polymeric materials. The method has been employed as the basis for new drug-delivery devices whose viability in the healthcare sphere has been confirmed by patient trials. The spin-out company, Critical Pharmaceuticals Ltd, has delivered a range of economic benefits, including job creation, the securing of millions of pounds' worth of investment and a number of revenue-generating research collaborations.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
Engineering: Biomedical Engineering

11. Organic Solvent Nanofiltration – A New Paradigm for Molecular Separations in Organic Liquids

Summary of the impact

Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) is a membrane separation technology used for separating molecules present in organic solvents. Research in the Livingston group has resulted in the creation of membranes with exceptional stability in organic solvents, coupled to high flux and excellent rejection performance. These membranes have been developed through to commercial products, and are manufactured by Evonik MET Ltd in the UK in a purpose-built facility in West London.

For many separations OSN uses ten times less energy than thermal methods, and can process molecules at low temperature. Through Evonik MET, OSN membranes and test equipment derived from the Imperial research have been supplied to over 100 customers including many of the major global chemical and pharmaceutical companies. For his work on OSN, Andrew Livingston received the 2009 Silver Medal of the Royal Academy of Engineering awarded "...to recognize an outstanding and demonstrated personal contribution to British engineering, which has resulted in successful market exploitation..." [7]

Submitting Institution

Imperial College London

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Analytical Chemistry, Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry
Engineering: Chemical Engineering

UOA08-07: Understanding solid-liquid reactions to improve manufacturing processes for agrochemicals at Syngenta

Summary of the impact

The cost of goods is an especially important issue in developing commercially available agrochemicals, which must be manufactured on a large scale. Richard Compton's research at the University of Oxford has led to a step change in the understanding of heterogeneous reaction mechanisms for liquid — organic solid or liquid — inorganic solid processes involved in large-scale manufacturing processes. Compton's work has had particular impact on optimising the processes used by Syngenta AG in its manufacturing of agrochemicals. Since 2008 the insights gained on inorganic-base dissolution have been of great benefit to Syngenta in its development of scalable robust manufacturing processes, particularly in relation to production of its fungicide Amistar and insecticide Actara, which are two of the world's largest selling products of this type. In 2012 Syngenta achieved total sales of over $ 14 billion, $ 4.8 billion of this from fungicide and insecticide revenues.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Chemistry

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural), Other Chemical Sciences

SmartPoint: dramatically reducing the failure rate of root canal treatments in orthodontistry

Summary of the impact

A manufacturing process developed by Bradford researchers has revolutionised the way endodontists perform root canal treatments. When coated with a hydrophilic polymer, the highly-filled hygroscopic material has enabled UK company DRFP to develop SmartPoint — a new endodontic technique that dramatically reduces failure rates of root canal treatments from 11-30% over five years to approximately 1%, and gives lower levels of post-operative pain when compared with conventional techniques. The technology has won three awards for innovation and DRFP has expanded significantly, with a dedicated production facility and sales team offering visits to dentists to demonstrate the benefits of the technology.

Submitting Institution

University of Bradford

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Interdisciplinary Engineering

Improving green chemistry for the pharmaceutical industry using enzyme biocatalysts

Summary of the impact

Biocatalysts provide unique activities that facilitate chemical transformations that are simply not possible using abiotic methods. Northumbria University researchers with expertise in enzymes and biocatalysis have provided biocatalysis services to the pharmaceutical, fine chemical, food and biofuels industries through our business facing innovation unit Nzomics. This has generated significant contract research, collaboration and licence agreements to companies, including the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and the services-led company Almac. Biocatalysts produced as a result of Northumbria University research and technology transfer are sold worldwide and benefit business through their use in research and development activities, such as the production of intermediates in drug synthesis.

Submitting Institution

Northumbria University Newcastle

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Other Chemical Sciences

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