Professor Peter Fryer MA PhD FREng FIChemE FIFST

School of Chemical Engineering
Professor of Chemical Engineering

Contact details

Address
School of Chemical Engineering
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Qualifications

  • MA,MEng Chemical Engineering, Jesus College, Cambridge, 1981
  • PhD: Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Cambridge, 1986

Postgraduate supervision

Peter Fryer’s main research interest is in the hygienic design of food processes, food structure development and food manufacture. The aim of his research is to apply the principles of chemical engineering to the problems of the food industry. The food industry differs from conventional process industries in that product safety is as important as process safety (eg, his team study the hygienic design of processes and the ways in which sterility of products can be assured). They have developed (with Professor Z Zhang) a novel probe for measuring the forces needed to clean surfaces; work is underway to use this understanding to better define cleaning procedures. The team are also looking at how to assess safety, using enzyme measurements, and how to build mathematical models for processes. Currently a large (£3.6 million) project is underway, supported by Cadbury, Unilever, Scottish and Newcastle Brewery, GSK, Bruker, Ecolab, Alfa Laval and GEA, to design more environmentally friendly ways of cleaning.

Other activities

  • Council Member, BBSRC
  • Editor, "Food and Bioproducts Processing", Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Part C
  • Member of the Editorial Board, "Journal of Food Engineering", Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, Soft Matter
  • IChemE representative, International Conference on Engineering and Food

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Al-Shemmeri, M, Windows-Yule, K, Lopez-Quiroga, E & Fryer, PJ 2023, 'Coffee bean particle motion in a rotating drum measured using Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT)', Food Research International, vol. 163, 112253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112253

Avila-Sierra, A, Moreno, JA, Goode, K, Zhu, T, Fryer, PJ, Taylor, A & Zhang, ZJ 2023, 'Effects of structural and chemical properties of surface coatings on the adsorption characteristics of proteins', Surface and Coatings Technology, vol. 452, 129054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2022.129054

Labarre, L, Squillace, O, Liu, Y, Fryer, PJ, Kaur, P, Whitaker, S, Marsh, JM & Zhang, ZJ 2023, 'Hair surface interactions against different chemical functional groups as a function of environment and hair condition', International Journal of Cosmetic Science, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 224-235. https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12834

Bistis, P, Cabedo, PA, Bakalis, S, Groombridge, M, Zhang, ZJ & Fryer, PJ 2024, 'Mechanical cleaning of food soil from a solid surface: A tribological perspective', Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 366, 111858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2023.111858

Che, H, Al-Shemmeri, M, Fryer, PJ, Lopez-Quiroga, E, Kokalova, T & Windows-Yule, K 2023, 'PEPT validated CFD-DEM model of aspherical particle motion in a spouted bed', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 453, 139689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.139689

Qi, S, Kiratzis, I, Adoni, P, Tuekprakhon, A, Hill, HJ, Stamataki, Z, Nabi, A, Waugh, D, Rodriguez, JR, Clarke, SM, Fryer, PJ & Zhang, ZJ 2023, 'Porous Cellulose Thin Films as Sustainable and Effective Antimicrobial Surface Coatings', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c23251

Kosmidis Papadimitriou, A, Qi, S, Squillace, O, Rosik, N, Bale, M, Fryer, P & Zhang, J 2022, 'Characteristics of respiratory microdroplet nuclei on common substrates', Interface Focus, vol. 12, no. 1, 20210044. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2021.0044

Wilson, DI, Christie, G, Fryer, PJ, Hall, IM, Landel, JR & Whitehead, KA 2022, 'Lessons to learn from roadmapping in cleaning and decontamination', Food and Bioproducts Processing, vol. 135, pp. 156-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbp.2022.07.011

Argentou, E, Amador, C, Brooker, ADM, Bakalis, S, Fryer, P & Zhang, J 2022, 'Modulating the surface and mechanical properties of textile by oil-in-water emulsion design', RSC Advances, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 2160-2170. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1RA07961A

Al-Shemmeri, M, Windows-Yule, C, Lopez-Quiroga, E & Fryer, P 2021, 'Coffee bean particle motion in a spouted bed measured using Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT)', Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 311, 110709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2021.110709

Jones, CR, Corona, A, Amador, C & Fryer, PJ 2021, 'Dynamics of fabric and dryer sheet motion in domestic clothes dryers', Drying Technology, pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2021.1918706

Avila-Sierra, A, Zhang, J & Fryer, P 2021, 'Effect of surface roughness and temperature on stainless steel - whey protein interfacial interactions under pasteurisation conditions', Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 301, 110542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2021.110542, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2021.110542

Avila-Sierra, A, Huellemeier, HA, Zhang, ZJ, Heldman, DR & Fryer, PJ 2021, 'Molecular Understanding of Fouling Induction and Removal: Effect of the Interface Temperature on Milk Deposits', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 13, no. 30, pp. 35506-35517. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c09553

Conference contribution

Beverly, D, Fryer, PJ, Bakalis, S, Farr, R & Lopez-Quiroga, E 2022, Optimisation of Coffee Aroma Extraction for the Manufacture of Instant Coffee. in JFM Van Impe & ME Polanska (eds), 12th International Conference on Simulation and Modelling in the Food and Bio-Industry, FOODSIM 2022. EUROSIS Conference Proceedings, EUROSIS, pp. 61-63, 12th International Conference on Simulation and Modelling in the Food and Bio-Industry, FOODSIM 2022, Ghent, Belgium, 3/04/22. <https://www.eurosis.org/cms/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/58#FOODSIM>

Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary

Bakalis, S, Fryer, PJ & Lopez-Quiroga, E 2022, Heat treatment of milk: Microwave technology and ohmic heating. in PLH McSweeney & JP McNamara (eds), Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences. 3 edn, vol. 4, Elsevier, pp. 639-644. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818766-1.00361-5

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