PPGECAL has expanded its structure by raising funds from funding agencies and UESB. In line with the institutional PDI, it has worked with the Pro-Rectory of Research, Graduate Studies and Innovation of UESB (PROPPI) and participated in institutional calls for proposals from Capes, Finep and Fapesb, and has been regularly benefited. In addition, its faculty has approved support for research projects in several calls for proposals. All laboratories are air-conditioned.

The main structures are highlighted below:

Center for Development and Dissemination of Technologies (CEDETEC):

PPGECAL’s multi-user structure, CEDETEC has a space of approximately 300m² for the assembly of pilot processing plants and has a boiler. It includes a pilot spray dryer, membrane filtration system, tray freeze dryer and ultra-freezer, tray dryers, BOD ovens, forced circulation oven and autoclave. Equipment for processing fruit and dairy products is also available (pilot plants) (pulper, stainless steel casing with agitation, stainless steel tables and benches, scales, tray dryer with air flow control, industrial stove, yogurt maker, cheese pan).

CEDETEC also has a food analysis laboratory to support operations in the pilot plants and an air-conditioned laboratory with equipment for processing meat and other products, as well as a classroom for training.

Multi-user Center for Support in Analysis in Food Technology, Engineering and Science (CENTECAL)

The greatest advancement in PPGECAL’s infrastructure came from its team’s understanding of working on sharing equipment with a multi-user nature, to enable its use and maintenance in an optimized manner. Thus, the multi-user structure of PPGECAL was aggregated into CENTECAL, a laboratory registered on the MCTI PNIPE Platform (https://pnipe.mcti.gov.br/laboratory/8180). CENTECAL has subdivisions in smaller laboratories that aggregate sets of related analyses:

Materials Testing Laboratory – It has a scale and two texturometers/universal testing machines, capable of performing mechanical, texture and rheology tests. A Rheometer was recently installed, approved in a Finep Infra public notice.

Food Physical Properties Laboratory – It has a vacuum drying oven, Brokfield DVII PRO viscometer, Hunterlab Colorquest XL colorimeter, AQUALAB water activity tester, bench refractometer, thermostatic bath, pH meter, rotary evaporator, osmotic dehydration reactor, scales, thermal conductivity meter and spectrofluorimeter.

Thermal and Calorimetric Analysis Lab – It has an ITC, TAM III isothermal titration microcalorimeter (TA Instruments) and a Linseis PT1000 TG/DTA and a DSC (TA Instruments), recently installed, approved by Finep Infra Public Notice.

Chromatographic Analysis Lab – It has an IR and UV-Vis HPLC, and in the process of being installed (by April 2025), a UV-Vis and Fluorescence HPLC, and a triple quadrupole HPLC/MS/MS, equipment approved by Finep Infra Public Notice.

PPGECAL also has laboratories directly linked to the Program’s advisors and collaborators, in addition to the structure used in partnerships. All laboratories are air-conditioned. The main structures are highlighted below:

Agroindustrial Waste Laboratory – It has thermal baths; vacuum pumps; UV darkroom; incubation and sterilization ovens; rotary evaporator; refrigerated incubators with orbital agitation; spectrophotometers; shaking tables with temperature control; water baths; laminar flow hood; refrigerated centrifuges; climatic chamber; refrigerated trap; electrophoresis; knife mill; pH meter; flash point determiner; petroleum derivatives distiller; exhaust hood and others.

Process Engineering Laboratory – Includes a ring tensiometer (Kruss), AktaPure preparative chromatograph (GE), Anton-Paar digital densimeter, gel electrophoresis, IR moisture analyzer, scales, thermostatic baths, ultrasonic bath, COD digestion block, BOD ovens, ovens, peristaltic pump, centrifuges (one refrigerated), electrical conductivity meter, water distiller, spectrophotometers, muffle furnaces (one with nitrogen flow), pH meter, bench refractometer, thermocouples, microwave oven, caliper, micrometer, vacuum pumps and vacuum filtration system.

Milk and Dairy Processing Laboratory and Milk Quality Control Laboratory – Includes incubators, gel electrophoresis and photodocumentation, cryoscope, lactoskan, scales, water baths, centrifuge for butyrometers, freeze dryer, vacuum sealer, stove, multiprocessor, blender, computers, data show. It also has an FTIR spectrophotometer, somatic cell analyzer and total bacterial count in milk and a rapid milk composition analyzer (Dairyspeed FT) in addition to an HPLC/UV-Vis chromatograph.

Chocolate Processing Laboratory/Pilot Plant – Includes tempering machine, 4 melangers, scales, moisture determination scale, BOD oven, refrigerator and others.

Food Chemistry and Biochemistry Laboratory – Includes capillary electrophoresis equipment, calorimetric pump, spectrophotometer, ICP (Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer) mineral analyzer, scales, knife mill, rotary evaporators, extractors, filtration systems and others.

Sensory Analysis Laboratory – Includes individual booths for sensory analysis/tasting, with white and red lighting, 3 PCs, meeting table and discussion of projects and focus groups, pH meter and bain-marie.

Food Analysis Laboratory – Includes equipment for determining proteins, fats, extraction, gravimetric and titrimetric analyses, scales, oven, fume hood, spectrophotometer, pH meter and ultraturrax homogenizer.

Plant-Based Product Technology Laboratory – has equipment for bench-level processing (dryer, processor, blender, sieves, pans, etc.).

Drying and Baking Laboratory/Pilot Plant – Includes scales, pH meter, industrial stove, kneader, incubator, oven, baking trays, refrigerator, stainless steel work tables and tray dryer.

Microbiology Laboratory – Provides support for postgraduate classes and analysis in experiments.

Goat and Sheep Experimental Unit – Includes a physical-chemical and microbiological analysis laboratory, slaughter room, changing room, cooling chamber, processing, study and sample storage rooms.

In addition to the above, we have multi-user infrastructure available at UESB, when necessary. We have access to liquid and gas chromatographs coupled to mass spectrometry or not, NIR, benchtop Scanning Electron Microscope, atomic emission and atomic absorption spectrophotometry, XRD diffractometer, among others. We also have the structure of partners to complement experiments.