| Semester 1, 2023 Toowoomba On-campus | |
| Units : | 1 |
| School or Department : | School of Agriculture and Environmental Science |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Course Coordinator:
Overview
The handling, grading, storage, packaging and processing of agricultural produce are all important parts of the agricultural production and distribution system and frequently involve costs in excess of those associated with simply growing the crop. A knowledge of the physiological, physical, thermal, aerodynamic, rheological, electrical and optical properties of agricultural materials is highly relevant to these areas. Such knowledge may be used for the purposes of devising techniques for grading, sorting, separation and the design of packaging to prevent possible product damage. Various post harvest treatments are investigated. The fundamentals of waste management and life-cycle environmental assessments and some basic aspects of food processing technology are also considered. The course uses real world data sets from both field and lab work to show how the theory is related to practice.
Course learning outcomes
The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. On completion of this course, student should be able to:
- list and define the relevant physical properties of agricultural materials;
- calculate rheological parameters;
- discuss the causes and consequences of mechanical damage;
- determine the requirements for good packaging;
- understand the principles of separation, sorting and grading;
- describe aerodynamic and hydrodynamic characteristics;
- describe and measure material properties of granular materials, and understand their dynamic and static behaviour;
- compare various materials handling systems;
- discuss the requirements for proper post harvest management of crops and fruits;
- understand the physiological and environmental factors influencing quality of horticultural produce and specify appropriate post harvest technology;
- measure and calculate the product cooling rate and specify the cool store design requirements;
- discuss the principles of waste management and its environmental impact;
- describe available technologies for food preservation and processing and their commercial use;
- understand the concept and applications of life-cycle environmental assessments.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Basic properties and structure of agricultural materials | 5.00 |
| 2. | Rheological properties of agricultural materials | 10.00 |
| 3. | Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic properties of agricultural materials | 10.00 |
| 4. | Mechanical damage | 15.00 |
| 5. | Grading and separation processes | 5.00 |
| 6. | Packaging and transport of agricultural products | 10.00 |
| 7. | Cooling and Coolstore Design | 10.00 |
| 8. | Behaviour and handling of granular materials | 10.00 |
| 9. | Bulk storage of granular materials | 10.00 |
| 10. | Food preservation and processing technology | 5.00 |
| 11. | Agricultural waste management | 5.00 |
| 12. | Life-cycle environmental assessments | 5.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Problem Solving 1 | No | 20 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Problem Solving 2 | No | 50 | 6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 |
| Problem Solving 3 | No | 30 | 6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 |