The demand for quality milk products is increasing throughout the world. Food patterns are changing from eating plant protein to animal protein due to increasing incomes around the world, and the production of milk and milk products is expanding with leaps and bounds. This book presents an array of recent developments and emerging topics in the processing and manufacturing of milk and dairy products. The volume also devotes a special section on alternative energy sources for dairy production along with solutions for energy conservation.

With contributions for leading scientists and researchers in the field of dairy science and technology, this valuable compendium covers

• innovative techniques in dairy engineering
• processing methods and their applications in dairy industry
• energy use in dairy engineering: sources, conservation, and requirements

In line with the modern industrial trends, new processes and corresponding new equipment are reviewed. The volume also looks at the development of highly sensitive measuring and control devices have made it possible to incorporate automatic operation with high degree of mechanization to meet the huge demand of quality milk and milk products.

Processing Technologies for Milk and Milk Products: Methods, Applications, and Energy Usage will be a valuable resource for those in those involved in the research and production of milk and milk products.

Ashok Kumar Agrawal, PhD, is a distinguished engineer, researcher, and professor of dairy engineering at the College of Dairy Science and Food Technology at Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu University-Durg, Raipur, in India, where he heads the Dairy Engineering Department. He also served as Dean of the college. Dr. Agrawal is also acting as Principal Investigator of the National Agricultural Development Project on the operation of small milk processing plants with the utilization of solar energy. He is a life member of the Indian Dairy Engineers Association, the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, and the Indian Dairy Association.

His major areas of research are parboiling and storage studies of granular and horticultural crops. He is engaged in the teaching of various dairy and food engineering courses to undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students. He has supervised about 20 students for their research work leading to advanced degrees in dairy engineering and agricultural process and food engineering.
He has edited the proceedings of the National Conference on Dairy Engineers for the Cause of Rural India and the 5th Convention of the Indian Dairy Engineers Association. He has published about 60 research papers in national and international journals; 25 research articles in national and international conferences/symposiums as well as some popular articles. Dr. Agrawal is also a reviewer for some several journal, including the Indian Journal of Dairy Science and the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. He was conferred a Best Teacher Award by his own university and has received awards for his presentations at many national and international conferences.

He obtained his BTech (Agricultural Engineering) degree from the College of Agricultural Engineering, J. N. Agricultural University, Jabalpur, India; his MTech (Postharvest Engineering) degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India; and his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology in Dairy and Food Engineering. In his PhD research, he worked on development of double wall basket centrifuge for pressing and chilling for batch production of Indian cheese (paneer).

Megh R. Goyal, PhD, PE, is a Retired Professor in Agricultural and Biomedical Engineering from the General Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus; and Senior Acquisitions Editor and Senior Technical Editor-in-Chief in Agriculture and Biomedical Engineering for Apple Academic Press Inc. He has worked as a Soil Conservation Inspector and as a Research Assistant at Haryana Agricultural University and Ohio State University. He was the first agricultural engineer to receive the professional license in Agricultural Engineering in 1986 from the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. On September 16, 2005, he was proclaimed as "Father of Irrigation Engineering in Puerto Rico for the twentieth century" by the ASABE, Puerto Rico Section, for his pioneering work on micro irrigation, evapotranspiration, agroclimatology, and soil and water engineering. During his professional career of 45 years, he has received many prestigious awards. A prolific author and editor, he has written more than 200 journal articles and textbooks and has edited over 25 books. He received his BSc degree in engineering from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India; his MSc and PhD degrees from Ohio State University, Columbus; and his Master of Divinity degree from Puerto Rico Evangelical Seminary, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, USA.