Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Agronomy, Food Science & Technology, Horticulture, Agriculture, Computational fluid dynamics, Package design, Cold chain, Airflow short-circuits, Vent holes, Convective transfer, HEAT-TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS, CFD MODELING SYSTEM, AIR-FLOW PATTERNS, HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS, 1-MCP DISTRIBUTION, FOOD-INDUSTRY, MASS-TRANSFER, FRESH FOODS, TEMPERATURE, DESIGN, 0703 Crop and Pasture Production, 0706 Horticultural Production, 3008 Horticultural production

Abstract:

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A promising cold-chain protocol is explored as an alternative to the commonly-used forced-air pre-cooling (FAC) of citrus fruit prior to shipping: ambient loading of fruit in reefer containers for cooling during long-haul marine transport. Despite the multiple logistical and economical savings it provides, the potential of "ambient loading" of fruit in reefer containers has been left largely unexplored. The present study targets this practice, but also cooling by vertical airflow in general. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to identify differences in cooling rate and uniformity between individual boxes at different heights on a pallet and between individual fruit within a single box. Simulations show that low airflow rates, typical for refrigerated containers, do not only induce slower fruit cooling, compared to FAC airflow rates, but also the cooling heterogeneity between different layers of boxes (in height) and between individual fruit in a single box is larger. In addition, the presence of gaps between pallets invokes airflow short-circuiting, leading to highly reduced fruit cooling rates. Finally, strategies for future improvement of the ambient loading protocol are proposed, which in the first place should target faster and more uniform cooling.