Res. Agr. Eng., 2020, 66(2):66-71 | DOI: 10.17221/52/2019-RAE

Effectiveness of an evaporative charcoal cooler for the postharvest preservation of tomatoes and kalesOriginal Paper

Erick Kiplangat Ronoh*, Christopher Luchebeleli Kanali, Samuel Njuguna Ndirangu
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, School of Biosystems and Environmental Engineering, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

The preservation of fresh produce can provide rural households with better diets all-year round and income by reducing their deterioration. Promotion of low-cost temporary storage technologies requires evidence of their effectiveness to attain conducive conditions. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of an evaporative charcoal cooler for the preservation of tomatoes and kales. The cooler microclimate and outdoor conditions were investigated by measuring the air temperature and relative humidity. During the study period, the maximum temperature difference between the cooler and the outdoors was found to be 9.2 °C while the maximum relative humidity difference was 36.8%. Due to the presence of light rain and, consequently, low solar radiation, the temperature and relative humidity differences were significantly reduced. Despite the light rain, the cooler still registered a maximum relative humidity of 83.5% and a maximum cooling efficiency of 91.5%. Overall, the cooler demonstrated promising results in terms of favourable microclimate conditions, the shelf-life and colour changes for tomatoes and kales.

Keywords: cooling; efficiency; fresh produce; quality; storage

Published: June 30, 2020  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Ronoh EK, Kanali CL, Ndirangu SN. Effectiveness of an evaporative charcoal cooler for the postharvest preservation of tomatoes and kales. Res. Agr. Eng. 2020;66(2):66-71. doi: 10.17221/52/2019-RAE.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Ahmed E.M., Abaas O., Ahmed M., Ismail M.R. (2011): Performance evaluation of three different types of local evaporative cooling pads in greenhouses in Sudan. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 18: 45-51. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. Ambuko J., Wanjiru F., Chemining'wa G.N., Owino W.O., Mwachoni, E. (2017): Preservation of postharvest quality of leafy amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) vegetables using evaporative cooling. Journal of Food Quality, 2017: 1-6. Go to original source...
    3. ASHRAE (1997): Handbook of fundamentals. American Society of Heating; Revised Edition (IP) Atlanta, ASHRAE.
    4. Basediya A.L., Samuel D.V.K., Beera V. (2013): Evaporative cooling system for storage of fruits and vegetables - a review. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 50: 429-442. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. Herrmann S., Kretzschmar H.-J., Gatley D.P. (2011): Thermodynamic properties of real moist air, dry air, steam, water, and ice (RP-1485). HVAC&R Research, 15: 961-986. Go to original source...
    6. Kanali C., Kituu G., Mutwiwa U., Mung'atu J., Ronoh E., Njuguna S., Kamwere M., Mulamu L. (2017): Energy efficient rural food processing utilising renewable energy to improve rural livelihoods in Kenya. RE4Food (Renewable Energy for Food Processing) project. Available at http://www.jkuat.ac.ke/departments/abed/re4food
    7. Liberty J.T., Okonkwo W.I., Echiegu E.A. (2013): Evaporative cooling: A postharvest technology for fruits and vegetables preservation. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 4: 2257-2266.
    8. Manyozo F.N., Ambuko J., Hutchinson M.J., Kamanula J.F. (2018): Effectiveness of evaporative cooling technologies to preserve the postharvest quality of tomato. International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research, 13: 114-127.
    9. Mehere S.V., Mudafale K.P., Prayagi S.V. (2014): Review of direct evaporative cooling system with its applications. International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, 2: 995-999.
    10. Ndukvu M.C., Manuwa S.I. (2015): Impact of evaporative cooling preservation on the shelf life of fruits and vegetable in South Western Nigeria. Research in Agricultural Engineering, 61: 122-128. Go to original source...
    11. Pashiardis S., Kalogirou S.A., Pelengaris A. (2017): Characteristics of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) through statistical analysis at Larnaca, Cyprus. SM Journal of Biometrics and Biostatistics, 2: 1009. Go to original source...
    12. Ren X., He H., Zhang L., Yu G. (2018): Global radiation, photosynthetically active radiation, and the diffuse component dataset of China, 1981-2010. Earth System Science Data, 10: 1217-1226. Go to original source...
    13. Ronoh E.K., Kanali C.L., Ndirangu S.N., Mang'oka S.M., John A.W. (2018): Performance evaluation of an evaporative charcoal cooler and its effects on quality of leafy vegetables. Journal of Postharvest Technology, 6: 60-69.
    14. Tigist M., Workneh T.S., Woldetsadik K. (2013): Effects of variety on the quality of tomato under ambient conditions. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 50: 477-486. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. Von Zabeltitz C. (2011): Integrated greenhouse systems for mild climates. Berlin, Springer-Verlag GmbH. Go to original source...
    16. Wills R.B.H., Golding J. (2016): Postharvest: An Introduction to the Physiology and Handling of Fruit and Vegetables. 6th edition. Sydney, UNSW Press. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content