WO2000007907A1 - Improvements in and relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products - Google Patents

Improvements in and relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2000007907A1
WO2000007907A1 PCT/GB1999/002460 GB9902460W WO0007907A1 WO 2000007907 A1 WO2000007907 A1 WO 2000007907A1 GB 9902460 W GB9902460 W GB 9902460W WO 0007907 A1 WO0007907 A1 WO 0007907A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
water
absorbing agent
agent
water absorbing
storage
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1999/002460
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Robert Banks
Original Assignee
R & J Banks Consultants Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by R & J Banks Consultants Limited filed Critical R & J Banks Consultants Limited
Priority to AU51765/99A priority Critical patent/AU5176599A/en
Publication of WO2000007907A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000007907A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D88/00—Large containers
    • B65D88/74—Large containers having means for heating, cooling, aerating or other conditioning of contents
    • B65D88/745—Large containers having means for heating, cooling, aerating or other conditioning of contents blowing or injecting heating, cooling or other conditioning fluid inside the container
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J20/00—Solid sorbent compositions or filter aid compositions; Sorbents for chromatography; Processes for preparing, regenerating or reactivating thereof
    • B01J20/22—Solid sorbent compositions or filter aid compositions; Sorbents for chromatography; Processes for preparing, regenerating or reactivating thereof comprising organic material
    • B01J20/26—Synthetic macromolecular compounds
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D2588/00—Large container
    • B65D2588/74—Large container having means for heating, cooling, aerating or other conditioning of contents
    • B65D2588/743—Large container having means for heating, cooling, aerating or other conditioning of contents blowing or injecting heating, cooling or other conditioning fluid inside the container
    • B65D2588/746—Large container having means for heating, cooling, aerating or other conditioning of contents blowing or injecting heating, cooling or other conditioning fluid inside the container with additional treatment function

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the storage and transportation of perishable products and in particular to the humidity level of air within a sealed marine refrigerated container or similar storage facility, but without limitation to same.
  • Perishable products such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, are regularly transported in refrigerated containers. Problems are experienced in relation to weight loss, shrivelling and reduced market appearance due to dehydration. The longer the period of transportation the more severe the problems. This is a particular problem for long sea journeys.
  • a typical sealed marine refrigerated container has its base formed by a plurality of
  • a known solution for humidifying the air uses a storage facility for water and means for atomising the water through one or more spray
  • nozzles to enter into the air stream as it emerges from the refrigeration unit.
  • the atomization needs to be carefully controlled in order to avoid physical wetting of the product and/or the packaging which in certain application would be detrimental.
  • the provision of this additional equipment and its subsequent maintenance increases the cost of operating such a container.
  • a first aspect of the present invention provides a method of humidifying the air within a storage and/or transportation unit for perishable products, the method comprising introducing into the unit a water absorbing agent replete with water.
  • the unit has air circulation provisions.
  • the preferred water absorbing agent is a polymer, more preferably a cross-linked polymer, and more preferably still a cross-linked
  • polyacrylamide polyacrylamide.
  • a suitable water absorbing agent is a synthetic, anionic, cross- linked polyacrylamide.
  • the preferred agent is insoluble in water and in one embodiment is in the form of granules. Preferably a prescribed quantity of water is added to a prescribed quantity of the granular material. Our preferred agent has the ability to absorb up to 400 times its own weight of water.
  • the agent may be impregnated into a substrate, or contained within a water vapour permeable bag. Conveniently, the bag is provided with hanging means by which it may be suspended from a convenient support.
  • the substrate comprises a fibrous material. More preferably the fibrous material is in the form
  • the water may be added to the water absorbing agent either before or after introduction of the water absorbing agent into the unit.
  • a preferred storage and/or transportation unit has a plurality of channels in a support surface thereof and the method further comprises introducing the water containing agent into the channels, for example by passing through longitudinally slots in the upper surface thereof.
  • the agent is impregnated in a substrate
  • this is conveniently in the form of elongate strips which are dimensioned to fit within the channels.
  • air is caused to flow over the water containing agent which will release moisture into the air stream thereby humidifying the air prior to contact with the produce being shipped or stored and thereby reducing the occurrence of drying out of the produce.
  • the water will be gradually given off. The amount of water taken up will depend on the dryness and velocity of the supply air, i.e. the dryer the air the greater the humidity release of the agent.
  • the agent acts like a relatively viscous liquid it will remain in the channel during physical movement of the unit. This is advantageous for the case of transportation containers as it avoids direct contact of water with the product or its packing. Impregnating into a substrate provides a further advantageous construction in this regard. Simply adding water into the channels would be unsatisfactory because of its freedom of movement.
  • the agent can be flushed out of the channels as part of the routine cleaning operation and the agent recovered for disposal or re-use if appropriate. When impregnated in a substrate this can be easily removed for cleaning purposes.
  • the agent can also be used in any application where fresh produce is held under refrigeration, including chill
  • the agent is preferably supplied in the aforementioned permeable bag.
  • Figure 1 is a broken away perspective view of part of a refrigerated marine container.
  • Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of part of the floor structure of the container
  • Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to that of Figure 2 with humidifying agent present.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates part of a typical refrigerated marine shipping container 1 as having a load space for cargo (shown particularly removed for ease of description) and having a refrigeration unit 3 in an end wall 5.
  • the load space floor comprises a plurality of channels 11 which are formed by upstanding elongate T-section members 13.
  • the heads of the adjacent T- section members are spaced apart to define longitudinal grooves 15.
  • Circulating fans are shown diagrammatically at 7, but actually located within ducting to draw air from within the load space into the refrigeration unit and pass it over cooling coils 9 whereafter the air is introduced into the channels 11 so that it can circulate upwardly through the cargo stacked on the load floor before returning to the refrigerator unit.
  • the arrow represents the airflow direction.
  • the present invention provides a solution by introducing a water
  • a widthwise extending containment bar may be provided at one or both ends of the channels extending up from the
  • the preferred agent is a synthetic anionic cross-linked polyacrylamide.
  • a prescribed quantity of the cross-linked polyacrylamide has a prescribed quantity of water added to it.
  • the water containing agent is introduced into the channels conveniently from a dispenser which allows it to be poured directly into the channels by way of the longitudinal slots. An operator traverses along each slot in turn pouring the agent into the channel.
  • a prescribed quantity of the agent in granular form is introduced into the channels and thereafter a prescribed quantity of water poured into the channels to be absorbed by the agent ready for later release.
  • any retaining bar is removed from the open end of the container to make this easier.
  • the agent is recovered for re-use after removal of retained moisture and appropriate cleansing to ensure that the agent is not contaminated.
  • the agent is incorporated in a substrate this may be introduced into the container before or after the addition of water to the substrate.
  • the substrate is preferably removed after removal of the produce as part of the cleaning of the container.
  • the agent is contained within a water vapour permeable bag, one or more of the bags are disposed in the storage area.
  • a 40 ft high cube reefer container with a free air volume of approximately 63m calls for a water capacity of 20 litres. This can be provided by 20 bags of 1 litre capacity, or 10 bags of 2 litre capacity which are disposed at spaced intervals throughout the reefer.

Abstract

A method of humidifying air within a storage and/or transportation unit for perishable products especially one having air circulation provisions, such as a sealed marine refrigerated container, but without limitation to same, by introducing into the unit a water absorbing agent replete with water. The water absorbing agent may be introduced in the form of loose granules, or contained within a water permeable bag or impregnated within a water permeable substrate. Preferably, air is circulated over the water containing agent to maintain the humidity in the storage and/or transportation unit.

Description

Title: Improvements in and relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products
DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to the storage and transportation of perishable products and in particular to the humidity level of air within a sealed marine refrigerated container or similar storage facility, but without limitation to same.
Perishable products, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, are regularly transported in refrigerated containers. Problems are experienced in relation to weight loss, shrivelling and reduced market appearance due to dehydration. The longer the period of transportation the more severe the problems. This is a particular problem for long sea journeys.
A typical sealed marine refrigerated container has its base formed by a plurality of
channels providing a support surface for the product and having a plurality of longitudinal slots by which refrigerated air emerging from the refrigeration unit can be introduced over the base of the container for circulation through the product. A known solution for humidifying the air uses a storage facility for water and means for atomising the water through one or more spray
nozzles to enter into the air stream as it emerges from the refrigeration unit. The atomization needs to be carefully controlled in order to avoid physical wetting of the product and/or the packaging which in certain application would be detrimental. The provision of this additional equipment and its subsequent maintenance increases the cost of operating such a container.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an alternative solution to the above problems associated with dehydration of perishable products during storage transportation.
Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method of humidifying the air within a storage and/or transportation unit for perishable products, the method comprising introducing into the unit a water absorbing agent replete with water.
Preferrably the unit has air circulation provisions. The preferred water absorbing agent is a polymer, more preferably a cross-linked polymer, and more preferably still a cross-linked
polyacrylamide. One example of a suitable water absorbing agent is a synthetic, anionic, cross- linked polyacrylamide. The preferred agent is insoluble in water and in one embodiment is in the form of granules. Preferably a prescribed quantity of water is added to a prescribed quantity of the granular material. Our preferred agent has the ability to absorb up to 400 times its own weight of water. Alternatively, the agent may be impregnated into a substrate, or contained within a water vapour permeable bag. Conveniently, the bag is provided with hanging means by which it may be suspended from a convenient support. In one embodiment the substrate comprises a fibrous material. More preferably the fibrous material is in the form
of a strip.
The water may be added to the water absorbing agent either before or after introduction of the water absorbing agent into the unit.
A preferred storage and/or transportation unit has a plurality of channels in a support surface thereof and the method further comprises introducing the water containing agent into the channels, for example by passing through longitudinally slots in the upper surface thereof.
Where the agent is impregnated in a substrate, this is conveniently in the form of elongate strips which are dimensioned to fit within the channels. In use air is caused to flow over the water containing agent which will release moisture into the air stream thereby humidifying the air prior to contact with the produce being shipped or stored and thereby reducing the occurrence of drying out of the produce. The water will be gradually given off. The amount of water taken up will depend on the dryness and velocity of the supply air, i.e. the dryer the air the greater the humidity release of the agent.
Because the agent acts like a relatively viscous liquid it will remain in the channel during physical movement of the unit. This is advantageous for the case of transportation containers as it avoids direct contact of water with the product or its packing. Impregnating into a substrate provides a further advantageous construction in this regard. Simply adding water into the channels would be unsatisfactory because of its freedom of movement.
At the end of a journey the agent can be flushed out of the channels as part of the routine cleaning operation and the agent recovered for disposal or re-use if appropriate. When impregnated in a substrate this can be easily removed for cleaning purposes. The agent can also be used in any application where fresh produce is held under refrigeration, including chill
stores, warehouses, controlled atmosphere storage facilities, refrigerated trucks, trailers, break bulk reefer vessels, retail display cabinets as well as marine containers. In many such applications, the agent is preferably supplied in the aforementioned permeable bag.
The present invention will now be described further hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a broken away perspective view of part of a refrigerated marine container.
Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of part of the floor structure of the container
of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to that of Figure 2 with humidifying agent present.
Figure 1 illustrates part of a typical refrigerated marine shipping container 1 as having a load space for cargo (shown particularly removed for ease of description) and having a refrigeration unit 3 in an end wall 5. The load space floor comprises a plurality of channels 11 which are formed by upstanding elongate T-section members 13. The heads of the adjacent T- section members are spaced apart to define longitudinal grooves 15. Circulating fans are shown diagrammatically at 7, but actually located within ducting to draw air from within the load space into the refrigeration unit and pass it over cooling coils 9 whereafter the air is introduced into the channels 11 so that it can circulate upwardly through the cargo stacked on the load floor before returning to the refrigerator unit. The arrow represents the airflow direction.
In such a container the repeated circulation of the air through the cooling unit results in dehydration of the air. The present invention provides a solution by introducing a water
containing agent 17 into the channels 11 so that moisture can be given up to the air flow. Distributing the agent over the entire floor of the load space is preferred as it provides for uniform moisture creation. Depending on the design of the container a widthwise extending containment bar may be provided at one or both ends of the channels extending up from the
base to contain the agent. That to the rear is preferably removable, for example to facilitate cleaning out the channels. Water which condenses out from the air flow by the action of cooling is drained to the exterior of the container by a drainage system (not illustrated).
The preferred agent is a synthetic anionic cross-linked polyacrylamide. According to a first embodiment of the invention, when a shipping container is to be loaded with fresh produce, a prescribed quantity of the cross-linked polyacrylamide has a prescribed quantity of water added to it. When all the water has been absorbed, or a sufficient quantity of it, the water containing agent is introduced into the channels conveniently from a dispenser which allows it to be poured directly into the channels by way of the longitudinal slots. An operator traverses along each slot in turn pouring the agent into the channel.
Thereafter the cargo is loaded into the container. The circulation of air during the voyage causes the retained water within the agent to be given off over a period of time to the high
velocity and/or high volume air flow thereby reducing the absorbtion of moisture from the perishable product.
In another embodiment a prescribed quantity of the agent in granular form is introduced into the channels and thereafter a prescribed quantity of water poured into the channels to be absorbed by the agent ready for later release.
In both embodiments after removal of the produce the container is thoroughly cleaned as required to meet hygiene standards, and during this process the agent is removed. A power
washer or a compress air lance suffices to flush the agent from the channels. Advantageous any retaining bar is removed from the open end of the container to make this easier.
Advantageously the agent is recovered for re-use after removal of retained moisture and appropriate cleansing to ensure that the agent is not contaminated.
Where the agent is incorporated in a substrate this may be introduced into the container before or after the addition of water to the substrate. The substrate is preferably removed after removal of the produce as part of the cleaning of the container. Where the agent is contained within a water vapour permeable bag, one or more of the bags are disposed in the storage area. We have found that a 40 ft high cube reefer container with a free air volume of approximately 63m calls for a water capacity of 20 litres. This can be provided by 20 bags of 1 litre capacity, or 10 bags of 2 litre capacity which are disposed at spaced intervals throughout the reefer.

Claims

1. A method of humidifying air within a storage and/or transportation unit for perishable goods, characterised by introducing into the unit a water absorbing agent replete with water.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the storage and/or transportation unit has a plurality of channels in a support surface thereof and the method comprises introducing the water containing agent into the channels.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the water absorbing agent is introduced in the form of an un-enclosed granular material.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the water absorbing agent is introduced in a form impregnated within a substrate.
5. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the water absorbing agent is introduced in a form enclosed within a water permeable bag.
6. A method as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 5 and further comprising adding water to the water absorbing agent before it is introduced into the unit.
7. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the storage and/or transportation unit has air circulation provisions and the method comprises circulating air past the water containing agent.
8. A water absorbing agent when used in anyone of claims 1 to 7 and comprising a cross-linked polyacrylamide.
9. A water absorbing agent as claimed in claim 8 and comprising a synthetic anionic cross-linked polyacrylamide.
10. A water absorbing agent when used in the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 and comprising a water insoluble granular material.
11. A water absorbing agent as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10 when accommodated within a water permeable bag.
12. A water absorbing agent as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10 when impregnated into a substrate.
13. A method of humidifying air within a storage and/or transportation unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
PCT/GB1999/002460 1998-08-05 1999-07-28 Improvements in and relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products WO2000007907A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU51765/99A AU5176599A (en) 1998-08-05 1999-07-28 Improvements in and relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9816907.1A GB9816907D0 (en) 1998-08-05 1998-08-05 Improvements in or relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products
GB9816907.1 1998-08-05

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2000007907A1 true WO2000007907A1 (en) 2000-02-17

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1999/002460 WO2000007907A1 (en) 1998-08-05 1999-07-28 Improvements in and relating to the storage and transportation of perishable products

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AU (1) AU5176599A (en)
GB (1) GB9816907D0 (en)
WO (1) WO2000007907A1 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2010147797A2 (en) 2009-06-19 2010-12-23 Carrier Corporation Temperature-controlled cargo container with air distribution
US9295821B2 (en) 2008-07-02 2016-03-29 Christoph Miethke Cerebrospinal fluid drainage

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3959569A (en) * 1970-07-27 1976-05-25 The Dow Chemical Company Preparation of water-absorbent articles
US4003728A (en) * 1974-10-09 1977-01-18 Eric Rath Method and apparatus for controlling the storage condition of perishable commodities in long-distance transport vehicles
US4256770A (en) * 1976-06-23 1981-03-17 Rainey Don E Preservation of perishable comestibles
FR2712306A1 (en) * 1993-11-09 1995-05-19 Snf Sa Treatment of iron mineral enabling bulk transport

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3959569A (en) * 1970-07-27 1976-05-25 The Dow Chemical Company Preparation of water-absorbent articles
US4003728A (en) * 1974-10-09 1977-01-18 Eric Rath Method and apparatus for controlling the storage condition of perishable commodities in long-distance transport vehicles
US4256770A (en) * 1976-06-23 1981-03-17 Rainey Don E Preservation of perishable comestibles
FR2712306A1 (en) * 1993-11-09 1995-05-19 Snf Sa Treatment of iron mineral enabling bulk transport

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9295821B2 (en) 2008-07-02 2016-03-29 Christoph Miethke Cerebrospinal fluid drainage
WO2010147797A2 (en) 2009-06-19 2010-12-23 Carrier Corporation Temperature-controlled cargo container with air distribution
EP2443050A2 (en) * 2009-06-19 2012-04-25 Carrier Corporation Temperature-controlled cargo container with air distribution
EP2443050A4 (en) * 2009-06-19 2012-12-26 Carrier Corp Temperature-controlled cargo container with air distribution
US9233791B2 (en) 2009-06-19 2016-01-12 Carrier Corporation Temperature-controlled cargo container with air distribution

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU5176599A (en) 2000-02-28
GB9816907D0 (en) 1998-09-30

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