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This research reviews the cold chain system technology particularly in the
food and agro industries. The Food cold chain and the components of the
system are reviewed. Components such as Post harvest handling,
Refrigerated transport, Refrigerated storage, Controlled Atmosphere storage,
frozen products processes, products distribution and retails refrigeration
processes are discussed. Current cold chain management among the stake
holders as it impacts on energy consumption, suggestion of efficient energy
practices and ways in which substantial energy can be saved or reduced on
the cold chain facilities are discussed and highlighted in this study.


  Cold chain, Cold chain Components, Food Refrigeration/freezing,
Energy efficiency, Energy Management.

  


The food cold chain is an integrated system in which food or any agro
product is kept cold in the chilled or frozen form in an unbroke n link from the
initial freezing of freshly produced carcasses at the abattoirs or the farms
throughout the stages of transport, storage, distribution and retail sale to the
storage of product within the home of the consumer. A cold chain is the
specific supply chain line which is maintained at low temperature environment
to maintain safety, minimise deterioration, and prevent pollution of products
after harvest, including manufacturing, transportation, storage, distribution,
and retail, to end user. Products which require the use of cold chain
technology are mostly perishable products and produc ts with a very short
shelf life. These can be classified as :

‡ Primary products - vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry product, fishery products,


and flowers
‡ processed products - frozen foods, packaged meat, poultry and fishery
products, ice cream, dairy products, fast food materials and,
‡ special products - pharmaceuticals such as vaccine and blood plasma etc.

The Cold Chain System ensures safer and better quality of food or any agro
product. Meat for example, is a good medium for bacteria growth. The Cold
Chain System will keep the meat at the proper controlled cold temperature at
all the stages from production to distribution to consumers. This effectively
controls the growth of spoilage and food poisoning bacteria as well as slowing
down quality deterioration from chemical changes in the meat.
Refrigeration and freezing of food products are the two vital processes
involved in the cold chain system. Refrigeration is the process of removing
heat from a product through the refrigerant and passing the heat to the
immediate surrounding, leaving the product with a very low temperature.
Freezing also has to do with maintenance of low temperature. It involves a
phase change from Liquid to solid and usually below the freezing temperature
of the product. Water has a freezing temperature of 0 deg C . Monitoring and
control of temperatures of product is very crucial in the cold chain system . The
WHO¶s vaccine are generally classified within the temperature range of
2degC to 8degC with a variation of + or -3degC. If the standard temperature is
deviated from, then the product will start to get deteriorated and eventually get
spoilt.

The initial cooling, processing, and cold storage of fresh food, fruits and
vegetables sare among the most energy intensive segments of the food
industry. Significant levels of refrigeration and heating are needed to slow
down spoilage and maintain preharvest freshness and flavor of ripe fruit and
vegetables. Cooling the fresh fruit and vegetabl es before processing removes
the ³field´ heat from the freshly harvested products in time to inhibit decay and
help maintain moisture content, sugars, vitamins, and starches. Blanching of
fresh vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower helps maintain
product texture and color. The quick freezing of processed fresh fruit and
vegetables helps maintain the quality, nutritional value, and physical
properties for extended periods. The refrigeration systems, especially for the
fruit processors, usually operate at their heaviest load during the summer
daytime hours when electrical costs and outdoor temperatures are the
highest.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the U.S. had 235 frozen fruit, juice,
and vegetable processing facilities in 2002 that employed approximately
38,000 workers. Processing fresh fruit and vegetables is a highly energy
intensive industry. In 2002 the 235 processing plants consumed an estimated
2,925,970,000 kWh of electricity, and had energy costs totaling more than
$276 million (includes electricity and other fuels). In 2002 the total value of
shipments was more than $9 billion. The state of California has 48 frozen
fruits and vegetable processing plants that consume approximately 329.8
million kWh of electricity and 38. 7 million thermos of natural gas per year
(Sullivan, 1999).

Evaluation of cold chain system was done in a time bound study during
August and September months of 1992 in two districts of Haryana as there
were frequent breakdowns of inclined refrigerators during the previous year.
The study revealed that defective stabilizers and electricity plugs and sockets
were the reason of breakdown in many cases. Temperature maintenance and
functioning of deep freezers was satisfactory. Retrospective analysis showed
that the polio vaccine samples picked up during 1990 -92 were found to be
satisfactory by CRI, Kasauli. Use of two ice-pick carrier and thermos flasks
was associated with poor temperature maintenance. Seven vaccine carriers
out of 25 examined had cracked wall lining. Lids of carriers were also not kept
tight during vaccination sessions. Response lag of the health workers and
medical officers in case of breakdowns was delayed. A one day refresher
course exclusively on cold chain maintenance at community hea lth centre
level was recommended.

Apr 1, 2000 - Miniaturized electronic casing for monitoring the cold chain for
perishable products was developed: Patented by Bruno Guy De La Forterie
on April 1, 2000  His abstract states that an electronic device for monitoring
the cold chain of a product, which measures the temperature, carries out the
product of the measured temperature by a determined coefficient depending
on the temperature, successively adds the products and records the running
total obtained, and which includes a visual control.

Due to lack of cold chain systems and good logistics at various sea ports in
Ghana, West Africa, exports are mainly via air, which limits the volume of
exports and increases the transportation cost as transport by air is expensive.
In anticipation of the cold chain facilities, the Trade and Investment Program
for a Competitive Export Economy (TIPCEE) project assisted mango
producers to conduct trial sea shipments in July 2005. The result of this trial
was a success and the implementation of the cold chain system encouraged
more exportation of mangoes in Ghana.[5] The Terms of Reference of the
new IIR Working Party (WP) ³Energy labelling in the cold chain´ was approved
in Italy. The main objective of this WP ± chaired by Prof. Giovanni Cortella,
Italy, and involving Commissions D1 and D2 ± is to investigate effective
energy labelling schemes for refrigerated storage, display and transport in the
cold chain, and promote their diffusion. This WP will include 2 subgroups
covering refrigerated storage (cold rooms, display cabinets, etc.) and
refrigerated transport (land, marine, air) respective ly. These two subgroups
acted separately but with synergy, sharing expertise, information and
initiatives.

The USAID wrote in its report of May 2009 that agriculture in A zerbaijan
provides 39.3% of all employment or 2.3 million workers (as compared to
approximately 1% or 58,000 workers from oil). Azerbaijan¶s major cash crops
are grapes, cotton, tobacco, citrus fruits, and vegetables and all of these but
cotton and tobacco are dependent upon an effective cold chain if they are to
be economically viable and sustainable. Cold chain and warehousing is a
critical value driver in Food and agriculture, although until recently not
appreciated as such by many Food and agricultural stakeholders.

Warehousing and cold storage are the major elements in the food/agro
harvest, preservation and distribution system and should be considered in
synergy, but rather as a part of a system referred to as the ³Cold Chain.´
Warehousing and cold storage facilities are typically ³private´ or ³public,´ or a
combination of both. This definition is not related to the source of ownership,
i.e., by individuals or by government. Rather, ³private´ facilities only store
product owned by the facility operator. This may be product originally
produced by the operator or product acquired by the operator and held in
storage in other to sell when the price is relatively high . ³Public´ facilities are
those which provide storage services to others for a fee.

Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) developed


a ³Cold Chain Logistics Development Plan for Agricultural Products´ in July
2010. This was one of the Plans developed after the Chinese government
announced the ³Restructuring and Stimulus Program for the Logistics
Industry´. The development of the logistics industry was made a top priority of
the Chinese government and has been included as an important part of the
National Twelfth Five-Year Plan. The Cold Chain Logistics Development Plan
for Agriculture Products identified seven major tasks and eight key projects
and it was pursue to provide greater opportunities for the cold chain logistics
as well as the relevant enterprises.

Stakeholders in the cold chain system seem not to have a perfect


understanding of their role in the cold chain system; as a result of this they
play a nonchalant role in the cycle. The implication of food freezing and the
cold chain system on energy consumption is so significa nt. Therefore it is
necessary to point out proper conducts of stakeholders in the cold chain
system and its effect on energy consumption and efficiency in the food
industry.

Recently, governments of nations have now seen the importance of cold


chain system to the growth of the economy of a nation, thus some of them are
implementing the cold chain systems to enhance the economy and even
making a cold chain cold national policy that will have overall effect of the
economy.

Following the trend of awareness of the cold chain system and its
implications, the future of the food /agro industry is secured. There will be
more cold chain system implemented to cater for the needs of this sector of
the economy. Food deteriorations and spoilage will be minimised o r reduced
to the barest minimum. Energy efficient freezer and refrigerating equipment
that can consume less than half of what is being consumed now will be
designed to properly manage energy consumption . Measures of minimising or
reducing energy consumed by the cold chain systems and facilities are also
going to taken as very vital in other to conserve the total energy produced by
the nations.

     

The term ³cold chain´ and the components thereof, refer to steps from harvest
of food/agro products to consumption that extends the natural shelf life of the
product by controlling temperature. Typical components of a cold chain may
include post-harvest handling, refrigerated transport, refrigerated storage,
controlled atmosphere storage ( CA), chilled or frozen processing, cold storage
holding and/or distribution, retail refrigeration, institutional refrigeration, and
home refrigeration. All foods begin to deteriorate or lose quality upon harvest
whether it is meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, fruit or vegetable. Most also
continue to produce heat and in some cases ripening gases, even after
harvest. Removing the heat from these products and maintaining product
temperature and/or storage atmospheric composition, by chilling, refrigerated
storage, CA storage or freezing reduces the rate of deterioration and extends
the shelf-life of the product. In addition to protecting quality, application of the
appropriate cold chain components provides flexibility by making it possible to
market products at the optimum time. It is also imperative to mention that
energy is consumed during these processes.
Temperatures maintained in cold chain storage facilities may be divided into
³refrigerated´ and ³frozen´ categories. Refrigerated temperatures are typically
those above 0 oC and frozen temperatures those lower than 0 oC. Typically
fresh meat, poultry, seafood, milk, flowers, fruits and vegetables are held at
4oC while some products such as strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes are
held at higher temperatures due to sensitivity issues. Frozen storage
temperatures normally include two common categories, -18oC and ± 29oC; the
latter often referred to as ³ice cream temperature.´ Lower temperatures may
be specified for specific products such as sashimi grade tuna -62oC but are
not common. Temperatures used to freeze products are normally lower than
storage temperatures.

Food industry and authorities focus on the development and application of


structured quality assurance systems, based on prevention through
monitoring, controlling and recording of critical factors throughout the entire
life cycle of a product. Despite the improved quality assurance policy, the cold
chain of perishable foods, such as meat, suffer from substantial quality losses,
mainly due to significant deviations from the recommended temperature
conditions.

     



The internal heat of food and agro products must be removed immediately
when harvest is done if the quality of these products is to be maintained. Most
fresh fruits and vegetables require thorough cooling immediately after harvest
in order to deliver the highest quality product to the consumer. Producing
consistently high-quality products and the ability to ensure that right quality is
maintained until the product gets to the consumer and gives the farmer a
competitive edge. Postharvest cooling quickly removes field heat from freshly
harvested products before transportation, storage, or processing and is
essential for many perishable crops.

Methods of postharvest cooling include icing, hydrocooling (using chilled


water immersion or spray), evaporative, vacuum, and forced-air cooling.

     


Refrigerated transport includes long haul refrigerated equipment including
truck/trailer combinations, containers, specially trains, and equipment
appropriate for air transport. Local delivery equipment may include smaller
truck/trailer units, truck units, or even units that are well in sulated but lack
integral refrigeration equipment. Transportation of frozen or refrigerated meats
by sea occurred as early as the nineteenth century (lamb and mutton from
Australia to England) using a combination of salt, ice and sawdust. The
advent of refrigerated trailers or containers on the rail transport markedly
increased the capacity of rail systems to economically transport large volumes
of refrigerated and frozen products throughout much of the world. While a few
³refrigerated break-bulk´ freighters still exist, the vast majority of sea borne
refrigerated transport is now done in containers.
After the initial heat is removed from the produce it should be immediately
transported to the customer, packing house or cold storage facility, preferably
in refrigerated trucks and/or trailers. All effort should be made to ensure the
product does not regain heat during transportation. Unfortunately in many
developing economies, farmers and traders often transport their product to
market in a countless unrefrigerated vehicles ranging from tractor pulled carts
and overloaded sedans with the seats removed and packed to the gunnels
with produce, to trucks of every description including dump trucks. As a result,
product deterioration is bound to set in.

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Mostly, this is associated with packing houses, these facilities hold the
harvested products until distributed. Distribution may take place
simultaneously with the harvest, or may be at a later date, when the
commodity is no longer in season and its price has increased thus permitting
the grower, or the trader, a greater return on investment. Frozen products can
be held close to one year in the refrigerated storage in developed economies.
Atmospheric humidity is also a critical factor in storing fruits and vegetables
for an extended time. Fruits and vegetables should be stored in storerooms
with humidity in excess of 85%; the exception being onions and some other
products that require lower humidity in the range of 75%.

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Controlled Atmosphere is a particular type of cold storage in which the
atmosphere in the storage room is controlled to prevent ripening and/or
degradation of the quality of the product. Oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide
(CO2) are the most common atmospheric gasses used for this. Properly
packed and waxed fruit such as apples can maintain good quality using
Controlled Atmosphere for up to a year.

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A product may have more value by chilling, packaging, or freezing . Freezing
enabling significant extension of the product¶s shelf life. Chilling is usually
associated with additional packaging, including packaging in which the
atmosphere within the packaging may be modified by the add ition of gases or
by the use of gas-specific permeable films. The chilled products are then held
at refrigerated temperatures throughout the subsequent distribution chain.
Frozen foods are processed to a temperature, normally below -18oC and held
at this temperature until just before consumption or in some cases just before
they go for retail selling. Product may be frozen in bulk or individually (IQF or
Individually Quick Frozen) using a variety of methods such as blast, blast-
spiral, fluidized bed, tunnel, and cryogenic or very low temperature freezing.
Particularly high value products may be freeze -dried. Freeze drying is a
process in which the food is frozen and then the solid water (ice ) is converted
directly to water vapour by sublimation. Freeze drying takes place at the triple
point of water, this is the point at which water can exist in a solid, liquid and
vapour state simultaneously at a given pressure. To complete the drying at
moderate temperatures that will not adversely affect the structure of the
product, the dryer must be under a very high vacuum, with a condenser at a
very low temperature. Freeze drying is expensive because of these operating
conditions necessary for it to take place and why it is used for only very
valuable products or ones for which rapid rehydration is critical. Another
reason is that it takes a long time, usually on the order of a day or more, to
dehydrate even small pieces of food using this technique. The product that
results can be stored in appropriate packaging that provides a vapo ur
transmission barrier for a long period and at ambient temperatures. Frozen
processing is one area of the cold chain that more energy consumption is
required because of the amount of internal heat of th e products that will be
removed. The refrigeration system has to work specifically at a very low
temperature and at required freezing of respective product until the freezing
temperature is reached.

) *  


These centres are usually located closer to markets or transportation hubs
and are designed to hold product awaiting local or regional distribution to
retail, institutional or commercial markets. The variety and volume of products
held in these facilities are much greater than those l ocated closer to growing
areas although a combination of the two is quite common. They often feature
higher ceilings, more individual cold storage rooms, multipl e product holding
temperatures but predominantly +40C for fresh produce, and -18 and -240C
for frozen). There are more sophisticated products handling equipment, that
are often automated and may include rack systems , the hoist etc. Due to the
high rate of product entering and departing, these facilities also tend to devote
more area to product handling facilities such as multiple loading bays and
stacking areas. Energy consumption at this point is not significantly high as
products are held and maintained at certain temperature.

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³Commercial Refrigeration´ is a term often used to describe refrigeration
equipment designed for the retail, food service (restaurant) and institutional
refrigeration. At the retail level this may include refrigerated or frozen display
shelves or counters, refrigerated beverage dispensers, an d vending
machines. Food service and institutional refrigeration units range from smaller
reach-in units and temperature controlled serving/preparation tables to larger
walk-in units. The larger walk-in units are typically constructed of pre-formed,
interlocking insulated panels and modular refrigeration systems; most typically
using evaporator units in the refrigerated box and air cooled condensing units.

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The success story of industries that depend on the cold chain comes down to
knowing how to ship a product with temperature control adapted to the
shipping instances. Different products require different temperature level
maintenance to ensure their integrity throughout the travel process. For
instance, the most common temperature standards are "banana" (13 °C),
"chill" (2 °C), "frozen" (-18 °C) and "deep frozen" (-29 °C). Maintaining this
temperature is very important to the integrity of a shipment along the supply
chain. Any divergence can result in unrecoverable and expensive damage; a
product can simply lose any market or useful value. Being able to ensure that
a shipment will remain within a temperature range for an extended period of
time depends on the type of container that is used and the r efrigeration
method. Factors such as duration of transit, the size of the shipment and the
ambient or outside temperatures experienced are important in deciding what
type of packaging is required. These can vary from small insulated boxes that
require dry ice or gel packs, rolling containers, to a 53 footer reefer which has
its own powered refrigeration unit. The major cold chain technologies include:

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Solid carbon dioxide is about -80°C and is able to keep a shipment frozen for
a long period of time. It is used particularly for the shipping of
pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods and foodstuffs. Dry ice does not melt,
instead it sublimes when it¶s in contact with air.

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Large proportion of pharmaceutical and medicinal shipment s are classified as


chilled products, this means they must be stored in a temperature range
between 2 and 8°C. The most predominant method to provide this
temperature is to use gel packs, or packages that contain phase changing
substances that can go from solid to liquid and vice versa to control an
environment. Based on the shipping requirements, these packs can either
start off in a frozen or refrigerated state. Along the transit process they melt to
liquids, while at the same time maintaining an required internal temperature.

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The eutectic plate principle is close to gel packs. Instead, plates are filled with
a liquid and can be reused again and again .

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A specially cold liquid, of about -196°C, used to keep packages frozen over a
long period of time. Mainly used to transport biological cargo such as tissues
and organs. It is classified as a hazardous substance for the purpose of
transportation.

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Insulated pieces that are placed over or around freight to act as buffer in
temperature variations and to maintain the temperature relatively constant.
Thus, frozen freight will remain frozen for a longer time period, often long
enough not to justify the usage of more expensive refrigeration devices. Quilts
can also be used to keep temperature sensitive freight at room temperature
while outside conditions can substantially vary (e.g. d uring the summer or the
winter).
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The generic name for a temperature controlled container, which can be a van,
small truck, a semi or a standard ISO container. These containers, which are
insulated, are specially designed to allow temperature controlled air circulation
maintained by an attached and independent refrigeration plant. The term
increasingly applies to refrigerated forty foot ISO containers. Perishable or
temperature sensitive items are carried in refrigerated containers (called
"reefers"), that account for a growing share of the refrigerated cargo being
transported around the world. In 1980, 33% of the refrigerated transport
capacity in maritime shipping was containerized, this percentage rapidly
climbed to 47% in 1990, 68% in 2000 and 90% in 2010. All reefers are
painted white to increase the albedo (percentage of the incident light being
reflected; high albedo implies less solar energy absorbed by the surface) with
the dominant size being 40 high -cube footers. For instance a low albedo
container can have its internal temperature incr ease to 50 °C when the
external temperature reaches 25 °C on a sunny day while a high albedo
container see its internal temperature increase to only 38 °C under the same
conditions.

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-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

Degree Celcius

 
     

Specific temperature standards are enforced based on the type of product


being transported through the cold chain . For example, produce such as fruits
and vegetables, a breach of integrity can lead to damage s of the products
such as softening, bruising, un wanted ripening, colour changes, texture
degradation, and the development of rots and mo ulds, all of which can
degrade its value and marketability. Five temperature standards are among
the most prevalent in the cold chain:

m *   ( (-28 to -30 Celsius). The coldest temperature range that


can be maintained by conventional refrigerated units such as reefer.
This temperature is mostly used for transporting seafood .
m ' (  (-16 to -20 Celsius). This temperature is used for meat.
m  (2 to 4 Celsius). This refers to the standard temperature in a
refrigerator and is commonly used to transport fruit and vegetables as it
supports optimal shelf life.
m   (2 to 8 Celsius). This temperature relates to the
temperature range of most pharmaceutical goods, like vaccines, are
transported at this temperature.
m · (12 to 14 Celsius). This relates to the temperature range that
one of the world's most produced fruit is shipped to control its ripening.

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2     

Efficient energy management is very significant in the study of cold chain


system. As a result of the non challant and sluggish behaviour of several
personal involved in the cold chain system, energy is inefficiently utilised. This
has cost the operators a lot of money in terms of energy cost and loss of
products due to deterioration and spoilage. It implies that the energy that is
generated by the electricity board of the nation is being wasted; as a result,
more energy is being demanded from the board whic h will result in shortage
of energy supply.

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Increasing prices of energy and political guidelines have mad e providers of


cold chain logistics to realise the need for energy-efficiency. Automated truck
loading systems can substantially reduce the cooling losses during the
loading and unloading process. Therefore, it can contribute to the sustainable
and efficient energy management in temperature -controlled transport.

Automated truck loading systems are used mostly for shuttle transport where
loading time is very essential. Conventional truck loading or unloading with
fork lift trucks takes on average 30 minutes. With automated systems, the
loading time can be reduced to just about 2 minutes. Due to unnecessary long
truck waiting time at the dock and open gates the interface between trailer
and dock is most times the reason for energy loss. Moreso, it is often the
weakest link in a smooth running cold chain system.

Inflatable shelters are installed at the dock to prevent circulation of open air
when the trailer is docked to the loading or unloading system. In addition, an
automatic bridge swings down closing the gap between the trailer and the
docking system. A special chill proof enclosure including a control unit
enables the truck driver to control the loading and unloading process without
being exposed to the freezing environment. Special wiring devise is used to
maintain flexibility in low temperatures up t o -25° Celsius.

The reduction of cooling loss and the heavily reduced loading and truck
waiting time contributes to an increase in efficiency. Therefore, it is not only
are energy costs that are reduced through substantial savings of energy, it
also increases profits for the customer.
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Processing generally involves the cooling and freezing of Food and Agro
products; the pre-cooling of agricultural products such as fruits and
vegetables; production of all kinds of quick -frozen foods and dairy products at
low temperature and so on. The cooling processing also includes natural
cooling in a cold room, forced air cooling, vacuum cooling, and cryogenic
cooling. Freezing is an effective method for preserving the physical and
nutritional value of food for extended periods of time. A significant portion of a
plant¶s energy is used to reduce the fruit and vegetables temperature below
freezing. Air is cooled by an evaporator at -40 to -25 °F and blown by fans to
pull heat from the product. Two types of air-blast freezers are used in this
industry: stationary freezing tunnels (a.k.a. blast tunnels) and belt freezers
(e.g. spiral freezers).
Blast tunnels are batch freezing process, while belt freezers are a continuous
freezing process. The ammonia refrigeration necessary to produce freezing
air at -40 to -25 °F is the major user of energy in the process, but the fan
power needed to push the air past the product at relatively high velocities is
also a significant consumer of energy.
Freezing involves contact (plate) freezing, blasting freezing, and cryogenic
freezing. This stage of freezing is particularly energy intensive, and it
accounts for a substantial portion of the energy consumed in the production of
frozen foods. There is a wide variation in energy consumed during the
freezing process and its ranging from 229.6 to 935.7 kWh, equivalent to per
ton of production. Therefore, this energy can be reduced or minimised during
freezing operation if freezing equipment are optimised. Products should be
arranged in a way that uniform airflow is permitted. This will in turn reduce
freezing time and as such, energy is optimised and utilised efficiently.

#!, 
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There is very little published data on the energy consumption of cold storage
systems for foods. A detailed study was carried out of three UK cold stores
and data obtained from other published sources.

The first section of this report compares all the available energy consumption
data and the following sections look in detail at the three stores investigated.

In the DX stores huge savings could have been achieved if operation of cold
storage facilities were optimised in terms of heat loads on the rooms and the
operation of the refrigeration system. Many improvements were low in cost
(improved door protection, defrost optimisation and repairs) and most other
improvements were cost effective and had short pay back times. Cold store 2
was the most efficient store in terms of heat removed by the refrigeration
system and this was due to it being operated by a low -pressure receiver
system. However, the plant used more energy per m3 and this was partly due
to it being a small store and also to the way the store was operated with high
transmission, infiltration a nd fixed heat loads. Improvements to its operation
could be made by fitting better door protection and reducing fixed loads.
Substantial improvements could be made to all cold stores 1 and 3 by fitting
better door protection and pedestrian doors, installin g liquid pressure
amplification pumps and suction liquid heat exchangers and by optimising
defrost settings.

Energy can be optimised and used efficiently if all the improvements, checks
and precautions mentioned above are strictly implemented in all cold stores.
This can as well be related to good management of energy.

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Retail refrigeration includes the process involving the cool/cold storage and
sale of foodstuffs in the cold chain system. It is a process that makes the
product available to the final consumers. In modern cold chain foods are
displayed using cool/cold display cabinets, display refrigerators and so on, at
the stores.

According to Z. Huan in his publication on ³Energy Saving opportunity in F ood


Cold Chain´, energy consumption is often of the order of 7000-15 000 k 
3 € m  Most of this energy is consumed by opening the display cabinet
doors and blinds and by allowing chilled air from the refrigerator to escape to
the warmer environment. It is also noticed that where several display cabinets
are available in the store, the environment around the cabinets is felt to be
cool and store owners may also not think of a need to buy air conditioners for
the space anymore. Greater energy is consumed as the refrigeration
equipment are overworked because it is rather not cooling the product only
but also the environment. As a result of this, the display cabinets will pack -up.
The store owner will now resort to fixing the equipment or buying another one .
Other costs include the cost of excess energy consumed for overworking the
equipment, downtime cost and cost of deteriorated products. This energy can
be conserved by following the operation instructions for all display cabinets at
the store. Cabinet that require to be seen by customer can be made with fully
sealed transparent covers or doors which will enhance the visibility of the
customers. Doors of cabinet should not be left open for a long period of time
during food selection to minimize loss of chilled air escaping to the
environment.

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Apart from the energy saving measures mentioned in the energy consumption
media above; there are other means of saving or conserving energy within th e
cold chain system. These are therefore discussed below.

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   43(  
Improvements in system controls and other optimizations have the benefit of
increasing the refrigeration capacity and reducing the energy consumption of
the existing refrigeration systems. Where applicable, major cost savings can
be achieved by changing from timer -based defrost control scheme to the
more energy efficient demand-based control. Another major control measure
is to set the system head pressure based on the measured outdoor air wet -
bulb temperature (known as floating head pressure control). System
optimizations include subcooling in two-stage systems, reconfiguring
condensers, and where possible increasing the suction pressure.

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Replacing existing refrigeration equipment can have immense benefits of
reduced energy consumption, improved reliability, and reduced maintenance
costs. A simple efficiency improvement involved increasing the insulation of
pipes, tanks, and cold storage rooms and reducing the infiltration of warm air
into refrigerated spaces. Increasing the evaporative condenser capacity and
implementation of floating head control may contribute to energy efficiency.
Increasing the heat transfer area or changing the type of evaporators used in
cold storage spaces improves heat transfer rate, and allows the refrigeration
suction pressure in the low-temperature evaporators to be raised.

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Energy use can be reduced by protecting the cooler from external heat gain
and operating it at maximum capacity. Research has shown that over one-
third of the heat input to a hydrocooler is infiltration of warm air, outside heat
conducted through walls, and cooling the water reservoir when the cooler is
started up each day. Infiltration heat can be reduced by installing plastic flap
doors and by minimizing the distance between the shower pan and the top of
the product. Installing insulation and shading the cooler or painting it a light
colour reduces heat conduction through the walls. Using a smaller water
reservoir lowers the amount of start-up cooling required by the cooler. Placing
the cooler in a refrigerated building reduces all forms of external heat gain and
start-up losses. Energy use per unit cooled associated with pumps and with
removing conduction and infiltration heat can also be reduced by operating
the cooler at maximum capacity. These energy uses are dependent on the
amount of time the cooler is in operation, not on the amount of product
cooled. Energy use per unit mass of product cooled is reduced when more
quantity of product are cooled per hour.

&#, 
  '  6  
Energy use can be minimised or reduced by all of the techniques mentioned
above for storage facilities, but evaporator fan energy use is the most
significant. In addition to their own energy consumption, evaporator fans
contribute over one-third (and in some coolers, more than half) of the heat
that must be removed from an average forced air cooler. Fan energy use can
be minimized by turning fans off when not needed, installing evaporator coils
with a minimum airflow resistance, using cartons with adequate venting area,
and arranging pallets on the cooler to reduce airflow resistance. Variable
frequency controls are commonly used to slow fans at the end of a cooling
cycle. If all of the above are adhered to , heat input is reduced without
significantly slowing the cooling process.

A lot of cooling facilities are billed for electricity not only the amount of energy
consumed but the time of the day it is consumed. Electricity is usually more
expensive during the afternoon hours, which is usually when most electricity is
needed for cooling operations. Energy demand and consumption can be
shifted to hours when electricity is cheaper. Slowing the cooling rate and then
shifting the cooling work to the night is the least expensive option for forced
air coolers. This can only be used if there is excess cooling capacity available
at night and if the products can withstand some delay in cooling. Electric lift
trucks reduce refrigeration demand because they produce less heat than fuel
lifts.

)  

The cold chain system is necessary to minimise food deterioration and


optimising energy consumption through efficient cold chain facilities can be
achieved following the right procedures. Energy efficiency and energy
management are the talk of the day in the cold chain system, therefore the
steps mentioned in this article must be followed in other to save or reduce
energy within the cold chain. There is a potential of reducing energy up to
20% of the present consumption in the cold chain , majority of which can be
from the post harvest cooling that involves freezing operation. The energy
saved through this system and measures can then be diverted to other
sectors of the economy where more energy is required. A review paper on
freezing process is necessary for future research reason. This is necessary in
other identify present work on freezing and future energy saving potential
during the process.


+    

1. www.ava.gov.sg/foodsector/foodsafetyeducation/food+facts/coldchains
ystem/index.htm
2. Energy Saving Opportunties in food µCold Chain System´ , Z. Huan
3. Evaluation of Cold Chain System in rural area of Haryana, Arun
aggarwal; Amar Jeet singh, 1992.
4. www.book.google.com/books/id
5. IIR working party on ³energy labelling in the cold chain¶, May, 2008
6. www.freshpalza.com/2006/21feb/2-gh-mangoexport.htm
7. Cold chain standards conference; Pei Zhiyong; July, 2010
8. USAID ³cold chain and storage action plans, May, 2009
9. Energy efficient truck loading and unloading for cold chain logistics,
Jasper Van den driest, February, 2010
10. Cold storage of food ³ review of available on energy consumption and
energy saving options, Judith Evans, 2006
11. Energy efficiency opportunities in Fresh fruit and vegetable
processing/cold storage facilities, Brian Hacket, Sandra chow and
Ahmad R. Ganji, July, 2006.
12. A System Dynamic Model to Support Cold Chain Management in Food
Supply Chain, Francesca Oliva, Roberto Revetria, July, 2008
13. Energy Conservation in cold Storage, ¶´Perishable Handling quarterly
issue No 105´, Jim Thompson February, 2001

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