LAPSE:2023.33027
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.33027
Experimental Study of Thermal Performance of Different Fruit Packaging Box Designs
Fábio Leitão, Pedro D. Silva, Pedro D. Gaspar, Luís C. Pires, Diana Duarte
April 20, 2023
Packaging was recently identified as an essential element in addressing the key challenge of sustainable food supply and is gaining interest among researchers. It is a central element in food quality preservation due to its role in heat and mass exchange with the external atmosphere, contributing to the preservation of food quality during storage and extending food shelf life. This work proposes three new packaging configurations with the same size but different geometry and ventilation hole sizes and geometry, that change the conditions in which the heat and mass exchange occurs, during either the cooling period of fruits, inside the cooling chamber, or during the period when the packaging is exposed to ambient conditions, outside the cooling chamber. For this purpose, packages with fruit models that replicate the properties of real fruit were subjected to a cooling process inside a cooling chamber for 8 h. Subsequently, during the heating phase, the packages were exposed to ambient conditions for 10 h. Thermal conditions were also monitored, both inside and outside the chamber. Additionally, for comparative purposes, the thermal behavior of commercial packaging was also evaluated for the same operating conditions in the cooling and heating phases. The results show that the new packages do not substantially promote the preservation of fruits in the cooling phase, but in the heating phase, they ensure an extension of the period with proper thermal conditions of up to 50% in relation to the conventional packaging. This result is particularly important since the heating phase, in which fruits are outside the storage chamber, is the period with the greatest impact on the fruits’ useful life.
Keywords
experimental study, fruit packaging box, thermal performance
Suggested Citation
Leitão F, Silva PD, Gaspar PD, Pires LC, Duarte D. Experimental Study of Thermal Performance of Different Fruit Packaging Box Designs. (2023). LAPSE:2023.33027
Author Affiliations
Leitão F: Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Silva PD: Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal; C-MAST—Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal [ORCID]
Gaspar PD: Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal; C-MAST—Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal [ORCID]
Pires LC: Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal; C-MAST—Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Duarte D: ITJ Moldes, Embra, P.O. BOX 198, 2431-966 Marinha Grande, Portugal
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
12
First Page
3588
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-06-16
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: en14123588, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.33027
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doi:10.3390/en14123588
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Apr 20, 2023
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CC BY 4.0
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