Thermal Management of Short-Range Distribution of Perishable Food Products Using Phase Change Materials in Packaging: Real-Time Field Data Acquisition

Martim Aguiar, Pedro Dinis Gaspar and Pedro Dinho da Silva ()
Additional contact information
Martim Aguiar: Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, Department of Electroechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilha, Portugal
Pedro Dinis Gaspar: Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, Department of Electroechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilha, Portugal
Pedro Dinho da Silva: Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, Department of Electroechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilha, Portugal

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: Maintaining a stable temperature is critical in ensuring the longevity of perishable foods, and frequent fluctuations due to short-range distribution conditions can negatively affect this stability. To mitigate these variations, an innovative modular packaging system utilizing phase change materials (PCMs) was employed in the transport and storage of horticultural products. This study’s real-time thermal condition data, collected using a wireless data acquisition system inserted in the packaging, demonstrated the efficacy of PCM in increasing temperature stability within the crates of horticultural products. The field tests conducted over 8 h showed that PCM-equipped packaging boxes exhibited a temperature variation of less than 1 °C, compared to non-PCM boxes, which saw variations up to 3 °C. This marked reduction in temperature fluctuation signifies the potential of PCM in improving thermal and logistics management in food conservation, thus reducing food waste. However, it is essential to implement a system for PCM alveoli reuse to avoid adverse environmental impacts. Future research should focus on the PCM alveoli autonomy and quantity requirements for specific conditions, and integrate sensors to monitor transport dynamics to enhance the understanding of temperature stability in perishable food transportation.

Keywords: phase change materials; PCM; passive temperature control; temperature fluctuation; perishable food products; food preservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/5191/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/5191/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:13:p:5191-:d:1187760

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().