WO2021032765A1

WO2021032765A1 - Storage of respiratory produce

Info

Publication number: WO2021032765A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/073156
Authority: WO
Inventors: Niels BESSEMANS; Bart Nicolai; Pieter Verboven; Bert Verlinden
Original assignee: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; Vlaams Centrum Voor Bewaring Van Tuinbouwproducten
Priority date: 2019-08-19
Filing date: 2020-08-19
Publication date: 2021-02-25
Also published as: EP4017284A1; GB201911873D0

Abstract

The invention relates in general to a method of storage of respiratory produce and a system or device for storage of respiratory produce. More specifically the storage system or device includes at least one chamber in which respiratory produce is stored, whereby the base of such comprises at least one airlock and an airtight cover for gastight sealing. Inside the chamber, air circulation is provided by a fan and air duct system to ensure homogeneous mixing. The gas composition inside the storage chamber is controlled by a storage controller which is functionally connected to the storage system or storage device using airtight gas connectors which allow injection and withdrawal of gas from the storage system. The fan inside the storage system is provided with power by an electricity cable via an airtight cable connector.

Description

STORAGE OF RESPIRATORY PRODUCE Background and Summary

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

In general, the present invention concerns preserving respiratory produce and more particularly the maintenance of the postharvest quality and the postharvest life of fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables on a practical and easy way in a normal warehouse condition, for instance where they usually arrive for auction.

B. Description of the Related Art

Fruits and vegetables optimal storage conditions, for instance temperature and humidity are highly needed. However, in addition to further improve quality retention during storage, specialised equipment is needed to apply modified gas conditions with an elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and decreased oxygen (O2) level relative to the atmospheric gas composition. Hereto, the fruit and vegetables should be stored in airtight confined spaces which allow modification of the storage atmosphere gas composition and avoid gas exchange between the confined storage space and the environment. For commodities with relatively low value and high trade volumes, produce is stored in airtight rooms of high volume, varying from a few hundreds to a few thousands metric tons, which are equipped with a control system to modify the gas composition of the storage environment.

Fruit and vegetables with high value are traded in much smaller and much more variable and unpredictable volumes. Therefore, they need to be stored in flexible airtight storage units with variable volume. With storing produce in small volumes, it is particularly challenging to achieve sufficient airtightness. This can be seen from the fact that for cubic rooms the ratio of seems of the room (which are the cause of leaks) to the room volume is given by 12/z² with z the edge of the cube. Therefore, the larger the room, the lower the ratio of seems to room volume and therefore the lower the effect of leakage on the gas composition in the room.

Today, high value produce (such as berries) is stored in bag systems, consisting of bottom part on which the fruit is placed and a flexible plastic cover which is placed over the fruit stack on the pallet. The system is made airtight by clamping the plastic foil between the pallet and a rubber seal. However, due to the surface roughness of the materials used and bumps in the foil, leakage channels can be formed allowing was exchange between the storage bag system and environment. As a consequence, the lowest O2 levels that can be reached in the storage bags vary from 3% to 10% based on the airtightness of the system. To allow control of the gas composition inside the storage bags, a gas composition control unit is connected to the bag using at least two airtight gas connectors, one for withdrawal of gas for analysis and one for injection of gas during control actions. The mostly used bag storage systems include the Palliflex™ system sold by Van Amerongen CA Technology B.V. (NL), PAL-STORE™ sold by Isolcell Spa (IT) and the Pallet Fresh™ system marketed by Besseling Group B.V. (NL).

To apply novel storage technologies such as dynamic controlled atmosphere (DC A) storage that could further improve quality retention during storage by decreasing the O2 level in the storage environment to lower levels compared to regular controlled atmosphere (RCA), imply the need of more airtight storage bags. Furthermore, to allow more accurate control of the gas composition as is the standard today, the gas in the storage environment needs to properly mixed. Currently, all bag storage systems used, lack the presence of a means of air circulation to achieve proper mixing of the storage gas.

There is thus a need in the art to store respiratory produce in directly cold or cooled environment in simple and cost-effective units with excellent airtightness and proper mixing of the storage gas. The invention relates in general to a method of storage of respiratory produce and a system or device for storage of respiratory produce. More specifically the storage system or device includes at least one chamber in which respiratory produce is stored, whereby the base of such comprises at least one airlock and an airtight cover for gastight sealing. Inside the chamber, air circulation is provided by a fan and an air duct system to ensure homogeneous mixing. The gas composition inside the storage chamber is controlled by a storage controller which is functionally connected to the storage system or storage device using airtight gas connectors which allow injection and withdrawal of gas from the storage system. The fan inside the storage system is provided with power by an electricity cable via an airtight cable connector.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the problems of the related art by (i) replacing the rubber seal with an airlock, resulting in improved airtightness of the storage system and (ii) introducing a fan and air duct system in the storage bag, ensuring proper mixing of the storage gas. The invented storage system is different from state of the art storage systems by the use of an airlock for airtight sealing of the storage chamber. State of the art storage systems use rubber seals resulting in non-airtight sealing of the storage chamber. The invented storage system is also different from state of the art storage systems by its air circulation system inside the storage chamber. The use of an air circulation system in the storage chamber results into homogeneous mixing of the storage atmosphere in the chamber.

In accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention is broadly drawn to a storage system that comprises a base (1) on which the respiratory produce (2) is placed. The base may be modified to the dimensions of a Europallet. The base is equipped with an airlock (3). Over the respiratory produce an airtight cover (4) is placed which can be rigid or flexible and of which the bottom end is positioned in the airlock (3) for creation of an airtight chamber (5) for respiratory produce. The airtight chamber (5) is equipped with a ventilation system consisting of a fan (6) mounted on the base (1) using an air permeable fan housing (10) and a ventilation duct (7) to provide air circulation and homogeneous mixing of the gas mixture inside the airtight chamber (5). The base (1) of the storage system is equipped with gas connectors (7) that can be used to connect the storage system to a control unit for controlling the gas composition in chamber (5). The base (1) is also equipped with a power supply (9) for the fan in the airtight chamber (5).

In one aspect of the invention, the problem of the moderate airtightness of the state of the art bag storage systems is solved by replacing the rubber seal with an airlock. As a result, much lower O2 levels can be reached in the storage system which is needed for the newest technologies such as e.g. DC A.

Another aspect of the invention is the introduction of an air circulation system by introducing a fan and air duct system to allow proper mixing of the storage gas. Proper mixing of the gas inside the storage unit is a must for accurate control of the gas composition and precise determination of the respiration rate of the stored produce which is needed with novel storage technologies such as DCA.

In still another aspect of the invention, is that the proposed storage unit can be transported by and is therefore mobile.

Some embodiments of the invention are set forth in claim format directly below:

The object of the present invention is achieved by means of an indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12), comprising as mounted or connected members: a ventilation pipe (7), a ventilator or fan (6), a bag (4) formed by a flexible airtight thermal conductive fabric, a box ((11) formed of airtight material with attached to the lateral surface area of the box (11) a channel (3) that if attached to the outer lateral surface area circumvents the upstanding walls of the box (11) or that if attached to the inner lateral surface area is circumvented by the upstanding walls of the box (11), characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) at one end opens in the housing and at the other end into the ventilator or fan (6) and that the edge at the open face of the bag (6) has a length so to fit in the channel (3) over its entire length and whereby the bag (4) when hang above the box (11) with its outer edge at the open face of the bag (6) into the channel defines the airtight and thermal conductive chamber or by an indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12), comprising as mounted or connected members: a ventilation pipe (7), a ventilator or fan (6), a bag (4) formed by a flexible airtight thermal conductive fabric, a box ((11) formed of airtight material with attached to the lateral surface area of the box (11) a channel (3) that if attached to the outer lateral surface area circumvents the upstanding walls of the box (11) or that if attached to the inner lateral surface area is circumvented by the upstanding walls of the box (11), characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) at one end opens in the housing and at the other end into the ventilator or fan (6) and that the edge at the open face of the bag (6) has a length so to fit in the channel (3) over its entire length so that when the lower end of the bag (4) hangs in the channel the housing is airtight and thermal conductive. Some of the techniques described above may be embodied as this housing being characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) comprises a UV radiation source mountable in a cavity ventilation pipe (7) to emit UV radiation in the air flow channel along the flow path and that ventilation pipe (7) is connected by an inlet pipe with an ozone generating unit to release ozone in the air flow channel along the flow path of that ventilation pipe (7). A suitable UV radiation source is a low pressure UV (LPUV) Lamp or a medium Pressure UV (MPUV) lamp. In an advantageous embodiment, this housing is further characterised in that the inner surface of the ventilation pipe (7) is in part or in total coated by a photocatalyst for instance the heterogeneous photocatalyst of the group consisting of ZnO, SnC>2 and T1O2 and furthermore the ventilation pipe (7) can be provided with a vaporizing humidifier comprising a water reservoir to make the air flow in the ventilation pipe (7) humid or with a vaporizing humidifier comprising a water and H2O2 reservoir to make the air flow in the ventilation pipe (7) humid and/or provide it with H2O2.

In another aspect, the present invention provides that the outer edge at the open face of the bag (6) includes an enlargements over its entire length so to airtight fit into the channel (3) or that the outer end rim of the bag (6) includes an enlargements over its entire length so to airtight fit into the channel (3). This enlargement can be elastomeric. In another aspect, the present invention provides that the channel is filled with a liquid. The box (11) can be a rigid box that is open at its top and the box (11) of present invention can be a pallet box so that the indoor housing is transportable. In an advantageous embodiment, the indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) according to the present invention further comprises plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend upper defining a frame construction surrounding the bag (4).

In an advantageous embodiment, the indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) according to the present invention further comprises plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend upper defining a frame interior surface opposing the exterior surface of said the bag (4).

In an advantageous embodiment, the indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) according to the present invention further comprises plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend further defining a frame above the bag (4).

In an advantageous embodiment, the indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) according to the present invention further comprises plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend further defining a frame above the bag (4) to form a support to carry another an indoor housing according to anyone of the previous claims.

In this

Comprised in this indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) the bag (4) can be transparent so to allow inspection of its content.

In an advantageous embodiment in the indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) the channel (3) can be defined by a base and a portion of the exterior surface of the walls of the box (11) opposing inner surface of separate wall surrounding said box (11). In an advantageous embodiment in the indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12) the channel (3) can be defined by a base and a portion of the interior surface of the walls of the box (11) opposing inner surface of separate wall surrounded by the walls of said box (11).

According to the present invention there is provided the box comprises a chamber that is separated by wall from said the housing but that is connected by an aperture the outer environment and whereby chamber comprises a fan or ventilator (6) (functionally) connected with the ventilation pipe (7) in the housing. With respect to the flow controlling in the ventilation duct (7) which provides air circulation and homogeneous mixing of the gas mixture inside the airtight chamber (5), it is noted that it is advantageous if this system capable having a controller that controls the fan motor. The box can be provided with a power supply to electrically power the fan motor. Particular aspects of the invention are the box comprises an input for gas supplies, that the bag material is airtight but thermally permeable that the housing is a self-contained unit for indoor use in a room with temperature control, the housing can be movable by a pallet truck, the housing is contained in a room with temperature control and/or the housing is demountable.

By using an inventive system it is possible to carry out a method of storing and replacing respiratory produce in an ambient air warehouse environment, characterised in that the warehouse is thermal controlled and that the produce is in protective housing (12), of present invention and whereby this method further comprises that the lower end of the bag (4) hangs in the channel in a sealing way so that the housing (12) forms an airtight to form an enclosure. A particular aspect of this method is that the lower outer edge (4a) of the bag (4) of the housing (12) is pushed in the channel so to seal the housing (12) and that the respiratory produce is stored in indoor housing units whereby at least part of the housing units are stacked under or on top of other housing units and whereby the housing units comprise a plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend further defining a frame above the bag (4) to form a support to carry another an indoor housing. A further advantageous aspect is also, whereby a computer implemented logistical system controls transport or reposition quantities of housing units real-time is involved in this invented method. For instance such whereby the computer implemented logistical system receives visual or measuring data of housing units that in a distribution processor are processed in a (real-time) planning and adjusting system for generating a working plan of distribution of housing units for instance replacing, removing or re clustering. This computer implemented method may operate real-time and automatic on housing unit (re)distribution.

In a practical embodiment, the device according to the present invention or the method according to the present invention is used affording protection of respiratory produce (e.g. fruits or vegetable) in diverse indoor environments with normal ambient air by temperature control or for affording protection of respiratory produce (e.g. fruits or vegetable) in diverse indoor environments with normal ambient air by temperature control.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

Detailed Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. Several documents are cited throughout the text of this specification. Each of the documents herein (including any manufacturer’s specifications, instructions etc.) are hereby incorporated by reference; however, there is no admission that any document cited is indeed prior art of the present invention.

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

It is to be noticed that the term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to the devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein.

It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only.

Each and every claim is incorporated into the specification as an embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the claims are part of the description and are a further description and are in addition to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Each of the claims set out a particular embodiment of the invention.

The following terms are provided solely to aid in the understanding of the invention. Definitions

[0118] Where in embodiments of the present invention reference is made to “respiratory produce ”, reference is made to is a complete living system or part thereof, such as organs, tissues, having a respiration metabolism; this produce can for example be from plants, fruit, vegetables, animals, fungi and micro-organisms.

The storage system comprises a base (1) on which the respiratory produce (2) is placed. The base may be modified to the dimensions of a Europallet. The base is equipped with an airlock (3). Over the respiratory produce an airtight cover (4) is placed which can be rigid or flexible and of which the bottom end is positioned in the airlock (3) for creation of an airtight chamber (5) for respiratory produce. The airtight chamber (5) is equipped with a ventilation system consisting of a fan (6) mounted on the base (1) using an air permeable fan housing (10) and a ventilation duct (7) to provide air circulation and homogeneous mixing of the gas mixture inside the airtight chamber (5). The base (1) of the storage system is equipped with gas connectors (8) that can be used to connect the storage system to a control unit for controlling the gas composition in chamber (5). The base (1) is also equipped with a power supply (9) for the fan in the airtight chamber (5).

EXAMPLES Example 1

This example demonstrates the airtightness of the invented storage system during storage of ‘Conference’ pear fruit ( Pyrus communis L. cv. Conference). About 100 kg of ‘Conference’ pear fruit were placed in a version of the invented storage system with water used as fluid in the airlock and a volume of about 300 L. At start of the experiment on 20/05/2019 18:00, the storage system was flushed with a mixture of nitrogen (N2) gas until an O2 level of 2.73% was achieved on 21/05/2019 10:50, the CO2 percentage was then 0.0%. Then, to test the airtightness of the system, all gas flows were stopped and the fruit was left to respire in the storage system while the gas composition was monitored every minute. In a timespan of about two days, the O2 level in the storage environment decreased from 2.73% to 0.10%, while CO2 increased from 0.0% to 2.33% indicating the excellent airtightness of the system. The O2 levels achieved here are much lower than the O2 levels that can be achieved with state of the art pallet storage systems varying from 3% to 10%. (see Fig 4)

Particular and preferred aspects of the invention are set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. Features from the dependent claims may be combined with features of the independent claims and with features of other dependent claims as appropriate and not merely as explicitly set out in the claims.

Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Example 2

In an aspect, the present invention provides that the airlock is positioned at the bottom of the pallet storage system at the exterior outside the perimeter of the creates, in such way that when stacking the pallets on top of each other, the weight of the above pallet exerts a force on the crates on the pallet underneath and does not damage the airlock of the pallet storage system underneath. A stackable systems to store products in small volumes is achieved .

Example 3

In an aspect, the present invention provides that the storage system bottom, elastomeric or rigid cover, struts and ventilation shaft can be demounted, resulting in a significant reduction of volume of the components compared to the storage system as if rigid or not demountable. The demountable system of an aspect present invention provides to store products in small volumes, so that storage or transportation systems can be equipped with the storage systems to transport products and that upon arrival the storage systems can be demounted. In this way, at destination or at end of storage, the system can easily be demounted and components can be shipped or stored in a compact manner for further use.

Example 4 In an aspect, the present invention provides the ventilation and air duct system provide proper air mixing in the storage unit resulting in uniform temperature and gas distribution. As stated in example 3 the ventilation and air duct system are demountable. This aspect of the invention provides to store and transport products with uniform temperature and/or gas distribution. If not this results in spots with too high or too low temperatures and/or gas concentrations, resulting in bad storage/transportation and loss of products.

The storage system of present invention has conductive struts so that pallets stacked on each other all can be powered by a single power supply to one storage system.

Example 5

In an aspect of the present invention products can be stored at lower oxygen and higher carbon dioxide gas concentrations compared to other storage systems due to higher airtightness because of the airlock for airtight sealing and the elastomeric cover that can buffer pressure changes by altering its volume and therefore avoiding leakage. Storing the products at lower oxygen concentrations and higher carbon dioxide concentrations will result in reduced microbial growth, therefore reducing product loss. Often loss of product during storage and transportation is a result of spoilage due to activity of micro organisms.

Example 6

Ozone and/or UV radiation are used to disinfect surfaces in food processing and storage. Also during storage and transportation of fresh produce, ozone is used to destroy microorganisms.

In an aspect, the present invention provides that an ozone generating UV radiation source is positioned in the ventilation air duct system. As a result, all air in the storage system circulated through the UV radiation destroying microorganisms and ozone generated by the UV radiation source is distributed throughout the stack of products stored ensuring it reached all surfaces to be treated. This will destroy all microorganisms reducing fruit decay and rot and therefore results in better quality preservation and reduces losses of product stored compared to tradition products stored with traditional ozone/UV systems. The ozone and UV radiation furthermore destroys ethylene molecules in the storage atmosphere. The plant hormone ethylene (regulates ripening and the more ethylene present the faster ripening and decay occur and the less quality is preserved. With present invention all ethylene molecules in the storage atmosphere are destroyed, resulting in slower ripening and decay of stored product and therefore reducing losses. The effectiveness of ozone application on destroying microorganism and ethylene depends on how well the ozone reaches the air in between products and product surfaces throughout the stack of products stored.

In an aspect of present invention such effectiveness is reached by an integration of the ozone/UV systems in the ventilation pipe (7). In yet another aspect of the invention the inner surface of the ventilation pipe (7) is in part or in total coated by a photocatalyst for instance the heterogeneous photocatalyst of the group consisting of ZnO, SnCk and TiCh for respectively a ZnO/UV, SnCh/UV or TiCh/UV photocatalysis or respectively a ZnO/UV/ozone, SnCh/UV/ozone and TiCh/UV/ozone or photocatalysis operation or respectively a ZnO/UV/ozone/LECk, SnCk/UV/ozone/LECk and TiCk/UV/ozone/LECk operation.

The UV light is provided by either a low Pressure UV (LPUV) Lamp for instance such LPUV that emits UV light at a wavelength of 254 nm or a medium Pressure UV (MPUV) that emit energy over the 200 through 400 nm range but only the 200 to 300 nm is important in the UV/H2O2 process because hydrogen peroxide only absorbs UV light at wavelengths less than 300 nm. Ideally the ventilation pipe (7) is provided with a vaporizing humidifier device with a water and H2O2 reservoir to make the air flow in the ventilation pipe (7) humid and/or provide it with H2O2.

Example 7 The example demonstrates the beneficial effect of the improved airtightness of the present invention, allowing to store fruit under lower oxygen conditions using innovative technologies such as dynamic controlled atmosphere storage. Blueberry fruit ( Vaccinium corymbosum L. cv. Liberty) were stored for a period of 6 weeks. Immediately after storage and after 7 days of shelf life at 7 °C, fruit firmness was measured. Also not commercializable fruit due to decay and rot were sorted out and expressed as a percentage of fruit. During storage in pallet storage system of present invention, were low oxygen levels were reached (figure 5). As a result, the firmness of the blueberries stored with present invention was much higher, meaning the fruit are more crunchy and have higher quality (figure 6). Also, not commercializable fruit percentage was 15% lower compared to blueberry fruit stored under Ultra Low Oxygen (ULO) or regular air (RA) using traditional pallet storage systems at 5% oxygen (figure 7). Example 8

The example demonsctrates the effect of ventilation in the storage system. Gas fractions in the system were measured to identify gas gradient in oxygen and carbon dioxide gas for the case with and without ventilation. As shown in table 1, gas gradients were much larger in the case of no ventilation in the storage system (fan powered off) than in the case when ventilation was turned on.

Tables to this application

Table 1

Table 2 Drawing Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 displays a front view of the storage system.

Figure 2 displays a top view of the storage system.

Figure 3 displays a cut through view at plane A from Figure 2.

Figure 4 displays O2 levels achieved by invention versus that of state of the art pallet storage systems.

Figure 5A, 5B displays the O2 levels, CO2 levels and respiratory quotient (RQ) values during storage of blueberry fruit with present invention enabling storage with the innovative storage technology of dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA) storage based on the respiratory quotient.

Figure 6 displays the firmness of the blueberries after 6 weeks of storage and 7 days of shelf life at 7 °C. Fruit stored with present invention, enabling DCA storage based on RQ, were significantly more firm and crisp compared to the blueberry fruit stored and therefore had higher commercial value.

Figure 7 displays the percentage of non commercializable fruit of the blueberry batches stored with different storage technologies. The blueberries stored with present invention, enabling DCA storage based on RQ, had 15% less non commercializable fruit compared to the blueberry batches stored under conventional Ultra Low Oxygen (ULO) storage.

REFERENCE NUMBERS 1 base

2 respiratory produce

3 airlock

4 airtight cover

5 airtight chamber

6 fan

7 ventilation duct

8 gas connector

9 power supply

10 fan housing

11 wall of base

11(a) and 11(c) upstanding wall 11(b) base bottom plate

12 storage system or housing

Claims

STORAGE OF RESPIRATORY PRODUCE Claims

1. Indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12), comprising as mounted or connected members: a ventilation pipe (7), a ventilator or fan (6), a bag (4) formed by a flexible airtight thermal conductive fabric, a box (11) formed of airtight material with attached to the lateral surface area of the box (11) a channel (3) that if attached to the outer lateral surface area circumvents the upstanding walls of the box (11) or that if attached to the inner lateral surface area is circumvented by the upstanding walls of the box (11), characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) at one end opens in the housing and at the other end into the ventilator or fan (6) and that the edge at the open face of the bag (6) has a length so to fit in the channel (3) over its entire length and whereby the bag (4) when hang above the box (11) with its outer edge at the open face of the bag (6) into the channel defines the airtight and thermal conductive chamber.

2. Indoor respiratory produce storage housing (12), comprising as mounted or connected members: a ventilation pipe (7), a ventilator or fan (6), a bag (4) formed by a flexible airtight thermal conductive fabric, a box (11) formed of airtight material with attached to the lateral surface area of the box (11) a channel (3) that if attached to the outer lateral surface area circumvents the upstanding walls of the box (11) or that if attached to the inner lateral surface area is circumvented by the upstanding walls of the box (11), characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) at one end opens in the housing and at the other end into the ventilator or fan (6) and that the edge at the open face of the bag (6) has a length so to fit in the channel (3) over its entire length so that when the lower end of the bag (4) hangs in the channel the housing is airtight and thermal conductive.

3. The housing of any one of the claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) comprises a UV radiation source mountable in a cavity ventilation pipe (7) to emit UV radiation in the air flow channel along the flow path and that ventilation pipe (7) is connected by an inlet pipe with an ozone generating unit to release ozone in the air flow channel along the flow path of that ventilation pipe (7).

4. The housing of 3, characterised in that the UV radiation source is a low pressure UV (LPUV) Lamp or a medium Pressure UV (MPUV) lamp.

5. The housing of any one of the claims 1 or 4, characterised in that the inner surface of the ventilation pipe (7) is in part or in total coated by a photocatalyst for instance the heterogeneous photocatalyst of the group consisting of ZnO, SnC>2 and TiC>2.

6. The housing of any one of the claims 1 or 5, characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) is provided with a vaporizing humidifier comprising a water reservoir to make the air flow in the ventilation pipe (7) humid.

7. The housing of any one of the claims 1 or 6, characterised in that the ventilation pipe (7) is provided with a vaporizing humidifier comprising a water and H2O2 reservoir to make the air flow in the ventilation pipe (7) humid and/or provide it with H2O2.

8. The housing of any one of the claims 1 or 7, characterised in that the outer edge at the open face of the bag (6) includes an enlargements over its entire length so to airtight fit into the channel (3).

9. The housing of any one of the claims 1 or 7, characterised in that the outer end rim of the bag (6) includes an enlargements over its entire length so to airtight fit into the channel (3).

10. The housing of any one of the claims 8 to 9, characterised that the enlargement is elastomeric.

11. The housing of any one of the claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the channel is filled with a liquid.

12. The housing of any one of the claims 1 to 11, characterised the box (11) is a rigid box that is open at its top.

13. The housing of any one of the claims 1 to 12, characterised the box (11) is a pallet box so that the indoor housing is transportable.

14. The housing according to claim 1 and 13, whereby plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend upper defining a frame construction surrounding the bag (4).

15. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 13, whereby plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend upper defining a frame interior surface opposing the exterior surface of said the bag (4).

16. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 13, whereby plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend further defining a frame above the bag (4).

17. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 13, whereby plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend further defining a frame above the bag (4) to form a support to carry another an indoor housing according to anyone of the previous claims.

18. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 17, whereby the bag (4) is transparent so to allow inspection of its content.

19. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 18, whereby the channel (3) is defined by a base and a portion of the exterior surface of the walls of the box (11) opposing inner surface of separate wall surrounding said box (11).

20. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 19, whereby the channel (3) is defined by a base and a portion of the interior surface of the walls of the box (11) opposing inner surface of separate wall surrounded by the walls of said box

(11).

21. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 20, whereby the box comprises a chamber that is separated by wall from said the housing but that is connected by an aperture the outer environment and whereby chamber comprises a fan or ventilator (6) (functionally) connected with the ventilation pipe (7) in the housing.

22. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 21, whereby the box is provided with a power supply to electrically power the fan motor.

23. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 22, whereby the box is foreseen with one or more inputs for gas supplies and one or more outputs for gas discharge.

24. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 23, whereby the bag material is airtight but thermally permeable.

25. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 24, whereby the housing is a self-contained unit for indoor use in a room with temperature control.

26. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 25, whereby the housing is movable by a pallet truck.

27. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 26, whereby the housing is contained in a room with temperature control.

28. The housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 27, whereby the housing is demountable.

29. Method of storing and replacing respiratory produce in an ambient air warehouse environment, characterised in that the warehouse is thermal controlled and that the produce is in protective housing (12), according to any one of the claims 1 to 28 and whereby this method further comprises that the lower end of the bag (4) hangs in the channel in a sealing way so that the housing

(12) forms an airtight to form an enclosure.

30. The method according to claim 29, whereby the lower outer edge (4a) of the bag (4) of the housing (12) is pushed in the channel so to seal the housing (12)

31. The method according to claims 29 and 30, whereby the respiratory produce is stored in indoor housing units whereby at least part of the housing units are stacked under or on top of other housing units and whereby the housing units comprise a plurality of struts which bear against the outer face of the walls of the box or which bear against the outer face of the walls and the bases of the box and the struts extend further defining a frame above the bag (4) to form a support to carry another an indoor housing

32. The method according to claim 31, whereby a computer implemented logistical system controls transport or reposition quantities of housing units real-time.

33. The method according to claim 32, whereby the computer implemented logistical system receives visual or measuring data of housing units that in a distribution processor are processed in a (real-time) planning and adjusting system for generating a working plan of distribution of housing units for instance replacing, removing or re-clustering.

34. The method according to any one of the claims 32 to 33, whereby the computer implemented method operates real-time and automatic on housing unit (re)distribution.

35. The method according to any one of the claims 29 to 34, for affording protection of respiratory produce (e.g. fruits or vegetable) in diverse indoor environments with normal ambient air by temperature control.

36. The use of the housing according to any one of the claims 1 to 28, for affording protection of respiratory produce (e.g. fruits or vegetable) in diverse indoor environments with normal ambient air by temperature control.