A Novel Transportation Method Based on Dynamic Control of Ripening Environment
The dynamic control of atmosphere is an important factor for guaranteeing the quality of climacteric products during transportation. As atmosphere changes, respiration climacteric products would rot because of overripeness, thus leading to loss. Moreover, climacteric products must be ripened artificially when delivered to the destination, thereby causing economic waste. In this study, a new transportation method based on dynamic control of ripening environment was designed.The ripeness control method based on the dynamic control of ripening atmosphere was presented to accomplish quality safety during transportation as well as avoid a subsequent extra process of ripening. The transportation method was employed to stem from the ethylene’s ripening effect on climacteric fruits and vegetables. The ethylene generator and air circulation unit, which dynamically regulate and control the dual regional atmosphere of carriages during transportation, were quantitatively controlled by the central treatment layer. Ripeness level could be regulated by controlling the temperatures and time of exogenous ethylene release, to control the quality of products and ripen them. The proposed method was proven feasible through experiments. Results demonstrate that a volume fraction of 0.01% exogenous ethylene allows bananas’ respiratory intensity to reach the peak early; meanwhile, moderate low temperature (16 °C) can enable ethylene peak to appear in advance. Therefore, bananas’ ripeness can be controlled by changing temperatures and the ripening environment when transporting. This study can provide references for the control of products’ ripeness during transportation.