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IJESRT
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH
TECHNOLOGY
AUTOMATED ELECTRONIC EVAPORATIVE COOLER FOR FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES PRESERVATION
Engr. Rodrigo C. Muñoz*1, Lorenzo T. Diuco II2, Sebastinne Marie S. Martinez3, Irish Kristine
A. Oliveria4, Neissa A. Quiroz5 & Dustin Jake R. Sta. Maria6
*1,23,4,5&6
Bataan Peninsula State University, Balanga City, Bataan, 2100 Philippines
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.814406
ABSTRACT
Horticultural products such as fruits and vegetables are highly perishable in nature; thus, maintaining the
optimal air conditions inside the storage helps extending their shelf life. However, commercially available cool
storages can give chilling injuries to the commodities which its quality, color, texture and freshness are often
sacrifice. Hence, the proponents aimed to develop an automated electronic evaporative cooler in prolonging and
preserving the freshness and quality of fruits and vegetables.
The study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the electronic evaporative cooler for fruits and
vegetables preservation through (a) percentage weight loss, (b) visual quality, (c) degree of shriveling, and (d)
determining the expectancy life of the commodities. To evaluate the performance of cooler, (a) calibration of the
system, (b) evaporative cooling efficiency, and (c) monitoring of air conditions in terms of temperature and
relative humidity were first done to attain its end goal.
The study focused on construction of an automated electronic evaporative cooler in which temperature and
humidity were kept under control as associated by the standard temperature requirement of a specific fruit or
vegetable. The system was inputted with required temperature of particular fruits and vegetables; then equipped
with temperature and humidity sensors, water circulation system, DC fans which were all connected to a
microcontroller that provided the appropriate action or output.
From various tests conducted, for reliability, the cooler had evaporative cooling efficiency of 85.5263% during
12 p.m. to 6 p.m. of the day. The cooler also indicated a temperature drop range of 1.40 to 3.40 ˚C and a relative
humidity rise range of 9.30 to 20.30%.
Moreover, the study also revealed that commodities placed inside the cooler had average percentage weight loss
of about 2.50% to 5.50% while those exposed in ambient environment with about 4.50% to 10.30%. Through
evaluation done by five vendors, the commodities inside the cooler were considered as field fresh without
defects while those in ambient environment were mostly evaluated as with serious defects and had reached the
limit of usability in terms of visual quality. Meanwhile, in terms of degree of shriveling, most of commodities
inside the cooler showed no signs of shriveling, wilting or dryness compared to those in ambient environment
which most were considered with evident but not serious shriveling. More so, using regression method, the
proponents projected a trend line to determine expectancy life of the commodities and it was found out that
tomatoes and bananas in ambient environment can reduce a five-percent weight after 78 and 42 hours
respectively compared to commodities placed inside the cooler.
Therefore, the proponents concluded that commodities stored inside the cooler showed better conditions in
terms of percentage weight loss, visual quality and degree of shriveling compared to those exposed outside the
cooler. Furthermore, the study proved that the use of electronic evaporative cooler can prolong the shelf life of
the commodities
KEYWORDS: evaporative cooling, shelf life, horticultural products, fruits and vegetables preservation,
shriveling, visual quality.
Cooling is the most traditional way of preserving agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits. It is also
the most common means of keeping the quality and freshness of the farm produce. However, appropriate
storage and treatment for a particular commodity is not taken into considerations.
Vegetables and fruits sold in public markets are mostly imported from other provinces; since these farm produce
are being transported, it is inevitable for these produce to acquire physical damage due to shipping that
contributes in losing their freshness. Once these commodities are distributed to local resellers and merchandisers
who have no other precise means of storing and preserving than cooling, produce still obtain physical damages
which affect its quality and quantity.
Ambient temperature and relative humidity are main parameters to be considered in proper storage and
preservation of fruits and vegetables. With this, these parameters should be monitored with accuracy and
maintained its necessary values for specific commodity to preserve the freshness and to prolong the shelf life.
Cooling by means of evaporation will provide a low cost and effective way of preserving the freshness and
prolonging the shelf life of fruits and vegetables as it reduces the temperature and increases the relative humidity
inside the storage. In line with this, evaporative cooling is introduced to maintain the quality of products and to
lessen the problems related to increasing number of rejected products due to improper storage.
The proponents decided to design and develop an automated electronic evaporative cooler that can control and
monitor temperature and humidity which can lead to proper product storage and preservation. Thus, increasing
the shelf life and good quality of horticultural produce will be achieved.
The study primarily aims to design and develop an automated electronic evaporative cooler for fruits and
vegetable preservation.
Specifically, the study aims to: (1) determine the effectiveness of using electronic evaporative cooler for fruits
and vegetables preservation; (2) determine weight loss of the commodities inside the cooler compared to those
exposed in ambient environment; and (3) evaluate visual quality conditions and degree of shriveling of the
commodities inside the cooler compared to those exposed in ambient environment.
Therefore, in order to reduce deteriorations and enhance the shelf life, there is a need to address the preservation
and storage of fruits and vegetables and understand the importance of such methods.
Evaporative cooling is an adiabatic cooling process whereby the air takes moisture which is cooled while
passing through a wet pad or across a wet surface show that evaporative cooled storage is more efficient than
mechanical refrigeration system (Thompson JF and RF Kasmire). During evaporation, there is a simultaneous
heat and mass transfer. The heat in the air is utilized to evaporate the water which changes from liquid form to
vapor and results to a drop in temperature, and rise in relative humidity of air.
Thus, the development of a simple, efficient and economical means of preserving fruits and vegetables would be
a good alternative to keep the quality and to extend the shelf life of these commodities, while maintaining the
taste and nutritional properties, furthermore, to decrease the wastage of commodities by preventing decay or
spoilage.
A temperature sensor is a device, typically, a thermocouple or RTD that provides temperature measurement
through an electrical signal. While a humidity sensor senses relative humidity. This means that it measures both
air temperature and moisture. Temperature and humidity sensors were used to measure the level of ambient
temperature and relative humidity inside and outside the evaporative cooler.
A four-by-four (4x4) keypad module is a basic 16-button keypad for user input. The buttons are setup in a
matrix format. It allows a microcontroller to scan the eight output pins to identify which of the 16 buttons is
being pressed. It is used with the system to allow users to choose their preferred commodity to be stored inside
the cooler.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) modules were utilized to display the current status of the system. A four-by-twenty
(4x20) type of LCD was installed for each compartment indicating the commodity inside, real time temperature
and humidity status and speed of the fan. On the other hand, two-by-sixteen (2x16) type was used to display the
temperature and humidity of the ambient environment.
A microcontroller is a compact microcomputer designed to govern the operation of embedded systems in motor
vehicles, robots, office machines, complex medical devices, mobile radio transceivers, vending machines, home
appliances, and various other devices. It acts as the brain of the whole system. All other devices were connected
to it so that operation of the device would be done simultaneously.
The constructed evaporative cooler would be powered up using 220V just like a typical home appliance.
As a result of all the processes in the system, temperature and humidity were controlled and maintained
according to the specified temperature and humidity levels.
Table 1 shows the summary of the air conditions during the testing conducted on tomato and banana samples.
This indicates the temperature and humidity that the evaporative cooler absorbs and produces in two separated
testing procedure.
It indicates that the cooler can improve the air conditions in terms of temperature and relative humidity with
respect to the ambient environment after underwent process of evaporative cooling. The cooler has the ability to
decrease the temperature and increase the relative humidity inside the cooler passing through the cooling pad.
The data obtained from the result of evaluation were analyzed using the central tendency which is mode, to
represent each set up or group on the graph.
The following figures show the visual quality condition of the samples in both set ups within 72 hours of testing.
As indicated, set ups placed inside the cooler maintained its overall quality as rated by most of evaluators as
“Excellent” which considered as field fresh and no defects. Meanwhile, the set ups of tomato samples exposed
in ambient environment decreased its quality as the samples were evaluated as “Poor” with serious defects and
have reached the limit of usability after the testing procedure and bananas rated as “Very Poor” which are no
longer usable.
The data obtained from the result of evaluation were analyzed using the central tendency which is mode, to
represent each set up or group on the graph.
The following figures show the degree of shriveling of the samples in both set ups within 72 hours of testing. As
indicated, the set ups placed inside the cooler maintained its freshness and does not show any sign of wilting or
dryness as rated by most of evaluators. Meanwhile, the set up exposed in ambient environment decreased its
freshness as the samples were evaluated with evident but not serious shriveling, wilting or dryness after the
testing procedure.
3. Expectancy Life
After the 72-hour testing procedure, the proponents projected a trend line to determine the weight reduction of
the commodities for 168 hours by using First-Order Polynomial Regression Method since the weight loss is
linearly declining as time passed by. The data obtained in the testing procedure were used in this method.
Hence, the following are the linear equations for each set up of tomatoes and bananas which were derived from
the regression method:
%W=0.003191+0.000479t (Equation 1)
%W=0.002584+0.000623t (Equation 2)
%W=0.001649+0.000399t (Equation 3)
%W=0.001038+0.0006452t (Equation 4)
%W=0.001610+0.000344t (Equation 5)
%W=0.002718+0.000575t (Equation 6)
%W=-0.000847+0.000753t (Equation 7)
%W=-0.004596+0.001414t (Equation 8)
This part of the study was used to determine the time when the samples will reach its limit in terms of
percentage weight loss. According to FAO, when the harvested produce losses 5 or 10 percent of its fresh
weight, it begins to wilt and soon becomes unusable.
However, the proponents are not concluding that the percentage weight loss is always linear in nature. This
method in determining the projection on expectancy life is limited only in this study and the proponents are not
encouraging anyone that this is the best way to conclude the shelf life of the commodities.
The following graphs and analysis are the data obtained from the projected trend line using the equations
derived from the regression method:
Figure 13 Data Trend for Time Vs. Average Percentage Weight Loss of Small Tomato Samples
Figure 14 Data Trend for Time Vs. Average Percentage Weight Loss of Medium Tomato Samples
Figure 15 Data Trend for Time Vs. Average Percentage Weight Loss of Large Tomato Samples
Figure 16 Data Trend for Time Vs. Average Percentage Weight Loss of Banana Samples
The following figures show the linear relationship of time and average percentage weight loss of samples in
both set ups within the 72-hour testing procedure. The projected trend line determines the difference of the two
set ups. As the graph indicated, the percentage weight loss of Set Up B has greater inclination over 168 hours
with 10.73% for compared to Set Up A with 8.36% for small tomato samples; 10.94% compared to 6.87% for
medium tomato samples; 9.93% compared to 5.95% for large tomato samples; and 23.30% compared to 12.56%
for banana samples, respectively.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Based on various data and results of the study, the proponents concluded the following:
1. Commodities stored inside the evaporative cooler show better conditions in terms of weight, visual
quality and degree of shriveling compared to those exposed outside the cooler.
2. The study proved that the use of electronic evaporative cooler can prolong the shelf life of a particular
commodity than exposing the commodity in ambient environment.
VI. REFERENCES
[1] ALEBIOWU, 1985. Development of hexagonal wooden evaporative cooling systems. Retrieved on
August 9, 2015 at http://www.ijset.org/researchpaper/Evaporative-Cooling-A-PostharvestTechnology-
for-Fruits-and-VegetablesPreservation.pdf.
[2] BAUTISTA, O.K. and E. B. ESGUERRA, 2007. Postharvest Technology for Southeast Asian
perishable crops, 2nd edition, Makati, Metro Manila: Technology and Livelihood Research Center. Pp.
302-305.
[3] BACHMAN, T. and M. EARLS, 2000. Cooling system facilities. Retrieved on August 23, 2015 at
http://www.okfarmtoschool.com/pdf/postharvestpdf.
[4] CHINENYE, H., 2011. Evaporative cooler made with clay and other locally available materials.
Retrieved on August 9, 2015 at
http://www.cigrjournal.org/index.php/Ejournal/article/viewfile/1781/1444.
[5] DAVID, R., 1988. Vacuum cooling. Retrieved on August 23, 2015 at
http://www.okfarmtoschool.com/pdf/postharvestpdf.
[6] DZIVAMA, A. U., 2000. Performance evaluation of an active cooling system for the storage of fruits
and vegetables. Retrieved on July 6, 2015 at
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Taiwo_Olurin/publication/233961736_performance_Evaluation_of
_absorbent_Materials_in_Evaporative_Cooling_System_for_the_Storage_of_Fruits_and_Vegetables/fi
le/9fcfd50d60bd7b9183.pdf.
CITE AN ARTICLE
Muñoz, E. C., Diuco II, L. T., Martinez, S. S., Oliveria, I. A., Quiroz, N. A., & Sta. Maria, D. R.
(2017). AUTOMATED ELECTRONIC EVAPORATIVE COOLER FOR FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES PRESERVATION. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING
SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY, 6(6), 352-364. doi:10.5281/zenodo.814406