Commercial Cooling of

Fruits, Vegetables,
and Flowers
Revised Edition

JAMES F. THOMPSON • F. GORDON MITCHELL • TOM R. RUMSEY

ROBERT F. KASMIRE • CARLOS H. CRISOSTO

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Agriculture and Natural Resources

Publication 21567
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Publication 2 1567
Revised edition, 2002

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Commercial Cooling of Fruits,
Vegetables, and Flowers
Revised Edition

JAMES F. THOMPSON
EXTENSION ENGINEER, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND
AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

F. GORDON MITCHELL
EXTENSION POMOLOGIST EMERITUS, DEPARTMENT OF POMOLOGY,
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

TOM R. RUMSEY
PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND
AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

ROBERT F. KASMIRE
EXTENSION VEGETABLE MARKETING SPECIALIST EMERITUS,
DEPARTMENT OF VEGETABLE CROPS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

CARLOS H. CRISOSTO
EXTENSION POMOLOGIST, DEPARTMENT OF POMOLOGY,
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

This One

1YU6-L46-66CA

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ImSl Agriculture and Natural Resources

Publication 21 567
 Contents

List of Illustrations ii 8. Cooling Data .42

MITCHELL AND THOMPSON
List of Tables iii
Appendix A-l:
Preface iv
Cooling and Long-Term Storage
1. The Commodity 1 Requirements for Fruits and Vegetables 44
MITCHELL, THOMPSON, CRISOSTO, AND KASMIRE Appendix A-2:
2. Forced-Air Cooling 8 Cooling and Long-Term Storage Requirements
THOMPSON, RUMSEY, AND MITCHELL for Cut Flowers, Florist Greens, Bulbs, Cuttings,
and Miscellaneous Nursery Stock 50
3. Hydrocooling 19
THOMPSON Appendix B-l:
Room Cooling and Hydrocooling Times 53
4. Room, Ice, Vacuum, and Transport Cooling 28
Appendix B-2:
THOMPSON, MITCHELL, AND KASMIRE
Airflow Rates and Static Pressure Required to
5. Selecting a Cooling Method 33 Force-Air-Cool Common Produce 55
THOMPSON Appendix B-3:
6. Measuring Temperatures 35 Static Pressure, Airflow, and Time Required
THOMPSON to Cool Selected Flowers 57
7. Cooling Calculations 37 References 58
THOMPSON Color Plates... 61

Illustrations
FIGURES 6. Effect of holding cherries at
four temperature patterns 7
1. Simplified description of plant respiration...
7. Schematic of a tunnel-type
2. Effect of temperature on respiration of forced-air cooler 8
several products
8. Schematic of a serpentine forced-air cooler 9
3. Effect of cooling delay on
market quality of Shasta strawberries 9. Schematic of a cold-wall-type
forced-air cooler 9
4. Primary routes of water loss
in fresh produce 10. Typical temperature pattern
in produce cooling 10
5. Table grape weight loss resulting from
two different cooling and handling regimes. 11. Product temperature in a forced-air-
cooled pallet of packed cantaloupe boxes 10
12. Product temperature in a forced-air- 27. Airflow pattern in a room cooler
cooled pallet of packed cherry boxes 10 with unit evaporators 28
13. Effect of product diameter and 28. Airflow pattern in a room cooler
airflow rate on forced-air cooling times 11 with a slotted ceiling duct 28
14. Pressure drop versus airflow through 29. Airflow pattern in a room cooler
pallets of Thompson seedless grapes 12 with a slotted plenum wall 29
15. Pressure drop versus airflow through 30. Key components of a 20-pallet-capacity
pallets of Bartlett pears 12 vacuum cooler 31
16. Air vent design allowing box cross stacking 13 31. Airflow in a bottom air delivery
17. Effect of carrot temperature reduction on system for marine containers 32
weight loss during forced-air cooling 14
COLOR PLATES
18. Design of air-supply and air-return
plenums in a tunnel-type cooler 15 1. Gas pathways in a pear 61
19. Recommended dimensions of 2. Tunnel-type forced-air cooler 61
air-supply and air-return plenums in a 3. Serpentine-type forced-air cooler
tunnel-type forced-air cooler 15 for product in pallet bins 61
20. Uninsulated walls separating 4. Cold-wall-type forced-air cooler 61
tunnel cooling positions 17 5. Cold-wall cooler for cut flowers 61
21. Cutaway side view of a continuous-flow 6. Well-vented box for forced-air cooling 61
shower hydrocooler 19
7. In-line shower hydrocooler
22. Cutaway front view of a batch for cherries . back cover
hydrocooler with product in bins 20
8. Immersion-type hydrocooler
23. Cutaway side view of a continuous-flow for cherries back cover
immersion hydrocooler 21
9. Manually operated ice-injection system. .back cover
24. Effect of minimum product diameter
on cooling time in shower-type hydrocoolers 22 10. Automated ice injector for palletized
product; broccoli in ice back cover
25. Conveyor load capacity for a
continuous-flow hydrocooler 23 11. Vacuum cooler back cover
26. Approximate refrigeration capacity
for an uninsulated hydrocooler 23

Tables
1. Respiration of selected fruits and 7. Data for estimating expected
vegetables at near their recommended seven-eighths cooling time
lowest safe long-term storage temperature. and temperature 37
2. Water loss at which commodities 8. Example calculation of refrigeration
become unsalable load for a forced-air cooler 39
3. Transpiration coefficients for 9. Refrigeration effect conversions 40
selected fruits and vegetables 10. Approximate compressor horsepower
4. Comparison of energy use efficiency per ton of refrigeration 40
of coolers 16 11. Approximate compressor power in kW per kW
5. Factors affecting room-cooling of pallet of refrigeration 40
loads of tight-fill packed plums 30 12. Heat input to refrigerated spaces 41
6. Comparison of product effects and 1 3 . Physical properties of materials 41
cost for six common cooling methods 33
14. Conversion factors, customary to SI units 41
 Preface
This publication is the second major revision of Cool
ers for Fruits and Vegetables by Rene Guillou (UC Agric.
Exp. Stn. Bull. 773), published in 1960. It was revised
in 1972 by F. G. Mitchell, Rene Guillou, and R. A. Par
sons and retitled Commercial Cooling of Fruits and Veg
etables (UC Agric. Exp. Stn. Manual 43).
This publication describes both proper temperature
management practices for perishable commodities and
the commercially used methods of cooling fruits, vegeta
bles, and cut flowers. It is written for a person who is ini
tially investigating produce cooling, for a professional
designer who needs design details, and for an operator
who wants a better understanding of practical operation
guidelines. The publication has a complete discussion of
hydrocooler and forced-air cooler design, the two most
commonly used cooling methods that can be designed
by most people with a good background in industrial
refrigeration. There is little discussion of refrigeration
equipment design because there are many other good ref
erences that deal with this, such as Stoecker 1988, 1995,
and those by the American Society of Heating, Refriger
ating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers; the Refrigerating
Engineers and Technicians Association; and the Interna
tional Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration.
 1
The Commodity
MITCHELL, THOMPSON, CRISOSTO, AND KASMIRE
CAUSES OF POSTHARVEST
DETERIORATION
Fruits, vegetables, and flowers are living organisms
that undergo all the physiological and pathological
processes associated with plants. To sustain essential
chemical and physiological activities after harvest,
plants draw energy from stored food reserves. Because
they deteriorate continuously after picking, slowing
deterioration processes allows adequate time for suc
cessful marketing.
Physiological breakdown, physical injury to tissue,
moisture loss, or invasion by microorganisms can all
cause product damage. Decay-causing fungi and bacte
ria that attack fresh products are also living organisms
and are major contributors to postharvest loss. Some
decay organisms can directly penetrate healthy tissue;
others enter only after produce has been weakened or
injured. Each perishable product is a complex living
system of plant tissue and microorganisms, and satis
factory produce management requires protection of the
produce while discouraging growth and spread of
microorganisms.
Most causes of deterioration operate more rapidly
at high product temperatures. Understanding the rela
tionship of temperature management to causes and
effects of deterioration is essential to properly protect
ing produce.
PRODUCE RESPIRATION
Fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers respire through a
complex series of chemical reactions. Starches and sug
ars stored in their tissues are converted to carbon diox
ide and water, a process (fig. 1) that utilizes energy
from the stored food reserves and oxygen from the sur
rounding air. If oxygen absorption is restricted, nor
mal respiration cannot proceed, and fermentation
quickly destroys the produce. Heat released by respira
tion is a portion of the energy originally stored in the
plant during photosynthesis.
Respiration is regulated by the catalytic action of
protein molecules called enzymes. Enzyme activity is
temperature sensitive and increases about two to four
times for each 10°C (18°F) temperature rise (fig. 2) up
to temperatures of about 25° to 30°C (77° to 86°F).
Above this temperature range, increases in respiration
rates slow, and the product is killed at higher tempera
tures. Temperature is the greatest determinant of fresh
produce deterioration rate and potential market life.
For example, uncooled table grapes deteriorate more
in 1 hour at 32°C (90°F), than they will in 1 day at a
typical transport temperature of 4°C (39°F), or in 1
week at a storage temperature of 0°C (32°F) (Nelson
1985).
Respiration rate varies widely among commodities
(table 1) and even among varieties of the same com
modity. Commodities noted for long storage life, such
as grapes, apples, cabbage, and potatoes, have low res
piration rates and produce heat slowly. Vegetables,
such as peas and asparagus, which are rapidly growing
Stored food Fermentation:
(starches and sugars) carbon dioxide
alcohol
off flavors
\ tissue collapse
Carbon dioxide
Water
Heat
Normal flavors
Normal texture
Figure 1. Simplified description of plant respiration.
2 THE COMMODITY

Table 1. Respiration of selected fruits and vegetables at near their recommended lowest safe long-term storage
temperature, in order of maximum increasing respiration rate

Class Commodity Respiration rate Temperaturet Class Commodity Respiration rate Temperaturet
(Btu/ton/day)* °C (°F) (Btu/ton/day)* °C (°F)

Very low Moderate (continued)

Dried fruits, nuts, <220 — Cauliflower 3,500-4,200 0(32)
vegetables Blackberry 4,000-4,400 0(32)
Low Carrots, topped 2,200-4,400 0(32)
Grapes, vinifera 220-440 0(32) Broccoli 4,200-4,600 0(32)
Plum, Wickson 220-660 0(32) Spinach 4,200-4,800 0(32)
Kiwifruit 660 0(32) Brussels sprouts 2,200-6,600 0(32)
Onion, dry 660 0(32) Onion, mature green 2,200-7,000 0(32)
Apple 220-880 0(32)
Cherry, sweet 880-1,100 0(32)
High
Peach 880-1,300 0(32)
Sweet potato 4,400-5,300 15(59)
Raspberry 4,000-5,500 0(32)
Cabbage 880-1,300 0(32)
Orange 880-1,500 5(41)
Bean sprouts 4,600-5,500 0(32)
Beet, topped 1,100-1,500 0(32)
Lettuce, leaf 4,200-5,900 0(32)
Pear, Bartlett 660-1,500 0(32)
Tomato, green 3,500-6,200 15(59)

Radish, topped 660-2,000 0(32)

Cucumber 5,100-6,400 10(50)
Potato 660-2,000 4(39)
Bean, snap 7,700 5(41)
Turnip 660-2,000 0(32)
Parsley 6,600-8,800 0(32)
Mushroom 6,200-9,700 0(32)
Watermelon 660-2,000 10(50)
Grapefruit 1,500-2,000 10(50)
Artichoke, globe 3,300-9,900 0(32)
Sweet corn with husks 6,600-11,200 0(32)
Moderate
Kohlrabi 2,200 0(32)
Very high
Mango 9,900 15(59)
Pepper, sweet 3,100 10(50)
Endive 9,900 0(32)
Lettuce, head 1,300-3,700 0(32)
Peas, shelled 10,300-16,500 0(32)
Strawberry 2,600-4,000 0(32)
Asparagus 5,900-17,600 0(32)
Squash, summer 3,100-4,200 5(41)

Source: Adapted from Hardenburg et al. 1986.

*Btu/ton/24 hrx 0.00455 = mg C02.kg '-hr '. Btu/ton/24 hr x 0.278 = kcal.1,000 kg '-day1.
tTemperature is the recommended long-term storage condition to the nearest 5°C.

plant parts (immature fruit and shoots respectively) Produce temperature management must begin from
have high respiration rates and short postharvest lives the instant of harvest when postharvest deterioration
and produce heat rapidly. Highly perishable fruits, begins. With highly perishable commodities, a few
such as berries, and many green vegetables have an hours' delay before starting cooling can cause damage
intermediate postharvest life. that cannot be overcome by subsequent good handling
practices. For example, strawberry cooling should
begin within 2 hours of harvest. The longer the delay
400 beyond this time, the greater the deterioration of the
Unshelled peas fruit (fig. 3). Apples, which have low respiration rates
and low water-vapor loss rates, can be marketed effec
300
o tively even if 1 or 2 days are required to achieve proper
u
Artichoke fruit temperatures.
- 200 Strawberry

£ 100 WATER LOSS

Cabbage
Wilting and shriveling seriously damage the appear
40 50
ance of produce and reduce a product's consumer
10 15 20 25 °C
appeal and market value. Some perishables, particu
Temperature
larly leafy vegetables, appear shriveled or wilted after
Figure 2. Effect of product temperature on respiration of water loss of only a small percentage of their weight at
several products. harvest (table 2). Stem shrivel can occur in grapes
 THE COMMODITY 3

Table 2. Water loss at which commodities become

(Crisosto et al. 1994) and cherries with less than 2 per
unsalable, in order of increasing maximum
cent weight loss. Other products do not show symp weight loss
toms until higher levels of weight loss, and their
postharvest life may be more limited by decay, physio Commodity Maximum weight loss Reason for loss
logical damage, or loss of taste (Robinson et al. 1975). (% fresh weight)
Lost produce weight as a result of water loss is a Spinach 3 wilting
direct marketing loss. A 5 percent weight loss causes 1 Broccoli 4 taste, wilting
lb less salable product in each 20-lb package, or 100 Ib Turnip with leaves 4 wilting
less for each ton of produce handled. Water loss may Tomato 4 shrivel
Leaf lettuce 3-5 wilting, decay
cause additional losses; for example, wilted leafy pro
Grapes 5 berry shrivel
duce may require trimming to make it marketable; Pear 6 shrivel
grapes may shatter loose from the cluster if their stems Cabbage 6 shrivel
are dry; and shriveled fruits must be discarded before Apple 7 shrivel
sale. Water loss also weakens plant cells, making cells Watercress 7 wilting
Persimmon 7 shrivel
more susceptible to pathogens, which may result in
Carrot 8 wilting
greater ethylene production and increased chlorophyll Brussels sprouts 8 wilting, rot, yellowing
loss, causing yellowing. Green pepper 8 shrivel
Water is lost from produce in the form of water Peach 11 shrivel
vapor. Fruits and vegetables are composed of cells Winter squash 15 hollow neck

loosely bound together, with a considerable amount Sources: Hardenburg etal. 1986; Hruschka 1977; Nelson 1985;
of interconnecting intercellular spaces that lead to Robinson et al. 1975.
natural openings and wounds (fig. 4). Water from the
cells vaporizes into the intercellular space and main
tains a nearly saturated atmosphere within the prod
uct. Water vapor moves to the outside atmosphere
through lenticles, stomates, stem scars, injured areas, 100
or directly through the cuticle (color plate 1). Rate
of moisture loss is also influenced by a product's ratio 80
of surface area to volume. Perishables such as leafy
60
vegetables have a high ratio of surface area to volume
and lose moisture more rapidly than fruits or fruit- 40
type vegetables.
The total effect of a product's physiological mecha 20
nisms of water loss and surface-to-volume ratio is
0
described by a measurement called the transpiration
0246
coefficient, which is the milligram-per-second mois
Hours at 30°C (86°F)
ture-loss rate per kilogram of product, per megapascal
of vapor pressure difference between the product and Figure 3. Effect of cooling delay on market quality of
the surrounding air. Transpiration coefficients can vary Shasta strawberries.
among different products (table 3). For example, let
tuce and Brussels sprouts have transpiration coeffi
cients more than a hundred times greater than
potatoes, apples, or onions. Products with high mois
ture-loss potential must be carefully protected from Cuticle
Broken cuticle
dehydration by moisture-resistant packaging, like poly
ethylene bags.
The rate of product moisture loss can be estimated Wound
given a product's transpiration coefficient, the temper
ature difference between the product and its surround
ing air, and the humidity of the air around the product.
The last two factors are combined in a term called
vapor-pressure difference (VPD), which is the vapor Intercellular air
pressure in the interior of a commodity minus the space saturated
with water vapor
vapor pressure of the air surrounding the commodity.
The air inside the commodity is usually assumed to be Figure 4. Primary routes of water loss in fresh produce.
4 THE COMMODITY

Table 3. Transpiration coefficients for selected fruits

and vegetables, in order of increasing maxi Calculating Product Moisture Loss
mum transpiration coefficient Moisture-loss rate can be estimated by calculating the vapor
pressure difference between a product and the air surround
Commodity Transpiration Range of coefficients
coefficient reported in literature ing it and multiplying this times the transpiration coefficient
(mg-kg'.sec'.MPa1) of the product. For example, if carrots at 0°C (32°F) were
exposed to moving air at 0°C (32°F), 90 percent RH, the vapor
Apple 42 16-100
pressure difference would be:
Potato 44 2-171
Onion 60 13-123 vapor pressure in carrot
Pear 69 10-144
Grapefruit 81 29-167 0.00380x0.101
'carrot — = 0.00061 7 MPa
Orange 117 25-227 0.622
Grapes 123 21-254
where 0.00380 is the humidity ratio for air at 0°C (32°F) and
Plum 136 110-221
Tomato 140 71-365 1 00 percent RH; and
Lemon 186 139-229 vapor pressure in air
Cabbage 223 40-667
Rutabaga 469 — 0.00340 x 0.1 01
Peach 572 142-2,089 0.622
Leek 790 530-1,042
Carrot 1,207 106-3,250 where 0.00340 is the humidity ratio for air at 0°C (32°F) and
Celery 1,760 104-3,313 90 percent RH. Therefore, moisture-loss rate is
Parsnip 1,939 1,094-2,771
moisture loss =
Brussels sprouts 6,150 3,250-9,770
Lettuce 7,400 680-8,750 (0.000617-0.000552) MPa x 1,207 mg-kg-'.sec'.MPa1

Source: Adapted from Sastry et al. 1978.

= 0.0785 mg .kg-1 .sec1
where 1,207 mg.kg-'-sec'-MPa-1 is the transpiration coeffi
cient of carrots from table 3.

saturated or have a 100 percent relative humidity (RH). This rate corresponds to 0.68 percent weight loss per day.
High VPD causes rapid water loss. This loss would occur for an unprotected product with air-
Vapor pressure is calculated with the following flowing past it. In most circumstances, products are placed in
equation: a bag or container that increases the humidity of the air sur
rounding them and dramatically reduces moisture-loss. In
W X Pa these instances, product moisture-loss rate is controlled by
VP =
0.622 the moisture-loss rate through the package, not by the loss
rate through surface of the product.
where

Vp = vapor pressure (in same units as Pa )
w = humidity ratio (kg of water vapor per kg of dry
air, usually determined using a psychrometric
chart)
P(, = atmospheric pressure (MPa or inches of Hg)
0.622 = ratio of molecular weight of water divided
by molecular weight of air.
Humidity ratio of air is closely related to its tem
perature. Cold air has a much lower capacity to hold
water vapor than does warm air; therefore, cold air
usually has a low vapor pressure and warm air tends to
have a high vapor pressure.
Moisture loss is minimized by quickly cooling a
perishable product to its recommended storage tem
perature and thereby reducing the VPD between the
product and the air around it. The saturated air inside
a warm product has a high vapor pressure compared
with the relatively dry air surrounding the product.
Cooled product has a much lower vapor pressure. After
cooling, it is important to keep a high relative humid
ity around the product. Most perishables should be
held in cold storage conditions near 95 percent relative
humidity, although a few that lose moisture slowly,
like citrus fruits, are held near 90 percent relative
humidity to reduce decay growth. High humidity can
be attained by keeping the humidity high in the refrig
erated space or by covering the product with a mois
ture barrier, like a plastic bag. High relative humidity
in the storage air weakens fiberboard containers and
may cause crushed containers and compression dam
age to the product. Plastic bags or box liners allow high
humidity around the product without exposing fiber-
board to moisture-induced damage. Some long-stored
products are packed in plastic containers that do not
 THE COMMODITY 5

absorb water from the product and are not weakened
by high relative humidity.
Because airflow past a product sweeps released mois
ture from the air surrounding the produce and speeds
moisture loss, forced-air cooling may not be appropriate
for some wilting-sensitive products. Even products
suited to forced-air cooling should be protected from
unnecessary airflow after cooling. Perishable products
can lose water rapidly when exposed to windy condi
tions or during transport on an open vehicle.
Airflow can cause serious loss during storage.
Unless air is near 95 percent relative humidity, it is
extremely important to limit air movement in the stor
age to just enough to carry away heat produced by
product respiration and outside heat entering the stor
age. Airflow of 20 to 40 cubic feet per minute (cfm) per
ton of stored product (0.06-0.12 m3-min '-metric
ton'1) is often sufficient to maintain the desired prod
uct temperature of thoroughly cooled produce.
Figure 5 depicts the influence of management vari
ables on water loss of grapes. Although more severe
handling practices (heavy line) resulted in greater
weight loss, the treatments shown are less extreme than
those sometimes encountered in commercial practice.
The following observations about relative humid
ity, air temperature, and air speed can be made from
the example in figure 5.
^ Each hour of exposure to warm, dry air results in
over twice as much water loss as holding in high-
humidity cold storage for 1 week.
Use of colder and more humid air during cooling
reduces water loss slightly and cools produce to a
lower, more desirable temperature for storage or
shipment.
Proper storage conditions (cooling grapes to near
storage temperature, reducing air speed and
humidifying storage air) reduce water loss by 0.2
percent of produce weight in 3 or 4 days.
Grapes cooled to 0°C (32°F) lose less weight in 4°C
(40°F) transport than fruit cooled to 4°C (40°F).
DECAY
Temperatures favorable for maximum growth and
development of rot organisms often coincide with tem
peratures encountered during harvest. Rapid handling
and cooling minimize decay development. The inhibit
ing effect of low temperatures varies with the organ
ism. Postharvest pathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea
(gray mold), Penicillium expansion (blue mold),
Alternaria aternata, Cladosporium herbarum, and
Monilinia fructicula (brown rot of stone fruit) continue
to grow, although slowly, below 0°C (32°F). Other fun
gal rot organisms, such as Rhizopus sto/oni/era and
Aspergilhts nigcr, do not grow at temperatures below
5°C (41°F). In fact, R. stolonifera is rarely a postharvest
problem even in rewarmed product if perishables have
been exposed to temperatures below 0°C (32°F) for

/ Cooling delay at 26.7°C (80°F), 20% rh

, 6-hr cooling

5 10 15

Time after harvest (days)

Figure 5. Table grape weight loss resulting from two different cooling and handling regimes. Lower line
represents nearly ideal conditions; upper line represents the effect of poor handling.
6 THE COMMODITY
several days. Holding perishable commodities at low
temperatures is an important tool in controlling
postharvest decay.
ETHYLENE DAMAGE
Ethylene gas (CiH-O is produced by most plant materi
als and can have beneficial or detrimental effects dur
ing postharvest handling. It induces ripening in fruits
and symptoms of aging (Ioss of green color, shedding
of leaves, etc.) in other plant tissues. Ethylene concen
trations near 1 ppm can cause damage such as russet
spotting in iceberg lettuce, petal drop in carnations,
and green color loss in cucumbers and leafy vegetables.
Damage often occurs after about 24 hours of exposure
to harmful concentrations, and exposures are cumula
tive. A few products are even more sensitive to dam
age. For example, 6 hours of exposure to 0.02 ppm
ethylene can cause premature softening in kiwifruit.
Low product temperatures reduce ethylene produc
tion, product sensitivity to ethylene, and the rate of
damage development. Rapid and complete cooling and
good temperature management help to reduce product
damage. For most commodities, the maximum effect
occurs when produce temperatures range from 16° to
21°C (60° to 70°F).
Ethylene concentrations can be reduced by elimi
nating internal combustion engines from cold rooms,
periodically venting the storage with outside air, using
ethylene-adsorbing materials or scrubbers, and venting
ripening rooms to the outside before opening them.
Ethylene levels of about 100 ppm for 1 to 3 days are
used commercially to speed ripening of bananas, toma
toes, and avocados. This dose also improves the tex
ture and the ripening uniformity of Bartlett pears.
Early-season oranges often do not have a fully devel
oped color, and exposure of 2 to 5 ppm for several days
causes chlorophyll to disappear, giving oranges their
distinctive bright color.
MECHANICAL DAMAGE
Bruises, cuts, abrasions, and other injuries cause seri
ous produce loss during distribution and marketing
and usually speed deterioration from other causes.
Mechanical damage to plant tissues accelerates respira
tion and often induces ethylene production, which
causes faster heat release, faster ripening, and a short
ened shelf life. Mechanical damage also disrupts a
product's natural moisture barrier, accelerating water
loss. In addition, damaged areas are entry points for
decay organisms.
Temperature has a noticeable but contradictory
effect on the susceptibility of produce to mechanical
injury. Most products are more susceptible to compres
sion and impact damage when they are cold than when
they are warm. Although packing before cooling may
reduce mechanical damage, it is better to eliminate the
causes of these injuries in packing operations and cool
the product as soon as possible.
In contrast to impact and compression bruising,
vibration damage is more serious when fruits are warm.
This type of damage occurs during transit from fruit
rubbing or vibrating against each other or packing
materials. Perishable products should be shipped at the
coolest possible temperature. Transport vibration dam
age can be reduced by using vehicles equipped with
air-ride suspensions; packing fruit in polyethylene
bags; not shipping products sensitive to vibration dam
age on the rear of a vehicle, where vibration levels are
greatest (Hinsch et al. 1993); or immobilizing product
with tight-fill packing techniques (Mitchell et al.
1968).
CHILLING AND FREEZING
Near-freezing temperatures that protect many com
modities may damage others, especially fruits and veg
etables of tropical and subtropical origin. This damage
is called chilling injury and occurs at temperatures
above 0°C (32°F). Symptoms of chilling injury include
tissue darkening and drying, surface pitting, failure to
ripen normally, off flavors, or increased susceptibility
to decay. Some commodities show chilling injury only
after prolonged storage, whereas others may be injured
by brief exposures to low temperatures. Severity of
chilling injury increases as exposure time increases and
as the magnitude of temperature drop below the chill
ing threshold temperature increases. Chilling injury is
cumulative.
Products not sensitive to chilling injury are usually
cooled to near their freezing temperature. Although
water freezes at 0°C (32°F), fruits and some vegetables
freeze at temperatures several degrees lower because of
their high soluble solids content. Minimum tempera
ture limits of selected perishable products are listed in
appendix A.
PRODUCE TEMPERATURE
DURING MARKETING
Because the market life of produce is affected by time
and temperature, produce should be kept as cold as
possible without causing injury. Deterioration level is
 THE COMMODITY 7

related directly to the length of exposure to higher tem Temperature history Wt. loss Shrivel
peratures regardless of when exposure occurs. There •f
fore, effective protection of produce requires quick 68
cooling and good temperature maintenance through 1.9 10
out distribution. Maintaining low temperatures may
L
not be possible under all marketing conditions, but
68
tests have shown that keeping produce at its optimum
2.7 26
storage temperature for only a portion of the distribu 33
tion time is better than no refrigeration at all. Even i I
produce undergoing repeated cooling and warming
deteriorates at a slower rate than produce that has not
been cooled. 33
_T~ i i
2.7

|
33

Rapid marketing can minimize deterioration of pro

duce. For example, air transport is used for some high-
value and highly perishable products sold to overseas 4.4 42
33
markets. Rapid marketing does not, however, eliminate i i

the need for refrigeration, as shown in tests with cher 0 18 36 54 72

ries (fig. 6), which indicate that higher produce tem Time (hr)
peratures result in much greater loss (from
physiological deterioration, fruit rot, and desiccation), Figure 6. Effect of holding cherries at four temperature patterns.
even in a 2- or 3-day marketing period.
 2
Forced-Air Cooling
THOMPSON, RUMSEY, AND MITCHELL

Forced-air cooling is a widely used method of cool process, the fan is slowed, reducing fan energy use,
ing fruits, vegetables, or cut flowers (Guillou heat input to the refrigeration system, and possibly
1960; Parsons et al. 1970, 1972; Rij et al. 1979; product moisture loss.
Baird et al. 1988). Cooling is achieved by forcing cold
air through containers and past individual pieces of
product. Nearly all fresh market commodities can be SERPENTINE COOLER
cooled with forced air, but it is commonly used for tree
fruits, berries, melons, and cut flowers. It does not The serpentine cooler is designed to cool product in
require a water-resistant container as do hydrocooling pallet bins with vented bottoms. The openings under
and ice-cooling methods. Disadvantages of forced air neath the bins for the forklift tines are used as air-sup
are that it is usually slower than the other methods ply and air-return channels. Stacks of even numbers
(except room cooling), and it causes excessive water of bins are placed against a plenum wall, which has
loss in some commodities. slots that align with every other bin air channel (fig. 8,
Effective forced-air cooling requires packaging color plate 3). Narrow tarps are placed over alternate
designed so that cold air flows past individual pieces of bin openings on the bins farthest from the fan. The
product and air is kept at a consistent low temperature. tarps are placed only on the bin openings that are
opposite the plenum wall slits, thereby forcing the cold
air in the room to flow in alternate levels of bin open
TUNNEL COOLER ings, through product in the bins, and back to the
plenum wall through the channels formed by the fork-
The tunnel cooler is the most common design for forc lift openings.
ing air through product in boxes. Pallet loads of prod
uct are placed in two lanes on either side of an open
Cold air
channel (fig. 7, color plate 2). A tarp is placed over the Tarp
product, covering the open channel, and a fan removes Cold air
air from the channel, forcing air through the packed
product. The warmed air is directed to evaporator
coils, recoooled, and returned to the room. In the past,
ice blocks were used to cool the air. Pallets can be
stacked two high to obtain better use of the interior
volume of the cooler room. Product in pallet bins can
also be cooled with this air management system if bin
walls are vented.
This system cools large amounts of product in a
single batch without specifically managing the temper
ature of individual boxes or pallet loads. Many installa
tions are set up so that each batch has a separate fan.
The fan is sometimes fitted with motor-speed control
and, as the return air drops in temperature during the Figure 7. Schematic of a tunnel-type forced-air cooler.
 FORCED-AIR COOLING 9

Because forklift openings allow a small area for air

flow, a serpentine cooler is limited to relatively long
cooling times if the standard 0.6-meter (2-ft) deep fruit Evaporator coil
bins are stacked more than two or three deep from the
wall. Air speed through bin openings should not
exceed 5 nTsec"1(about 1,000 fpm), although it may
be possible to use airspeeds of 7.5 nvsec"1 (1,500 fpm)
Pallet openings
and still have acceptable variation in cooling times
blocked
between bins in different positions. Most systems are
designed for initial product cooling prior to packing.
Airflow rates are low (often 0.25 to 0.5 cfm/lb or less).
Cooling is usually done overnight, and product is con
sidered adequately cool when it reaches 5° to 10°C (41°
to50°F).
This system is often operated as a single batch,
although airflow can be started as soon as several
Figure 8. Schematic of a serpentine forced-air cooler.
lanes of bins are stacked as many away from the
wall as needed. Serpentine cooling uses cold room
volume well.

COLD-WALL COOLER

The cold-wall cooler efficiently cools small lots and

incomplete pallet loads of produce. Single pallets are
placed side by side against a plenum, usually in one
row on the floor and in one or two rows above on ele
vated brackets or shelves (fig. 9). The interior of the
plenum is under suction or, in some coolers, under
pressure. Dampers at each pallet position open with
pallet contact, allowing airflow to begin (color plate 4).
Dampers can be arranged to open only as high as the
stack of containers on the pallet, allowing stacks of var
ious heights to be cooled without adjustments or loss
of air.
Cut flowers are often cooled with pressure-type
cold-wall coolers (color plate 5). Packed boxes are
placed against a plenum pressurized to about 2 to 4 cm
(1 to 1.5 in) of water-column (w.c.) static pressure.
The plenum has holes that align with the box vents and
are designed to be small enough so that the pressure
drop across the holes is relatively large compared with
the pressure drop through the box. Airflow through
the holes does not change much when the box is placed
in position, so that the holes are always left open and
there is no need for a damper system.
Produce placed in a shelf-type cooler starts to cool
immediately. Operators do not need to position tarps
or start fans. Every pallet or bin is accessible for
removal at any time and may be immediately replaced
by another, allowing virtually continuous use of all
cooling positions. These advantages are offset by the
costs of shelves and dampers and the large floor area
needed in relation to the volume of material cooled. In
addition, each load finishes at a different time, forcing
Cold air
Damper is opened
when pallet is
pushed against
bumper
Figure 9. Schematic of a cold-wall-type forced-air cooler.
operators to monitor product temperature continu
ously and thereby prevent unnecessary exposure to air
flow after cooling. Some coolers have been set up with
a time-clock control system. Damper opening turns on
a green light and starts a timer. After a set period, the
timer turns off the green light and turns on a red light,
alerting the operator to check the temperature of prod
uct in that position to determine whether cooling is
complete.
COOLING TIME
Average product temperature during cooling follows
a pattern shown in figure 10. (This same pattern is
followed by products in a hydrocooler.) The rate
of temperature drop is related to the temperature
difference between the product and the cold air.
10 FORCED-AIR COOLING

Product temperature drop per hour is rapid at the
beginning of cooling and slows as the product nears
final temperature. This process is often approximated
with the concept of half cooling time, the time required
for the product temperature to drop half the difference
between the initial product temperature and the tem
perature of the cold air. In figure 10, the product
cooled 10°C, from 20°C to 10°C, in the first half cool
ing period. During the next half cooling period, equal
in time to the first, the product also loses half the dif
ference between the product temperature at the begin-
20(1) . Initial product temperature
£ 15(3/4)
/Average product temperature
* 10 0/2)
u
1 ply takes less time to cool. For a large-diameter product
Air temperature
5 (V4)
V8 cool
2.5 (V8)
'y,6cool
1.25 (V16)
0
6 9 12
Hours of cooling
Figure 10. Typical temperature pattern in produce cooling. The
numbers in parentheses indicate the fraction obtained
by dividing the difference between the product tempera
ture and the air temperature in the cooler by the differ
ence between the initial product temperature and the air
temperature.
ning of the cooling period minus the temperature of
the cold air. But, because the temperature difference at
the beginning of the second period is half of the tem
perature difference at the beginning of the first half
cooling period, the temperature drop during the sec
ond half cooling period is half as much, only 5°C. Most
products are left on the cooler for three half cooling
periods, seven-eighths cool, or four half cooling peri
ods, fifteen-sixteenths cool.
This cooling pattern demonstrates the need to keep
cold air close to its set point temperature, especially
near the end of cooling. If the refrigerated air tempera
ture rises only a few degrees in the third or fourth half
cooling periods, product may nearly stop cooling. Tun
nel coolers should be built as individual rooms or
divided into sections so that warm product arriving
later in the day will not affect the air temperature near
batches that are almost cooled.
Figures 11 and 12 are more accurate representa
tions of product cooling patterns. The lengths of the
half cooling periods are not exactly equal, although
assuming equal times is a good approximation. The fig
ures also show that product closest to the cool air sup
like cantaloupes, the difference between the fastest-
and slowest-cooling product is not great. The time
required for heat to be removed from the center of a
melon is about the same as the time required for heat
15 to be removed from the melons that receive cooling air
last. For a small-diameter product like cherries, how
ever the difference between the cooling times for the
fastest- and slowest-cooling product is large. A cooler
operator must ensure that a load is not removed from
the cooler until the warmest product has reached
proper temperature.

Cantaloupes at 2 cfm/lb or 1-s '. ki| ' Cherries at 2 cfm/lb or 1 . s"1- kg '
1V16COOl
100 7/8 15/,6 C00|

90
-30
_ 80
U.

"a 70 - 20
Most shielded
3
Most shielded
| 6° Mass average
Mass average
ft 50 -10 Most exposed
Most exposed
40

30
02468 0 0.5 1.0
Hours of cooling Hours of cooling

Figure 1 1 . Product temperature in a forced-air-cooled pallet of Figure 12. Product temperature in a forced-air-cooled pallet of
packed cantaloupe boxes. packed cherry boxes.

Total cooling time depends on airflow rate and
product diameter. Figure 13 shows that a large diameter
product takes considerably longer to cool than small-
diameter fruit. A 15-cm (6-in) diameter cantaloupe
takes 2 times more cooling time than a 1.3-cm (0.5-in)
diameter cherry. Cut flowers, which usually have very
small minimum diameters, have seven-eighths cooling
times of 10 minutes to 1 hour at 2.5 cm (1 in) w.c. sta
tic pressure, producing 2 to 4 l-sec"1'kg"1 (2 to 4
cfm/lb). Figure 13 also shows that increased airflow,
measured in air volume per time divided by mass of
product, reduces cooling time. Coolers are often
designed to provide airflow of about 1 l-sec"^kg"1
(1 cfm/lb), which provides rapid cooling and requires
a reasonably sized fan. Doubling the airflow to 2 1-
sec"1 -kg"1 (2 cfm/lb) reduces cooling times by about
40 percent for plums and cantaloupes. Doubling air
flow rate requires the fan to operate against about four
times more pressure and would require a motor with
about six to seven times more power. Reducing airflow
by one half increases cooling time by about 50 to 75
percent for all three fruits and dramatically reduces fan
motor size and energy costs. The disadvantages of slow
cooling are the need for more cooler floor area to han
dle an equivalent daily cooling need and slightly
increased product moisture loss.
Some packages allow air to bypass the product and
are commonly cooled with airflow rates above 2 !•
sec"1 -kg"' (2 cfm/lb) to achieve acceptable cooling
times. These packages generally require low pressure
differences to produce high airflow.
WIDTH OF CONTAINER STACKS
FOR FORCED-AIR COOLING
Wider product stacks increase the distance that cool
ing air must pass through product. This usually
increases the temperature difference between the
coolest and warmest product at the end of cooling. If,
however airflow is increased in a wide stack so that air
flow per product mass (I-sec"'-kgor cfm/lb) remains
the same, the temperature difference between the
warmest and coolest product will be about the same as
that for a narrow stack. The static pressure required to
move air increases rapidly as stack width is increased.
Coolers for products in containers are usually designed
for air to flow across the width of one pallet (maximum
product width of 1.2 m [4 ft]). Shipping containers are
commonly stacked two- or three-wide on pallets, but
stacks one box wide permit large airflow volumes for
fast cooling with low static pressure and are sometimes
used in conveyor-type coolers.
FORCED-AIR COOLING 11
12 -
10
.E
Grapes Plum Cantaloupe
Airflow rate (cfm/lb or I -s 1-kg"1)
Figure 13. Effect of product diameter and airflow rate on forced-air
cooling times.
FAN SELECTION
Fans are selected on the basis of the airflow they must
produce and the static pressure difference between the
inlet and the outlet of the fan. Most coolers operate
with airflow rates of 0.5 to 2.0 l-secr'-kg"1 (0.5 to 2.0
cfm/lb). As mentioned earlier, high rates allow quick
cooling but cause high energy use. Total airflow equals
the product weight placed on the cooler multiplied by
the airflow rate plus air that bypasses boxes and air
leaks. Some box designs, such as nestable plastic boxes,
allow some cooling air to flow between boxes rather
than only through them. The fan airflow rate should
be increased to account for this. To produce the same
cooling times, grapes in wood-end boxes with 2-cm
(0.75-in) cleats between box layers require twice as
much airflow as grapes in boxes without box separa
tors. Air can leak through pallet openings, gaps
between pallet stacks, and poorly placed tarps. Little
information is available on air leakage, but it may be as
low as 10 percent in a well-operated system and over
30 percent in a poorly operated one.
Forced-air cooler fans need to operate against a
range of airflows. Even if a cooler is specified to oper
ate at a single airflow rate (cfm/lb), the total flow may
change because different amounts of product are on
the cooler during the day or different products may be
placed on the cooler during the season. Some coolers
also are designed to reduce airflow as the process nears
the end point. To accommodate a range in airflow
needs, some coolers are operated with several fans in
various series or parallel combinations and sometimes
with fans powered by two-speed motors. A simpler way
to obtain airflow control is to operate fan motors with
12 FORCED-AIR COOLING
a variable-frequency motor speed controller that pro
duces a wide range of airflow rates.
It is often difficult to predict the static pressures
that forced-air cooling fans must operate against. Pres
sure drop across a pallet load of packed boxes is
affected by box sidewall vent area, measured as a per
centage of total sidewall area; number of vent open
ings; vent alignment between neighboring boxes;
number of boxes through which air travels; type of
interior packaging materials used; and alignment of
box vents with packaging material vents. Figure 14
shows a range of airflow and static pressure measure
ments for various commercial package designs used for
Thompson seedless grapes. To provide 1 l-sec"1'kg"1
(1 cfm/lb) for pallet loads of grapes, a fan may need to
c in cm
-8
I 3 • Axial-flow (propeller) and centrifugal (squirrel
0 1 2
Airflow rate (cfm/lb, l-s-'-kg-')
Figure 14. Pressure drop versus airflow through pallets of Thomp
son seedless grapes. The line in the graph represents the
typical airflow for nearly spherical product packed in
boxes with 5% venting, no interior packaging, and no
bypass air channels. Low pressure drops are caused
by boxes that allow air to flow between boxes and
bypass fruit.
0 1
Airflow rate (cfm/lb, l-s-'-kg-1)
Figure 15. Pressure drop versus airflow through pallets of Bartlett
pears. The line in the graph represents the typical air
flow for nearly spherical product packed in boxes with
5% venting, no interior packaging, and no bypass air
channels. High pressure requirements are caused by
inadequate venting of boxes and paper wrapping
of fruit.
operate against less than 6 mm ('/* in) inch w.c. to more
than 5 cm (2 in) w.c. The low air pressure is needed
for wood-end boxes, that allow air to flow between
boxes and bypass the fruit. The high pressures are
needed for boxes that are packed with paper-wrapped
fruit or other internal packaging materials that impede
airflow. Bartlett pears (fig. 15) require higher static
pressures because they are often packed in boxes with
low vent area and may be paper-wrapped or bagged. If
the same fans cooled both pears and grapes, then pres
sure range would be extremely broad. Because of this
uncertainty, a variable speed motor drive is often
needed.
Total pressure drop across the fan also includes
pressure drop across evaporator coils and resistances
in any ducts. As a general rule, forced-air cooling fans
should be selected to provide airflow against at least 5
cm (2 in) w.c. unless specific testing indicates lower
pressures are acceptable.
cage) fans are both used for forced-air coolers. Most
axial fans are better suited for systems where the fan
operates against less than 5 cm (2 in) w.c. Centrifugal
fans can be selected to operate against much higher
pressures and are generally quieter than axial flow fans.
Plug fans, which are centrifugal fans without a housing,
are commonly used in forced-air coolers.
Fast cooling generally requires high airflow rates
and high static pressures that result in high energy use.
Fan horsepower requirements are related to these two
factors with the following formulas.
In customary units,
qxjxH
P/ =
ex 470
where
P! = fan power (horse power)
q = airflow (cfm)
y = density of air (0.08 lb/ft5 at 32°F)
H = total pressure (in inches of water column and
often approximated as static pressure across fan)
2
e = fan efficiency (properly selected fans have effi
ciencies in the range of 0.4 to 0.7).
In SI units,
PI- ex IOC
 FORCED-AIR COOLING 13

where

P/ = fan power (kW)

q = airflow (m3-sec"1)

p = pressure (Pa)

£ = fan efficiency (properly selected fans have effi

ciencies in the range of 0.4 to 0.7).

CONTAINERS FOR
FORCED-AIR COOLING

The packing method and the containers must permit a

satisfactory volume of airflow with a reasonable pres
sure difference across the stack (Mitchell et al. 1971;
Wang and Tunpun 1968). Packs in which spaces
between product are occupied by packing material
(such as paper wraps) restrict airflow and slow cool
ing. Unvented, plastic-film box liners prevent air from
passing through a pack and cause very slow cooling.
Fruit packed in plastic trays will cool satisfactorily if
the containers are designed to let air pass both over and
under each tray. Grapes packed in vented, lidded con
tainers cool well by forced air despite their compact
mass (Luvisi et al. 1995). Air passing between unlid-
ded trays of strawberries makes good contact with the
berries as it eddies over and among them, making them
well suited to forced-air cooling.
Area of container vent holes should equal at least 5
percent of the total side panel area. Vent area less than
this restricts airflow, causing increased cooling time
and increased cooling costs. Most corrugated fiber-
board containers can have up to 5 percent venting
without significantly reducing stacking strength.
Open-top trays, as are used for berries and some veg
etables, can be designed with open sides, allowing
more than 15 percent vent area. Box venting should be
designed according to the following:
^ Vent size and shape should not allow vents to be
blocked by produce.
^ Avoid round vents if produce shape allows them to
be easily blocked.
^ Use a few large vents instead of many small vents.
^ Vents should be 1 cm (Yi in) wide or greater.
^ Keep vents 4 to 7 cm (1.5 to 3 in) from all corners.
Figure 16. Air vent design allowing box cross stacking.
^ For cross stacking, use the vent arrangement illus
trated in figure 16 and color plate 6.
If containers have a plastic liner or product is packed
in bags, the packaging system should be designed to
allow an air passage through the containers. For exam
ple, liner-packed grapes can be packed in a carton that
is slightly taller than the product, allowing air to flow
over the top of the liner in each container.
Foam plastic boxes provide about the same heat
insulation through their walls as do the two layers of
corrugated board in the walls of full telescope contain
ers. Cooling rates for foam plastic and two-layer corru
gated containers are about the same if the venting is
the same.
REFRIGERATION CAPACITY
Refrigeration capacity for a forced-air cooler is calcu
lated the same as for cold storage. Heat inputs are
summed from the following sources: product heat loss;
fans and motors; heat loss from packing materials; air
infiltration; heat conducted through cold room exte
rior surfaces; heat input from lights, lift trucks, and
people; and product respiration. Heat released from
the product is great at the beginning of cooling and
drops rapidly during the process. The refrigeration sys
tem must be sized to handle the high initial heat
release. A method of calculating refrigeration demand
is in chapter 7.

^ Vent area should be 5 percent of the side area.

14 FORCED-AIR COOLING
1.5
1.0
0.5
10 20 30 40 CF)
5 10 15 20 25 fC)
Temperature drop during cooling
Figure 17. Effect of carrot temperature reduction on weight loss
during forced-air cooling. Open points are cooling with
an airflow rate of 0.5 cfm/lb, and closed points are
cooling with an airflow rate of 2.0 cfm/lb.
MOISTURE LOSS IN FORCED-
AIR COOLING
Forced-air cooling causes virtually no moisture loss
under some conditions. In other cases, losses are great
enough to damage the product and prevent the use of
this cooling method. The amount of moisture loss
depends on initial temperature of the product, product
transpiration coefficient, use of waxes or moisture-
resistant packaging, speed of cooling, humidity of the
cooling air, and exposure to unnecessary airflow after
cooling is completed.
Product with high initial temperature loses more
weight than product with a low initial temperature (fig.
17). Initial product temperature can be kept low by
harvesting early in the morning or at night, shading
product that must be temporarily stored in the field,
and by starting cooling as soon as possible after har
vest. Some products are cooled before packing and
then recooled after they are packed. Minimize reheating
during packing to reduce moisture loss.
Products like oranges, which have a low transpira
tion coefficient (see table 3), lose virtually no water
during cooling and are well suited to forced-air cool
ing. The transpiration coefficient of carrots is 10 times
greater than that of oranges, and carrots can lose 0.6 to
1.8 percent of their uncooled weight in the tests
described in figure 17. Packing carrots in polyethylene
bags reduced moisture loss to 0.08 percent, although
cooling times were five times longer than those of
unbagged carrots. Apples, pears, kiwifruit, and grapes
are sometimes packed in film box liners to retard mois
ture loss. The liners are folded over at the top and not
tightly sealed. They sometimes have a few holes to
reduce moisture condensation. Products suited for
liner packing have slow respiration rates and can with
stand the slow cooling. Liner-packed grapes must also
have a sulfur-dioxide-generating pad inside the liner
to prevent decay growth (Gentry and Nelson 1964).
The data in figure 17 show that moisture loss is not
affected by greater airflow rates used for faster cooling.
Flockens and Meffert (1972) and Gan and Woods
(1989) drew the same conclusion from heat-transfer
modeling and testing on other products.
If cooling-air relative humidity is above 80 percent,
it has a negligible effect on moisture loss (Gan and
Woods 1989). Most of the vapor pressure difference
between the cooling air and the product is a result of
the warm product, not the humidity of the cooling air.
An advantage of high humidity during cooling is that
it may add moisture to fiberboard containers and
reduce product moisture loss in subsequent handling
because the packaging material will not remove as
much moisture from the product.
A forced-air cooler should be designed and oper
ated to reduce or stop airflow through the produce as
soon as it is cooled. Continued flow may cause serious
water loss from produce unless air is nearly saturated.
Some cooler fans are controlled on the basis of return-
air plenum temperature. Fans are slowed when the
plenum air temperature is very close to the supply air
temperature. Less air is needed near the end of cooling
than at the beginning because the heat-loss rate of the
product slows greatly near the end of cooling.
AIR-CHANNEL DIMENSIONS
IN FORCED-AIR COOLERS
Narrow air-supply and air-return channels in tunnel
coolers cause uneven pressure drop across pallets and
uneven cooling (Guillou 1963; Haerter 1963). The
channels should be wide enough so that air speeds are
less than 7.5 nrsec"1 (1,500 fpm). A narrow air-supply
channel (fig. 18) will cause bottom boxes in pallet
loads to cool slower than top boxes, and a narrow air-
return channel will cause pallets farthest from the fan
to cool slower than pallets closer to the fan.
Besides measuring temperature variation, another
way to determine poor air-channel design is to mea
sure the pressure drop across pallets at various heights
in individual pallets and at the same height for pallets
at various distances from the cooling fan. Large differ
ences in pressure drop indicate differences in airflow
through pallets.
 FORCED-AIR COOLING 15

Air-return area

Figure 18. Design of air-supply and air-return plenums in a tunnel-type cooler.

The following equations can be used to calculate 12 Pallet height in feet Pallet length in feet
for determining for determining
optimal air-channel widths. The distance between return channel width supply channel width
pallet loads in neighboring cooling positions is two
times Ws.
3
1
I
Lx2S 4

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

Fan air volume (cfm)

where
Pallet height in meters Pallet length in meters
Q = fan air volume (cfm or m3-sec"1) 4.0
for determining for determining
2.0
return channel width supply channel width
L = length of pallets on cooler (ft or m) 3.0 •-

Ws = air-supply channel width (ft or m) 2.0 -

H = height of pallets on cooler (ft or m) 1.0 -

Wr= air-return channel width (ft or m)

5 10 15
5= maximum air speed (1,500 fpm or Fan air volume (m3-*1
7.5 m-sec"1).
Figure 19. Recommended dimensions of air-supply and air-return
Air-channel widths can also be determined using fig plenums in a tunnel-type forced-air cooler. Top graph is
ure 19, which is based on the above equations. in customary units; bottom graph is in SI units.
16 FORCED-AIR COOLING
REDUCING ENERGY COSTS
Table 4 compares the energy efficiency of the five sys
tems based on a number called an energy coefficient.
The coefficient equals the cooling work done divided
by the energy purchased to operate the cooler. High
values represent high efficiency. Vacuum cooling is the
most energy efficient followed by hydrocooling, water-
spray vacuum cooling, package icing, and forced-air
cooling. Part of the reason for the high efficiency of
vacuum cooling is that it removes heat only from the
product being cooled. The other types of coolers
remove heat from fans, pumps, infiltration of outside
air, heat conducted through exterior walls, lights, fork-
lifts, and people working in the cooler. Nearly all
forced-air coolers are used for some short-term prod
uct storage. This contributes to their particularly low
energy-coefficient numbers, but it is not possible to
separate energy use for storage from the total.
The data in table 4 show a great difference between
the most efficient and least efficient coolers of a given
type. For example, a well-operated hydrocooler can
operate more efficiently than most vacuum coolers.
However, a poorly operated hydrocooler can have
nearly as low an energy efficiency as a forced-air cooler.
The difference in efficiency between a given cooler and
the best cooler of its type represents the potential for
energy savings.
Use of expensive peak-time electricity can be
reduced by installing an engine-generator set on-site;
slowing product cooling rate to shift refrigeration
demand to later in the day; using electric lift trucks and
charging their batteries at night; or by installing ice-
building equipment, which allows refrigeration equip
ment to operate at night and store ice for use the
following day (Thompson and Knutson 1989). The
financial feasibility of generating power on-site
depends mainly on the local cost of electricity and fuel.
Facilities in areas where electricity costs are high can
pay for the investment in equipment in a few seasons
of electricity savings. Air-pollution regulations restrict
Table 4. Comparison of energy use efficiency of
coolers, in order of increasing average
energy coefficient
Cooling method Average energy coefficient Range
Forced air 0.4 0.3-0.5
Package icing 0.7 0.3 - 1 .0
Water-spray vacuum 1.1 0.9-1.3
Hydro 1.4 0.7-2.3
Vacuum 1.8 1.5-2.5
Source: Adapted from Thompson and Chen 1988.
the use of stationary engines in some regions. Using
less airflow and slowing cooling can work well if a
facility has unused cooling capacity at night. Quality of
most commodities is not adversely affected if product
can begin cooling quickly after harvest and final cool
ing postponed to night hours. Battery-operated lift
trucks reduce demand because they produce less heat
than propane-powered units and the battery charging
can be done at night. Electric lifts are slightly more
expensive to operate than propane, but in some
instances it is not legal to operate propane lifts inside
enclosed spaces because they expose workers to car
bon monoxide. Propane lifts also release ethylene,
which can damage some products. Packed tower refrig
eration systems, which use cold water to cool air, are
well suited to ice-building equipment, but they are not
easily set up to cool air below 0°C (32°F) as is often
needed in tunnel coolers. Cold-wall systems can be set
up to force the air directly from the heat exchanger to
the product, preventing the cooling air from warming
before it reaches the product, as it does in tunnel cool
ers.
An energy accounting of two forced-air coolers
(Thompson and Chen 1988) showed that 47 percent
of the refrigeration energy used was for product cool
ing. The rest was used for removing heat from fans
(37%), propane lift trucks (8%), heat conducted across
exterior cooler surfaces and through air infiltration
(7%), and heat from miscellaneous sources such as
lights and workers (1%). Heat input to forced-air cool
ers and the refrigeration needed to remove it can be
reduced in several ways:
^ Reduce fan energy by using well-vented boxes;
selecting an evaporator coil with about three fins
per inch to reduce pressure drop across coil; turn
ing off or slowing fans when not needed for cool
ing; selecting fans with good efficiency under
typical air pressures and flow rates; and using high-
efficiency motors.
^ Use electric lift trucks in the cooler.
^ Insulate the cooler; new coolers are often built with
R-40 in the walls and R-60 in the ceiling.
^ Restrict air infiltration by using fast-acting doors,
flap doors, and seals between building and refriger
ated transport vehicles.
^ Use energy-efficient lighting.
^ Cool products after culling to eliminate cooling
fruit that will not be sold.

TROUBLESHOOTING SLOW-
COOLING PROBLEMS
Slow cooling in tunnel-type forced-air coolers is caused
by a refrigeration system that does not maintain con
sistent air temperature or inadequate airflow through
containers.
Symptom: Cooling air temperatures rise during peri
ods when large amounts of product are being cooled.
Cause: Refrigeration capacity is probably inadequate.
Undersized refrigeration equipment or poor main
tenance may allow air temperature to rise. Work with
a refrigeration engineer to evaluate equipment perfor
mance and to determine the best and least expensive
way to increase refrigeration capacity.
In tunnel-type coolers, warm product entering the
cooler and initial cooling may cause a temporary
increase in air temperature in certain parts of a cooler,
thereby slowing or even warming product that is near-
ing completion. Instead of buying extra refrigeration
capacity for occasional peak loads, divide the cooler
into separate airspaces (fig. 20) to prevent the air from
one cooling position from affecting the cooling in
neighboring positions. If each cooling position in a
large room has its own evaporator coil, then each posi
tion can be set up as a separate airspace. If several
positions are cooled with the same evaporator, then
it may be best to have one airspace per evaporator.
Uninsulated walls or even curtains can be used to
divide the cooler.
Top view
Figure 20. In a tunnel-type cooler without dividers (A), warm air from one cooling position can mix with air from other positions. Uninsulated
walls can be used to separate tunnel cooling positions (B) and prevent warm air from a recently loaded position from slowing the
cooling of a neighboring position.
FORCED-AIR COOLING 17
Symptom: Temperature records show that cooling air
temperature is consistently at the set point, but all out
side boxes on pallets, which have first contact with the
cold air, cool slowly.
Cause: Not enough air is flowing through the boxes:
^ Boxes are not adequately vented (5 percent carton-
wall venting is needed and vents must align when
boxes are palletized).
^ Packing materials are blocking airflow.
^ Fan has too little airflow capacity (1 to 2 I'sec"1'kg"1
[1 to 2 cfm/lb] of product on the cooler is needed).
^ Too many boxes are being placed on the cooler
(each pound of product needs 1 to 2 cfm for rapid
cooling).
^ Air is bypassing boxes through pallet openings or a
poorly sealed tarp on a tunnel-type cooler.
Fan capacity, measured in cubic feet minute (cfm)
or cubic meters per second (m3-sec"1), can be esti
mated by measuring the static pressure difference
between the fan inlet and outlet and the fan's rotational
speed and then using fan manufacturer's performance
data to estimate airflow capacity. A permanently
installed pressure gauge measuring return-air plenum
pressure will alert operators to airflow problems. For
example, air bypassing boxes is associated with unusu
ally low air pressure in the return-air duct.
Top view
18 FORCED-AIR COOLING
Symptom: Temperature records show that cooling air
temperature is consistently at the set point, and some
outside boxes, those that get first contact with the cold
air, cool fast but others cool slowly.
Cause: Air-supply or air-return channels (see fig. 18)
are not wide enough:
^ A narrow air-supply channel causes slow cooling of
boxes near the floor.
^ A narrow air-return channel causes slow cooling of
pallets farthest from the fan.
Channels should be wide enough so that air speed
in them does not exceed a maximum of 7.5 nvsec"1
(1,500 fpm). High air speeds cause uneven air distrib
ution and large static pressure variations in the
air-supply or air-return air channels. Highest air
speeds are near the top of the pallets in the air-
supply channel and near the fan in the air-return chan
nel. A hot-wire anemometer or vane anemometer can
be used to measure air speeds in air channels. A pres
sure gauge can be used to check for air-pressure varia
tion in the channels.

3
Hydrocooling
THOMPSON
Hydrocoding is used for many fresh market prod
ucts, including many types of tree fruit, melons,
root vegetables, and stem vegetables (Bennett
1963; Stewart and Upton 1960; Mitchell et al. 1972;
Pentzer et al. 1936; Perry and Perkins 1968; Toussaint
et al. 1955). This method is never used for grapes, cut
flowers, and most berries because the surface water left
after cooling encourages decay. Most leaf vegetables
can be hydrocooled but are usually vacuum-cooled or
water-spray vacuum-cooled because these methods are
faster and vacuum cooling does not require a water-
resistant box. Hydrocooling removes no water from the
produce and may even revive slightly wilted produce.
Effective hydrocooling requires that cooling water
^ Should move over the surface of the produce.
^ Should contact as much of the product surface as
possible.
^ Must be kept as cold as possible.
^ Must be kept free of decay-causing organisms.
Evaporator
Water recirculation
Water reservoir
Figure 21. Cutaway side view of a continuous-flow shower hydrocooler.
1 9
The two main types of hydrocoolers are water-
shower and product-immersion designs. In the first
type, water is pumped above the product and rains
down past it. Produce in containers or unpacked prod
uct moves slowly and continuously through the
shower (fig. 21, color plate 7), or produce in contain
ers can be loaded as a batch in the cooler (fig. 22).
Shower-type coolers have a drilled metal pan that dis
tributes cold water over the top of the product. Spray
nozzles are sometimes used to distribute water, but
they require much more pump energy than a shower-
pan distribution system. Immersion coolers (fig. 23,
color plate 8) are used mainly for bulk product. They
are best suited for products like cherries that are denser
than water and stay completely immersed. A conveyor
with raised cleats of flights is often used to move fruit
through the cold-water bath.
Cooling time in shower-type coolers depends
mainly on product minimum diameter. Figure 24 is a
summary of data from Stewart and Couey (1963),
Stewart and Lipton (1960), and ASHRAE (1990) show
ing that seven-eighths cooling time increases with
increasing minimum product diameter. Small-diameter
Product in
20 HYDROCOOLING
products such as asparagus and radishes cool in less
than 10 minutes, whereas large cantaloupe can take 1
hour to cool. A leafy covering over a product, like the
husk on sweet corn, causes longer cooling times than
would be expected from a solid product with the same
diameter. The leaf layers in cabbage also retard heat
transfer, causing a 13-cm (5.5-in) diameter head to
have a 3.5-to 4-hour seven-eighths cooling time.
In shower-type coolers, water flow for product in
shallow layers needs to be in the range of 4.8 to 6.8
liters per second per square meter (I'sec"'-m"2; 7 to 10
gallons per minute per square foot of cooling area
[gpm/ft2]), to get fastest cooling. As product depth
increases, particularly when produce is in boxes or
bins, water tends to flow around certain locations caus
ing slow cooling in these regions. Increasing the water
flow ensures that the locations with restricted flow get
enough water flow. Commercial coolers designed to
handle double-stacked pallet bins (about a 1.2-m [4-ft]
product depth) use rates of 13.6 to 17.0 l-sec"'-m"2 (20
to 25 gpm/ft2). Water-flow rates above this level rarely
reduce cooling time, and there is little temperature dif
ference between top and bottom layers of product at
these rates.
Uniform rapid cooling can be obtained at flow rates
lower than those recommended above if container
venting is limited so that water nearly fills the con
tainer during cooling. Because of difficulties in adjust
ing and maintaining bottom vent openings to allow
water filling, it is easier to speed cooling by increasing
the water-flow rate. Adding wetting agents to the
cooler water has been tested as a means of speeding
Evaporator
Pump
Trash screen
Drip pan
Water reservoir
Figure 22. Cutaway front view of a batch hydrocooler with product in bins.
cooling, but the effect has been inconsistent, and they
are not used commercially.
Hydrocoolers should be designed so that the dis
tance between the water distribution pan and the top
product never exceeds 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in). Leafy
vegetables and other vegetables such as broccoli and
asparagus are subject to water-beating damage if the
drop height exceeds this range. The damage appears as
dark water-soaked areas on the exposed leaves. A
water-drop distance of more than 20 cm (8 in) can
cause surface pitting of sweet cherries. Install the
water-distribution pan as close to the product as possi
ble. If the product height in a cooler is not consistent,
a second, adjustable height pan can be installed below
the fixed pan. Product in pallet bins or field boxes can
be covered with a perforated lid to reduce effective
water-drop height.
Batch coolers need the same water-flow rates as
continuous-flow shower coolers. Batch units are usu
ally used in smaller operations that handle palletized
product.
Immersing product in cold water brings it in con
tact with all surfaces, but water must actively circulate
past each individual product for fast cooling. Because
motion of the produce through a tank is seldom suffi
cient to do this, propellers or pumps must be installed
to circulate the water. Bennett (1963) recommended
an average water speed of 0.076 nrs"1 (15 fpm) past
peaches for rapid cooling. Some coolers use an air-bub
bling system to agitate the water. This technique is
energy inefficient unless the air, which cools as it rises
through the tank, is recirculated or used to cool a stor-
Water distribution pan

Cooled
product
Evaporator ^
Figure 23. Cutaway side view of a continuous-flow immersion hydrocooler.
age area around the cooler. Immersion coolers usually
require more cooling time than shower coolers.
Water temperature should be kept at 0° to 0.5°C
(32° to 33°F) for most products. Even chilling-sensi
tive products that are cooled only to temperatures
above 5°C (41°F) can be cooled with 0°C (32°F) water
if cooling time is limited. These products are not
usually injured if their average flesh temperature does
not drop below their damage threshold (Gaffney and
Baird 1975).
Containers must have adequate top and bottom
venting to allow cooling water to flow through the
package. This is a particular problem in hydrocooling
products packed in corrugated fiberboard containers,
especially where containers are palletized. Vent holes
must align even when the boxes are cross stacked.
Leaves can cause water channeling or block poorly
designed vents thereby slowing cooling.
Containers and packing materials must be water-
resistant. Wood and plastic work well in hydrocoolers,
but corrugated fiberboard can be used if it has been
wax-dipped. Although even wax-dipped fiberboard
sometimes fails if exposed to long hydrocooling times
and waxing increases the container cost, sometimes to
nearly half the total cooling charge.
Hydrocooler water must be relatively free of decay-
causing organisms to prevent disease spread. Water
supply should be potable, from a clean well or domes
tic supply. Water from streams or ponds is rarely clean
enough. Because nearly all coolers recirculate water,
the cooler must be designed to control disease organ
isms that enter the system from incoming product.
Extremely dirty produce should be washed before
entering the cooler. In some cases, washing may also
be used for initial cooling if the water is not recircu-
lated and the water supply is cool. Moving screens are
placed in front of the pump inlet to remove leaves or
large-sized trash. Chlorine, a powerful oxidizing agent,
is commonly used to disinfect the water. Water near
0°C (32°F) requires 100 to 150 ppm of available chlo
rine and a pH near 7.0. Ozone has been used as a dis
HYDROCOOLING 21
Product in
Water recirculation
infectant in a few commercial operations. Cooler water
should be changed at least daily unless the product is
unusually clean. Waste water, which may contain pes
ticide residues, sediment, and chlorine, can usually be
applied to nearby land, but pollution control regula
tions may forbid this means of disposal.
The cooler should be designed for easy and thor
ough cleaning. All parts of the water-distribution pan
should be accessible. If it is covered with insulated pan
els, they should be easily removable to permit conve
nient inspection for plugged holes. The reservoir must
also be accessible, so that sediment and debris can be
removed when the water is changed. The drain should
be large for fast draining and placed low so that all of
the water drains out. Self-cleaning trash screens are used
in most hydrocoolers.
Chlorine is corrosive to common metals, but some
cooler parts in contact with water can be made of plas
tic or wood, which resist chlorine attack. Although
stainless steel is also resistant to chlorine, it is expen
sive. Mild steel must be painted to provide some pro
tection, although paint requires regular maintenance.
The hydrocooler conveyor capacity can be esti
mated knowing product cooling time and product pro
duction rate. Use figure 25 or the following formula,
60
where
C = conveyor capacity (tons or metric tons, consis
tent with P )
P = weight of produce cooled per hour (tons or
metric tons per hour)
T = cooling time (minutes).
For an example in customary units, figure 24 shows
that peaches can be hydrocooled in 20 minutes. Figure
25 shows that with this cooling time and a production
22 HYDROCOOLING

rate of 60 tons per hour, the cooler must be large . Packed sweet corn
with husk
enough to hold 20 tons of product. 80
The area of the cooler conveyor (area under the
shower) can be calculated by dividing the conveyor capac
ity by the area needed per unit of product weight. . Individual sweet r t
60 * corn with husk Cantaloupe .

• Citrus
-5 40

where Potato • Cantaloupe

Celery in crate
Tomato '
Apple
20 I- Brussels Peach
A = cooler area (square feet or square meters, con sprouts • • Individual celery
sistent with C and B) U Carrotj
- Radish 5 10
Asparagus ^ (cm)
B = product weight per unit area (tons per square
2 3 5 (in)
foot or metric tons per square meter)
Product diameter

C = conveyor capacity (tons or metric tons)

Peaches weigh about 1,000 lb in a typical 4-by-4-ft
pallet bin and, if they are placed two high in the cooler,
1 ton occupies 16 ft2. Therefore, the cooler needs a
cooling area of 20 tons divided by Y\« ton/ft2, equaling
320 ft2.
Conveyor length depends on selecting a convenient
conveyor width. For example, product in bins requires
a 4-ft-wide (1.2-m-wide) conveyor for a single-bin
design or an 8-ft-wide (2.4-m-wide) conveyor to
accommodate two bins across.
w Ice is used in a few small coolers with short-use sea
where
A = cooler area (square feet or square meters, con
sistent with C and B)
L = conveyor length (feet or meters)
W = conveyor width (feet or meters)
A two-bin-wide cooler for the peach example will
have a length of 40 feet (12 m).
Conveyor speed can be calculated with the follow
ing formula,
where
L = conveyor width (feet or meters)
T = cooling time (minutes)
V = conveyor speed (feet or meters per minute, con
sistent with L )
Figure 24. Effect of minimum product diameter on cooling time in
shower-type hydrocoolers.
The two-bin-wide conveyor for the peach cooler
would need to travel at a speed of 2 feet (0.6 m)
per minute.
Most hydrocoolers use mechanical refrigeration.
Figure 26 shows the approximate amount of refrigera
tion needed for an uninsulated hydrocooler, installed
outside. Detailed calculations of refrigeration demand
are in chapter 7.
sons. It is expensive and, because large blocks of ice do
not have enough surface area to keep water at low
enough temperatures, a lot of labor is required to break
the ice into fist-sized pieces and load it into the cooler.
Refrigeration evaporator coils are traditionally
installed in the water reservoir below the product. Plac
ing the evaporator above the distribution pan allows
more rapid water flow past the coil, produces a better
heat-exchange rate, and allows a smaller, less expen
sive coil to be used. Top-mounted coils also allow the
reservoir to be smaller, reducing both water and energy
use. Without immersed coils, the reservoir needs to be
large enough to accommodate the pump intake and
screens and have enough extra volume during opera
tion to handle the draw down caused by filling the
pipes, distribution pan, and packages with water.
Water-pump capacity can be calculated by select
ing a water-flow rate based on the earlier discussion
and multiplying this by the conveyor area. Pressure
that the pump operates against is called head, mea
sured in water-column height. A hydrocooler designed
for product in bins and an evaporator mounted above
the water-distribution pan has a head of about 9 meters
(30 ft). Motor size for the pump should be determined
 HYDROCOOLING 23

based on manufacturer's data supplied with the pump. REDUCING ENERGY COSTS
It can be approximated with the following formulas. In
customary units, Many electric utilities charge more for electricity use
in the daytime than at night to encourage their cus
QxH tomers to shift their electricity use to the night hours.
M=
e x 3,960 Unfortunately, produce usually needs to be cooled dur
where ing the day. Daytime electricity demand can be reduced
by using an ice-accumulator refrigeration system. A
M = motor power (horsepower) moderate-capacity refrigeration unit freezes water on
evaporator coils that are built into a water tank. The
Q = water flow rate (gpm) system can operate 24 hours a day or even just during
the off-peak electrical rate period, making ice that
H = static head (ft) melts when refrigeration demand is great during the
day. The overall economics of this system are favorable
e = pump efficiency (usually between 0.50 and if the electricity load-shifting equipment is a part of a
0.70). new installation. The ice-building equipment cost is
nearly equal to the cost savings of being able to install
In SI units, a smaller-capacity compressor and condenser. Water
freezing around the coils tends to concentrate dirt in
Qxp the remaining unfrozen water, but much of this accu
M=
mulated dirt can be drained off with a minimum loss
where of refrigeration when there is a maximum ice load on
the coils.
M = motor power (kW) An energy accounting of two stone-fruit hydrocool-
ers (Thompson and Chen 1989) showed that 53 per
Q = water-flow rate (m3-sec"1) cent of the refrigeration energy used was for product
cooling. The rest was used for removing heat conducted
p = pressure (kPa) across exterior cooler surfaces and pipes and through
air infiltration (27%); eliminating heat added by the
e = pump efficiency (usually between 0.50 and water pumps (10%); cooling water before startup (8%);
0.70). and cooling well water added to replace leakage (2%).
Hydrocooler energy use can be reduced by

1,000
Product temperature drop (°C or °F)
100 -

0 10 20 30 40 50

Product cooling rate (tons/hr or metric tons/hr)

Product throughput (tons/hr or metric tons/hr)

Figure 26. Approximate refrigeration capacity for an uninsulated
hydrocooler installed outdoors. For refrigeration capac
Figure 25. Conveyor load capacity for a continuous-flow hydro- ity in tons, use °F and tons per hour; for refrigeration
cooler. capacity in kW, use °C and metric tons per hour.
24 HYDROCOOLING
Insulating the cooler and piping, restricting air
infiltration and installing a shade over the cooler or
installing the cooler inside an insulated cold room.
Minimizing the amount of water pumped and head
pressure.
Using a shower pan instead of pressurized nozzles
to distribute water.
Reducing the water reservoir volume to lower the
amount of cooling at startup.
Designing the cooler exit to catch most of the water
applied to the product.
Cooling products after culling in the packing
house, to eliminate cooling the culled fruit.
Operating at maximum capacity during the day
(this minimizes energy use per unit cooled associ
ated with pumps and with removing conduction
and infiltration heat; these energy uses depend on
the amount of time the cooler is in operation, not
on the amount of product cooled).
MEASURING EXTERIOR HEAT
GAIN OF A HYDROCOOLER
Conduction and infiltration heat entering a free-stand
ing hydrocooler can be a significant amount of the total
load on the refrigeration system. The size of this load
can be estimated by cooling the water reservoir to oper
ating temperature. With the water pump operating and
the refrigeration system off, measure the rate of tem
perature rise in the water in the reservoir. Water tem
perature should be measured every few minutes for
about 15 minutes. The following formula relates the
average water warming rate to refrigeration capacity.
(mc-cc + DT - Qp
R=
where
R = refrigeration capacity (tons or kW)
iric = weight of the empty cooler, includes all parts
that are cooled (lb or kg)
cc = specific heat of the cooler (assume cooler is
made entirely of steel and 0.11 Btu/lb/°F or 0.46
kJ-kg-'^C-' for steel)
mw = weight of water in the cooler (lb or kg);
1 ft3 of water weighs 62.4 Ib, or 1 m3 of water
weighs 1,000kg
cw = specific heat of water (1 Btu/lb/°F or 4.19
DT = average rate of water temperature increase
(°F/hr or "Ohr1)
Qp= heat (in Btuh) added by water pump. Assume
90 percent of the motor energy use ends up as heat
in the water and 1 Hp = 2,540 Btuh. For example, a
30-Hp pump motor adds (30)x(2,540)x(0.90) =
68,580 Btuh. A fully loaded 22-kW motor adds 19.8
kW of heat.
k = 12,000 Bum/ton or 3,600 s-hr1.
This procedure will determine the exterior heat
gain at the average ambient conditions during the test.
Heat gain will vary with air temperature and humidity,
wind conditions, sun orientation, and cloud cover. For
example, a test conducted at solar noon, on a hot, clear
day, with a strong wind determines maximum heat
gain.
WATER CHLORI NATION
Hydrocooler water needs about 100 ppm of available
chlorine, measured as hypochlorus acid (HOC1), to
prevent the spread of decay organisms. Chlorine can
be obtained by adding chlorine gas (Ch), sodium
hypochlorite (NaOCl), or calcium hypochlorite
(Ca(OCl)2). Check supplier's labels to determine
which formulations are registered for a particular com
modity and to determine recommended chlorine con
centrations. Chlorine is not presently registered for cut
flowers or other ornamental crops. Chlorine gas is the
least expensive of the three sources and is usually used
in larger operations with automatic chlorine and pH
monitoring and control systems. Sodium hypochlorite
is ordinarily sold as a liquid solution. Household chlo
rine bleach usually has a 5.25 percent sodium hypo
chlorite concentration. Commercial solutions are
concentrations of 9.5 percent to 15 percent. Adding 19
fluid ounces of 5.25 percent chlorine to 100 gallons of
chlorine-free water produces a 100-ppm HOC1 solu
tion (2.7 liters of bleach to 1,000 liters of water). Cal
cium hypochlorite is sold as a powder or tablet with
about 65 percent active ingredient. Adding 2.8 ounces
of 65 percent calcium hypochlorite to 100 gallons pro
duces a 100-ppm HOC1 solution (210 g to 1,000 liters

of water). Because the powder does not rapidly dissolve
in cold water and undissolved particles cause bleach
ing or product burns, the powder should be dissolved
in tepid water before being added to the cooler. The
tablets are added directly to the cooler reservoir and, if
properly used, will slowly dissolve, providing a contin
uous chlorine supply.
Excess sodium concentrations can cause damage to
some fruits, particularly apples. A 100-ppm HOC1
solution made from sodium hypochlorite will have
a 30-ppm sodium concentration. As more sodium
hypochlorite is added to replenish the hypochlorus ion
concentration, more sodium is added. Because sodium
levels above 100 ppm will damage sensitive apple cul-
tivars, water must be regularly changed to prevent
sodium buildup.
Water pH (acidity or alkalinity) should be kept in
the range of 6.5 to 7.5. Levels below this range cause
equipment corrosion problems and release of toxic
chlorine gas. Above 7.5 pH, the chlorine is mostly in
the form of hypochlorite ion (OC1"), which is not par
ticularly germicidal. Automated chlorine systems con
tinuously check and control pH, but litmus paper or
electronic meters can be used to measure pH in manu
ally controlled operations. Muratic acid, a common
name for hydrochloric acid, is often used to decrease
pH, and lye (sodium hydroxide) can be added to
increase pH. All of these materials must be used
according to their labels. Chlorine source also has an
effect on pH. Chlorine gas decreases pH, whereas
sodium and calcium hypochlorite increase pH.
Organic matter in the cooling water ties up chlo
rine, making it unavailable for disinfection. Tests in
stone-fruit hydrocoolers showed that available chlo
rine levels dropped by 50 percent after 48 bins were
cooled, a few hours of operation (Ritenour and
Crisosto 1996). Chlorine levels may need to be moni
tored several times a day in a well-used cooler. Avail
able chlorine can be measured with a chemical test kit.
Some testing systems measure total chlorine (available
chlorine and chlorine combined with organic matter)
and should not be used unless the cooling water is very
clean. Some test kits will not measure available chlo
rine levels above several ppm. They can be used if the
cooling water is diluted with 100 parts of deionized
water and the reading multiplied by 100. This proce
dure provides poor resolution in reading levels.
Automatic control systems produce constant chlo
rine and pH levels in the water, allowing the active
chlorine level to be set near lower recommended lev
els. Manual control allows much more variation in
chlorine concentration during cooler operation.
HYDROCOOLING 25
HYDROCOOLER OPERATION
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
Water should be changed daily unless the product is
particularly clean when entering the cooler. Available
chlorine levels should be checked at least daily. Incom
ing product with a lot of trash or dirt will cause a rapid
drop in available chlorine, and chlorine levels will need
to be checked several times a day. The section on chlo-
rination gives more details on chlorine measurement.
Proper operation of a hydrocooler requires regular
product temperature measurement. The cooler opera
tor should measure and record the incoming and out
going temperature of each lot of product. Product
temperatures are best measured with a lightweight,
sharp probe. Electronic or even dial thermometers can
be used. Do not use glass thermometers because of the
danger of broken glass remaining in fruit. If the ther
mometer probe is initially much warmer than the prod
uct, it should be placed in a fruit to cool and then a
second probing done for final temperature measure
ment. Calibrate thermometers using a well-stirred mix
ture of ice and clean water. Thermometers should
equilibrate to 0°C (32°F) after a few minutes. Many
units can be adjusted to read correctly at this tempera
ture. Sample product from various locations in the
cooler. With some experience, an operator will learn
where the warmest product is likely to be in a particu
lar cooler. If outgoing fruit temperature rises above the
desired range, the cooler operation needs to be checked
carefully. The following section describes a systematic
way of diagnosing hydrocooler problems.
TROUBLESHOOTING SHOWER-
TYPE HYDROCOOLERS
In shower hydrocoolers with the evaporator installed
above the water-distribution pan or between the reser
voir and the pan, water temperature in the water-dis
tribution pan above the product and water temperature
in the reservoir under the product are clues to the rea
son for the poor cooling performance.
Symptom: Water temperature increases in the distrib
ution pan and in the reservoir during a cooling cycle
or increases as the air temperature rises during the day.
Cause: Inadequate refrigeration capacity. To solve the
problem
^ Reduce external heat gain by insulating the cooler,
protecting it from the sun, installing plastic flap
curtains or roll-down doors to restrict air infiltra
tion, or installing it in a cold room. Heat entering
26 HYDROCOOLING
the cooler from air infiltration and conduction
across the walls can equal 25 percent to 30 percent
of the refrigeration requirements of a hydrocooler
installed in the open.
^ Reduce incoming product temperature by initial
cooling with high-quality well water. Water should
be used only once and then used for irrigation. This
initial cooling also cleans the product, reducing
trash buildup and soil accumulation in the cooler.
^ Check refrigeration maintenance.
^ Increase refrigeration capacity. There are many
ways this can be done depending on the design of a
particular system. In ice-operated coolers, this
problem can be solved by adding more ice or break
ing the ice into smaller pieces.
^ Put less product on a batch cooler, or slow the con
veyor on a continuous-flow cooler.
Symptom: Water temperature increases in the reser
voir during a cooling cycle but remains cold in the dis
tribution pan.
Cause: Inadequate water flow through the distribution
pan. A continuous-flow cooler with a shallow product
depth (as is used for cherries) needs about 4.8 to 6.8
I'sec"1'm"2 (7 to 10 gpm/ft2); a batch or continuous-
flow cooler for a deep product bed (pallet loads of cel
ery) needs 13.6 to 17.0 l-sec-'-nr2 (20 to 25 gpm/ft2).
To solve the problem
^ Check water pump.
^ Check trash screens.
^ Check for debris plugging the shower pan holes.
^ Install more water-flow capacity and perhaps increase
the number of holes in the distribution pan.
^ Put less product on the cooler.
Symptom: Water temperature remains cold in the
reservoir and in the distribution pan but product cools
slowly or nonuniformly.
Cause: Inadequate water flow through packaged prod
uct. To solve the problem
^ Increase top and bottom package vent area.
> Ensure that package vents align if packages are
stacked in the cooler.
^ Leafy products may shed water like shingles on a
roof; consider using a different packing method.
^ Ensure that water is supplied uniformly to the dis
tribution pan.
Cause: Trying to cool faster than heat can be removed
from product interior (see fig. 24 for typical cooling
times). To solve the problem
^ Leave product in the cooler longer; this may require
additional hydrocooler capacity.
^ Reduce incoming product temperature by using
shades in receiving area, harvesting earlier in the
day or at night, and quickly transporting product
to the cooler after harvest.
TROUBLESHOOTING
IMMERSION HYDROCOOLERS
Water temperature is the first thing to check when
troubleshooting immersion coolers. The common
problems are poor water flow or not leaving the prod
uct in the cooler long enough. If the product floats, it
is better suited to a shower cooler.
Symptom: Water temperature is cold (0° to 0.5°C [32°
to 33°F] for nonchilling sensitive products), but prod
uct is not adequately cooled.
Cause: Water agitation or water movement past the
product is not adequate. To solve the problem
^ Increase pump capacity to increase water speed
past the product. Relative speed of the water past
the product should be at least 0.075 nvsec"1
(15 fpm).
^ Add a water agitation system; an air bubbler will
speed cooling.
^ Leave product in the cooler longer; this may require
additional hydrocooler capacity.
^ Reduce incoming product temperature by using
shades in receiving area, harvesting earlier in the
day or at night, and quickly transporting product
to the cooler after harvest.
 HYDROCOOLING 27

Cause: Trying to cool faster than heat can be removed
from product interior. To solve the problem
^ Leave product in the cooler longer.
^ Reduce incoming product temperature.
Symptom: Water temperature is not cold enough;
water should be at least 0.5° to 1.0°C (1° to 2°F) colder
than the desired temperature of the product at the exit
of the cooler.
Cause: Inadequate water-cooling capacity. To solve the
problem
Replace an air bubbler with another type of water-
agitation system, or design the air-handling system
to recirculate air from the bubbler.
Reduce incoming product temperature by initial
cooling with high-quality well water. Water should
be used only once and then used for irrigation.
Check refrigeration maintenance.
Increase refrigeration capacity; this can be done in
many ways, depending on the design of a particular
system.

^ Put less product through the cooler.

^ Reduce external heat gain. Most immersion coolers

are installed as part of a packing house so they are
usually inside a building. If they are outside, heat
gain can be reduced by insulating the cooler, pro
tecting it from the sun, installing plastic flap cur
tains, or installing it in a cold room.
28

4
Room, Ice, Vacuum, and Transport Cooling
THOMPSON, MITCHELL, AND KASMIRE

ROOM COOLING plenum wall has floor-to-ceiling slits, directing air to

Exposing produce containers to cold air in refriger
ated storage is a common method (Guillou 1960;
Sainsbury 1961) for cooling apples and pears in
controlled-atmosphere storage and citrus fruits in
atmospheric storage. It is well suited for finish cooling
of product that has been cooled to within a few degrees
of optimal temperature during packing, such as cher
ries packed in plastic liners and fresh cut vegetables. A
simple arrangement is to discharge cold air into a cold
room horizontally just below the ceiling. The air
sweeps the ceiling and returns past the produce
stacked on the floor (fig. 27). In rooms more than 15
m (50 ft) long, ceiling ducts may be used to ensure that
cooled air reaches all parts of the room (fig. 28). Air
flow out the end of the ceiling duct or plenum pro
duces good flow past the end pallets and product near
the floor. The openings along the ceiling plenum direct
air past the center pallets. Another commonly used air-
handling system directs cooled air to a plenum wall.
Palletized product is stacked against the wall with a 9-
to 13-cm (3.5- to 5-inch) gap between pallet lanes. The
the gap between pallets. Air flows horizontally past
product, rises up to the ceiling, and returns to the top
of the plenum wall (fig. 29). It has the advantage of
directing the coolest and most humid air past the prod
uct first before it picks up heat from infiltration, con
duction through walls, and other sources.
Room cooling has several advantages.
^ There is less rehandling because the produce can
be cooled and stored in the same place.
^ Facility design and operation are simple.
^ Peak loads on the refrigeration system are less than
with faster cooling methods.
^ There is no investment in equipment for fast cooling.
^ It works well for unpacked flowers, which have
good exposure to airflow.

\' \ X \\v\\
\
\
\
\
\
X
Air is recooled by evaporators
in plenum and supplied to the /
room through ceiling duct.

Figure 27. Airflow pattern in a room cooler with unit evaporators. Figure 28. Airflow pattern in a room cooler with a slotted ceiling duct.
 ROOM,
Room cooling does have severe limitations, however.
^ Cooling is slow, requiring at least 24 hours and
sometimes several days.
^ Produce is often shipped without adequate cooling,
or shipment may be delayed.
^ Sensitive produce can deteriorate measurably in the
time required for cooling.
>- Moisture loss is greater than for faster cooling
methods unless the product is packed in bags or
liners.
^ More floor space is needed for a given output than
with faster cooling methods.
^ Use of the same space for cooling and for storage
exposes previously cooled produce to high air
speeds and fluctuating temperatures, which can
cause water loss. Moving cooled produce to sepa
rate storage involves the same rehandling as for
faster cooling methods without their advantages.
^ Produce in containers with poor venting, or in con
tainers tightly stacked on pallets, are particularly
slow to cool. Even less perishable products, such as
apples or pears, may deteriorate unacceptably
before they are completely cooled.
^ Moisture released by warm interior produce may
condense and cause moisture on colder outside
produce, causing decay growth on some products.
^ Cooling rates for the same product are variable and
difficult to manage.
Because of these limitations, most products require
faster cooling methods to better maintain quality and
to allow shipping soon after harvest.
Fastest possible room cooling requires a fan capac
ity of 0.005 m3-sec"1-ton"1 (100 cfm/ton) of maximum
product capacity in the cold room. The air-handling
system must be designed to distribute air uniformly
throughout the cold room.
When cooling is complete, airflow should be
reduced to the lowest level that will keep the product
cool in all locations in the storage. Airflow rates of
0.001 to 0.002 m3-sec-'-ton-' (20 to 40 cfm/ton) of
stored product are often sufficient.
Fastest possible room cooling also requires that
containers allow air to flow past them (see table 5;
Guillou 1963; Mitchell et al. 1971). Spaced stacking of
containers allows air to flow between them, but the
ICE, VACUUM, AND TRANSPORT COOLING 29
Air is recooled by evaporators in
plenum and supplied to the room
through slots in plenum wall.
Figure 29. Airflow pattern in a room cooler with a slotted
plenum wall.
boxes must be squeezed together later for long-term
storage or shipping. Well-vented containers, with vents
that align between stacked boxes, cool almost twice as
fast as closed containers at moderate air volumes. Vent
shape, location, and other design constraints are the
same as mentioned earlier for forced-air cooling.
Use the lowest possible air temperature in the cold
room. This is usually 0.5° to 1°C (1° to 2°F) below the
freezing or chilling temperature of the product.
Room cooler operation should be monitored by
measuring air temperature in several locations to locate
warm or cold areas in the room. Temperature-sensing
units should not be placed on outside walls, because
heat from outside will cause erroneously high readings.
Warm areas are usually a result of poor airflow. Change
the air-distribution system or the product stacking pat
tern to increase airflow to the warm area.
PACKAGE ICING
Packing finely crushed or flaked ice with produce is a
traditional method of cooling, and it is particularly
valuable for products shipped in nonrefrigerated vehi
cles. Ice is often packed in flower boxes because they
are frequently delivered by public or commercial mail
services. Ice also maintains a high humidity in the box
and will minimize moisture loss once the product has
cooled to the temperature of the ice.
Fast cooling with ice requires that it be in contact
with most of the product. Just placing ice on the top of
a carton of product (called top icing) will not cause fast
cooling. Injecting a slurry of ice and water is an effec
tive way to distribute ice in boxes. This is called liquid
icing or ice-injection cooling. The slurry of ice, water,
and a little salt to prevent the slurry from freezing, is
pumped into the hand holes of waxed fiberboard car
tons. The slurry flows throughout the box, ice fills the
30 ROOM, ICE, VACUUM, AND TRANSPORT
voids, and the water drains out. The slurry can be
injected with a manually operated nozzle (color plate
9) or an automated system (color plate 10). The auto
mated system takes only 3 or 4 minutes to uniformly
ice a pallet load of boxes.
Flaked or crushed ice can be manufactured on site
with several types of commercially available equip
ment. It is usually manufactured continuously and
stored in an ice bunker, allowing the refrigeration sys
tem to use inexpensive off-peak electricity. If the cool
ing season is short and ice use is only a few tons per
day, it is often cheaper to buy block ice and transport
it to an on-site crusher. Liquid ice equipment can be
made portable, and some companies lease the equip
ment and move it to the cooling site as needed.
Ice has a cooling capacity of 335 kj-kg-' (144
Btu/lb), and one weight unit (kg or lb) of ice will drop
the temperature of three times its weight of product by
about 28°C (50°F). However, commercial ice-injection
systems require much more ice than is needed just for
product cooling. For example, a 9-kg (20-lb) net
weight box of broccoli requires about 14.5 kg (32 lb)
of manufactured ice. A little more than 3 kg (7 lb) is
use for broccoli cooling, 4.5 kg (10 lb) melts in trans
port, 5.5 kg (12 lb) is melted in heat gain in the injec
tion equipment, and the customer usually wants to see
about 4.5 kg (10 lb) of ice in the box upon arrival. The
high ice requirement makes liquid icing an energy-
inefficient and expensive cooling method.
There are a number of other disadvantages. The
weight of the ice reduces the amount of product that
can be transported in a highway vehicle. Ice requires
the extra expense of using a water-resistant container.
In a mixed load, the water produced by the melting ice
can damage neighboring containers that are not water-
resistant, and the water is a safety hazard in ware
houses. Free water can not be released from packages
shipped by air freight.
Some of these disadvantages can be eliminated if
the ice is not used for cooling but only for maintaining
temperature in transit. Flowers are often packed with
gel-pack ice, which is sealed in a bag and cannot leak.
The ice is placed in the box during packing and the box
Table 5. Factors affecting room-cooling of pallet loads
of tight-fill packed plums
Longest
Vent area Package
(% of side- spacing Stacking cooling
wall area) cm (in) pattern time (hr)
0 0(0) Vents not aligned 84
4 2.5(1) Vents not aligned 22
4 2.5(1) Vents aligned 18
COOLING
can then be forced-air cooled. The box vents are closed
after cooling.
VACUUM COOLING
Leafy green vegetables like head lettuce are generally
vacuum cooled (color plate 11). The product is placed
in an air-tight chamber and the atmospheric pressure
reduced. This reduces the boiling temperature of water
to field temperatures, and boiling conditions cause
rapid water vaporization. Heat of vaporization comes
from the product, causing cooling. Final pressure in
the retort is 4.6 mm of mercury absolute pressure,
which corresponds to a water boiling temperature of
0°C(32°F).
Air is pumped out with a rotary-vane vacuum
pump, and water vapor is condensed on refrigerated
surfaces located inside the cooling chamber (fig. 30). A
typical 640- to 800-carton cooler (23 to 27 kg [51 to
59 lb] of lettuce per carton) has about 190 kW (250
hp) of vacuum pumps and 370 kW (500 hp) of refrig
eration compressors. Sixty to 70 percent of total elec
tricity is consumed by the refrigeration system
(Thompson et al. 1987). Early cooler designs used
steam-jet pumps to remove both air and water vapor.
Products lose moisture through their exterior sur
faces. The interior of a solid product is cooled by heat
conducted to the cold exterior surface. Produce with
high transpiration coefficients can be cooled quickly
and uniformly in large loads with this method. Iceberg
lettuce is generally cooled in a 25-to 30-minute cycle
with adequately sized vacuum-pump and refrigeration
capacity. Products having lower transpiration coeffi
cients are not as well adapted to vacuum cooling. For
example, cauliflower is sometimes vacuum-cooled, but
cooling times are 2.5 to 4 hours. Celery and sweet corn
are also sometimes commercially vacuum-cooled, but
cycle times are also long.
Vacuum cooling causes a water loss equal to about
1 percent of the produce weight for each 6°C (11°F)
of cooling (Barger 1963). Two to 4 percent weight loss
is common, and this level can cause noticeable wilting
in some leafy vegetables. Spraying water on produce
before vacuum cooling allows wilt-sensitive products
to be cooled. Much of the cooling effect comes from
evaporation of the added water rather than product
moisture. Water-spray vacuum coolers are designed to
spray water on the product during the cooling cycle.
They are simpler to operate than a unit with a sepa
rate spray system. Evaporation of surface water also
causes faster cooling for produce with low transpira
tion rates. Products such as green onions, leaf lettuce,
celery, and spinach are often cooled in water-spray
vacuum coolers.
 ROOM, ICE, VACUUM, AND TRANSPORT COOLING 31

Drip pan to collect

condensed water \
Refrigeration coil to
condense water vapor %
\ \
S
^

— »—
i
Q •>0 pallets of pa eked product
h—II I II

\T\ \ HH -4—
— .^^^-^ =j=|l—*—I
Pressure guage
x Air bleed valve to regulate low chamber pressure

1 90 kW (250 hp) compressor 0.7 to 1.1 m3 -s '(1500 to 2500 cfm) ,

and evaporative condenser two-stage rotary-vane vacuum pump

Figure 30. Key components of a 20-pallet-capacity vacuum cooler.

Rapid release of air into the vacuum chamber at the
end of water-spray cooling can cause leaves to appear
water-soaked. The damage is apparently caused by sur
face water being forced into the tissue by the rapid
pressure rise around it. Damage is eliminated by releas
ing the vacuum over several minutes.
Plastic film covering a product can act as a barrier
to water-vapor release and can seriously slow cooling
(Harvey 1963). Tiny holes in the plastic will allow
enough water vapor to escape for rapid cooling while
still reducing water loss during subsequent marketing
(Cheyney et al. 1979). Plastic-film box liners also can
be used in packages of vacuum-cooled product as long
as the liner is only folded over the top of the product
and not sealed.
Measurement of produce temperature in a vacuum
cooler is important to ensure that the product is ade
quately cooled without freezing. A gauge that measures
absolute pressure in the chamber gives a direct indica
tion of the boiling temperature of water in the cham
ber, and provides a good estimate of the coldest
product in the cooler. Cooling usually begins when
retort pressure drops to 18 to 32 mm Hg absolute,
which corresponds to water boiling temperatures of
20° and 30°C (68° and 86°F) respectively. Cooling is
finished after the product remains at 4.6 mm Hg for a
time period that depends on the product. Lettuce cools
quickly, and warmest portions cool adequately if the
product is held at 4.6 mm Hg for 3 to 6 minutes. Slow-
cooling products like cauliflower may require hours at
this low pressure.
Because vacuum coolers do not use a cooling
medium, only product temperatures need to be mea
sured to monitor cooler performance. A temperature
probe inserted in a sample of the produce tends to indi
cate the temperature of coldest product because the
probe damages cells, releasing moisture around the
probe. Operators must learn to correlate temperature-
probe measurements with final product temperature.
A wet-bulb thermometer (which measures the boiling
temperature of water in a vacuum) can be used as an
indicator of minimum product temperature for rapidly
cooled products. Pulp temperature of product leaving
the cooler should be routinely checked to ensure
proper cooling.
For the use of costly vacuum cooling equipment to
be economically feasible, there must be a consistent
daily and annual output of cooled produce. Most vac
uum coolers are trailer-mounted so they can be used
year-round as production areas change during the year.
Coolers have been built small enough to cool a single
pallet and large enough to cool 60 pallets per cycle.
Vacuum coolers are very energy efficient compared
to other types of coolers. They remove heat only from
product, whereas a forced-air cooler's refrigeration sys
tem removes heat from lift trucks, lights, fans, walls,
and air infiltration, in addition to the product (Thomp
son and Chen 1988). Electricity use can be reduced in
vacuum coolers by reducing vacuum pump capacity
after cooling begins in a cycle; filling the retort with as
much product as possible; shutting down refrigeration
compressors or switching their capacity to other cool
ers when refrigeration is not needed at the beginning
of a cycle; always operating the cooler with a full load
of product (e.g., to cool a half load of lettuce requires
50 percent more energy per than a full load); and do
not cool products that require long cooling times
(Thompson et al. 1987).
32 ROOM, ICE, VACUUM, AND TRANSPORT
High-capacity fan
Evaporator
¥
—J _t
Deep channel floor for air supply '
to product and wall channels
Figure 31. Airflow in a bottom air delivery system for marine containers. A similar airflow is used
in break bulk ships.
TRANSPORT COOLING
Typical refrigerated highway trailers do not have
enough airflow or refrigeration capacity to cool perish
able commodities rapidly. Products should always be
cooled to their desired transit temperature before load
ing in highway trailers.
Refrigerated marine containers, cargo ships, and
rail cars can do some cooling during transport, but
cooling is slow. Containers and refrigerated ships usu
ally have bottom-delivery airflow and refrigerated air is
supplied to the product through a floor plenum (fig.
31). Fastest cooling is obtained when the floor is com
pletely covered with product. Uncovered areas allow
poor air distribution in the air plenum and airflow
around cartons rather than through them. Cartons
must have top and bottom vents to allow vertical air
flow through the packages, and vents must align
between layers of containers. Inner packaging materi
als must also allow vertical airflow.
COOLING
Packaged product
4 —J
Flaked or crushed ice or liquid ice (ice-water
slurry) is sometimes blown on top of warm loads in
refrigerated rail cars. The ice supplements mechanical
refrigeration during initial cooling of a warm load.
Crushed ice solidifies, however, forming a blanket that
may block air circulation through the load and cause
slow cooling. Interference with air circulation can be
minimized by top-icing in windrows down the center
of a vehicle, thus allowing air to enter the load freely
through the open areas between the windrows. Can
taloupes in wood crates have been satisfactorily cooled
in less than 24 hours by combining this method of
icing with operation of fans and mechanical refrigera
tion in rail cars. Portable auxiliary fans cannot increase
airflow through the load sufficiently to significantly
speed cooling under these conditions (Kasmire and
Parsons 1971).
 33

5
Selecting a Cooling Method
THOMPSON

Many commodities can be cooled with several
types of coolers. Selection of the best type of
cooler for a particular operation depends on
several considerations, such as the mix of commodities
handled, the length of the cooling season, the need for
fast cooling, and so on. Table 6 compares the common
cooling methods.
Forced-air cooling, the most widely adaptable cool
ing method, is widely used for fruits, fruit-type vegeta
bles, and cut flowers. Most perishable commodities can
be effectively cooled with this method. Its main disad
vantage is water loss (fig. 17), which can be minimized
by cooling as fast as possible after harvest and using
high airflow rates in the cooler. Applying waxes or
packing produce in plastic bags also reduces moisture
loss in this cooling method.
The next most commonly used cooling method is
hydrocooling, which is used for root, stem, and flower
vegetables and some temperate tree fruits. Produce
exposed to adequate water flow cools quickly with no
moisture loss. In some cases, wilted product may actu
ally gain some moisture. The main disadvantages of
hydrocooling are that recirculated water must be care
fully disinfected to prevent spread of decay organisms;
some products, like berries and mushrooms, do not
tolerate water contact; and packaged produce must use
water-resistant containers. In addition, wax-dipped,
corrugated fiberboard is significantly more expensive
than untreated fiberboard and is not easily recyclable.
Vacuum and water-spray vacuum coolers are used
mainly for vegetables that lose water easily, such as leaf
vegetables. Short cooling times are needed to spread
the high capital cost of this equipment over enough
product. Iceberg lettuce is vacuum-cooled; most other
commodities are cooled with water-spray vacuum cool
ing. The water spray has all the disadvantages of hydro-
cooling. Vacuum and water-spray vacuum coolers are
often made portable so they can be used year around
as production areas change.
Ice cooling is limited to a few commodities that
have been traditionally cooled with this method. Broc
coli is often ice cooled, and some cut flowers are
packed with gel or crushed ice to maintain low tem
peratures in nonrefrigerated transport and storage con
ditions. Although the product is often wetted by the
melting ice, decay spread is usually not a problem

Table 6. Comparison of product effects and cost for six common cooling methods

Water spray
Forced-air Hydro Vacuum vacuum Ice Room

Typical cooling time (hr) 1-10 0.1-1 0.3-2 0.3-2 0.1-0.3* 20-100
Product moisture loss (%) 0.1-2.0 0-0.5 2.0-4.0 no data no data 0.1-2.0
Water contact with product no yes no yes yes, unless bagged no
Potential for decay contamination low high none high low low
Capital cost low low medium medium high lowt
Energy efficiency low high high medium low low
Water-resistant packaging needed no yes no yes yes no
Portable sometimes rarely done common common common no
Feasibility of in-line cooling rarely done yes no no rarely done no
*Top icing can take much longer.
How if product is also stored in cooler as is done with apples; otherwise long cooling times make it an expensive system.
34 SELECTING A COOLING METHOD
because water is not recirculated in the system. Ice
cooling is expensive, and water from ice melt is a nui
sance. Ice increases gross package weight and usually
reduces the amount of product that can be shipped in
a truck.
Room cooling is very slow and limited to situations
where the product is individually exposed to cold air,
like flowers in stored buckets. Citrus fruits are still
commonly room cooled, and some controlled-atmos-
phere stored products are allowed to cool slowly so
that their respiration can be used to lower oxygen and
raise carbon dioxide concentrations in storage.
After perishables are cooled, they should be imme
diately placed in cold storage to prevent product
reheating. In many operations, it is not feasible to leave
product in a cooler long enough for each piece to reach
desired temperature. Cold storage also allows some
final cooling to be obtained.
Most perishable products should be cooled as
quickly after harvest as possible. Field-packed vegeta
bles are cooled upon arrival at the cooling and storage
facility. Products packed in a packing house can be
cooled as soon as they arrive at the pack house or after
they are packed. Cooling on arrival ensures minimum
time at field temperature and allows short-term storage
before packing to provide more even product flow to
the packing operation. Product that will be sorted out
in the packing operation is unnecessarily cooled and
product usually rewarms a bit during packing and must
be recooled. Some stone-fruit packing operations cool
fruit upon arrival at the packing house to 7° to 10°C
(45° to 50°F) rather than 0°C (32°F) for short-term
storage before packing and then finish cooling to 0°C
(32°F) after packing. This reduces refrigeration energy
use for cooling culls and recooling packed fruit but still
preserves fruit quality and has the added advantage of
not running cold fruit, which are susceptible to
mechanical damage, through packing machinery.
Rewarming of cooled produce can be reduced by
enclosing the packing facility to reduce air movement.
As an alternative, dumping and palletizing operations
can be done in refrigerated areas to shorten the time
that produce is exposed to warm air. Compared with
hand packing, mechanized packing equipment greatly
speeds packing and reduces product heating.

6
Measuring Temperatures
THOMPSON
EQUIPMENT FOR MEASURING
TEMPERATURE
Wall-mounted alcohol-filled glass thermometers pro
vide good temperature measurement at low cost; long-
stem types can be read more accurately. Electronic
thermometers with long lead wires allow measurement
of coolant temperatures in inaccessible locations. Ther
mocouple wire costs $0.10 to $0.15 per foot, and a
readout device costs as little as $100. Thermistor sen
sors, which are more accurate than thermocouples,
cost more but allow the use of less-expensive copper
lead wires. Both of these devices can be connected to
data logging equipment to allow temperatures to be
recorded. Monitoring equipment costs about $100 per
recording channel. Recently, several manufacturers
have developed self-contained temperature monitors
and recorders, which are small, can be packed in a box
with product, and cost as little as $50 per unit. Data is
read by connecting the units to a personal computer.
PRODUCE TEMPERATURE
MEASUREMENT
Cold produce may absorb enough heat from a ther
mometer to warm the flesh near the probe, resulting in
an erroneously high temperature reading. This error
can be prevented by probing the produce once to cool
the thermometer and then reinserting it in another area
to take the actual reading. During cooling, the warmest
part of a product will be near its center. Probes are usu
ally inserted in the center of a product. Some probes,
particularly dial thermometers, have an immersion
depth marked on the stem. All of the probe from the
tip to the immersion mark must be within the product
for accurate temperature measurement. Punctured
product should be discarded if the puncture damage is
in a portion of the product that will be eaten.
3 5
Bimetallic, dial, and pocket-sized electronic ther
mometers, which cost from $5 to $30, are inexpensive
devices for measuring produce temperature. Bimetallic
thermometers can usually be recalibrated with an
adjusting nut located under the dial. Electronic ther
mometers must be replaced if they go out of calibra
tion but are easily read under difficult light conditions.
Bimetallic thermometers can be purchased with dials
large enough for accurate reading. Because both types
of units tend to respond slowly to product tempera
ture, operators need to determine the response time of
their equipment.
Electronic thermometers (thermocouple and ther
mistor units) can be purchased with very thin, strong
probes for fast response, providing an accurate reading
in about 8 to 10 seconds. Most units cost from $200 to
$300 and can be purchased with lighted readouts for
operation in dark areas. Most units display both
Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales.
Infrared thermometers give instantaneous response
but cost from $200 to $1,000. They measure the sur
face temperature of the material in front of them. Sur
face temperature represents product temperature if the
product has been in a constant temperature environ
ment for many hours, as is the case for produce in
long-term storage. These units work well for rapidly
surveying the temperature of produce coming out of
refrigerated vehicles. During and shortly after initial
cooldown, the product's surface temperature is usually
the coldest portion and not a good indicator of average
temperature. The temperature reading also depends on
a property of the surface called emissiviry. Most units
have an emissivity adjustment to account for emissiv-
ity differences between plant material and packaging
materials or painted or metal surfaces.
An infrared thermometer reads accurately only
when the thermometer's temperature is close to the
temperature of the environment in which it is used.
Store an infrared thermometer in the cold room if it is
36 MEASURING TEMPERATURES
used to measure product in the cold room. A warm
thermometer used in a cold room can give readings sig
nificantly higher than actual product temperatures.
Cooling operations are usually managed on the
basis of the warmest product in the process. An opera
tor needs to survey product temperature thoroughly
in different positions within containers, in different
container positions on pallets, and in different pallet or
bin locations on a cooler to determine where the
warmest produce is located. For example, in tunnel-
type forced-air coolers, the warmest product is usually
farthest from the fan, near the air-return channel. In
shower-type hydrocoolers, the warmest product is at
the bottom of a pallet load. After this, temperature
monitoring can be focused on the product in the
warm locations.
Storage operations are usually evaluated on the
basis of both average and extreme produce tempera
tures. Many measurements should be taken top-to-bot
tom, side-to-side, and end-to-end within a batch.
Average temperature indicates the overall calibration
of the refrigeration and control system. Extreme tem
peratures (high or low) point to local problems caused
by factors such as regions with poor airflow, inade
quate insulation, poor mixing of air from evaporators
with storage room air, and excess air infiltration.
Temperature measurement is time consuming, but
it is a valuable management tool for evaluating the effi
ciency of the operation and must be done routinely to
assure that good cooling has been accomplished. Sev
eral steps are part of a good temperature-measurement
program for fresh produce:
^ Routinely measure and record coolant temperatures.
^ Routinely check and record temperatures of pro
duce as it enters and especially as it leaves the
cooler, regardless of your confidence in the facility.
Check the accuracy of temperature-measuring
equipment and note corrections at the beginning of
the season and perhaps more frequently if accuracy
is questionable.
Precool a thermometer by inserting it into a piece
of produce before starting actual measurements.
Take temperatures from the warmest product in
coolers.
Measure core or pit temperatures of produce.
Remember that air temperatures tell little about
inner temperatures of produce.
CALIBRATING TEMPERATURE-
MEASURING EQUIPMENT
All temperature-measurement equipment should be cal
ibrated at least once a year. Accuracy can be checked by
submerging the sensing unit in an ice-water bath, which
has a temperature of 0°C (32°F). Infrared thermometers
can also be calibrated by pointing them at the water in
an icebath. The bath should contain both ice and water,
should be continuously stirred, and should be free of
contaminants (distilled ice and water are best). The
sensing unit should be held in the water, but not touch
ing ice or the container, until it reaches a constant tem
perature. Many instruments have adjustments to allow
for recalibration. If adjustment is not possible, purchase
a new instrument.

7
Cooling Calculations
THOMPSON
COOLING TIMES AND
TEMPERATURES
Exact calculations of time and temperature relation
ships in produce cooling involve characteristics that
are seldom known, but satisfactory estimates for design
and operation of cooling facilities can be based on
assumption of logarithmic cooling as depicted in fig
ure 10 (Guillou 1960).
USE OF SEVEN-EIGHTHS
COOLING TIME
Many of the calculations and much of the data in this
publication are designated by the time for seven-
eighths cooling, which is the time required to cool
produce through seven-eighths of the initial product-
coolant temperature difference (or to one-eighth of its
initial value). Table 7 is useful for making rough esti
mates of expected seven-eighths cooling time and tem
perature.
For example, if after 50 minutes in a forced-air
cooler the product has cooled from 32.2° to 15.6°C
(90° to 60°F), and the cooling air is held at -1.1°C
(30°F) the product is half cool (16.7°C [30°F] of cool
ing represents half of the difference between the initial
product temperature and the coolant temperature).
Table 7. Data for estimating expected seven-eighths cooling time
and temperature
Ratio of product temperature drop
during cooling divided by difference
between initial product temperature
and cooling medium
Multiply elapsed cooling time by
the following to find seven-eighths
cooling time
3 7
Multiply 50 minutes by 3 to find an expected seven-
eighths cooling time of 150 minutes At seven-eighths
cool, the product will have lost 7/» times 33.3°C (60°F)
(the difference between the initial product temperature
and the coolant temperature). Subtracting seven-
eighths of the difference from the initial product
temperature gives a seven-eighths cooling temperature
of3.1°C(37.5°F).
This approximation is reasonably good if the aver
age temperature of the mass of produce being cooled is
estimated. This is fairly easy to measure in hydrocool-
ers where there is not much temperature difference
between product in various locations along the path of
water flow. In forced-air coolers, however, the most
exposed produce cools faster and the most protected
produce cools slower than the above formula indicates.
Seven-eighths cooling times are three times as long
as half-cooling times. Seven-eighths cooling, like half
cooling, is the same for given produce exposed in a
given way regardless of temperatures of produce and
coolant. Seven-eighths cooling times and temperatures
are quite practical estimates of cooling in commercial
operations, and are more closely related to commercial
cooling times than half-cooling times.
Seven-eighths cooling time can be measured
directly and has a physical meaning only when a
coolant temperature is constant. It is a general measure
of exposure of produce to coolant, however, and is use
1:2 3:4 . 7:8 15:16 31:32
3 3/2 1 % %
38 COOLING CALCULATIONS
ful in calculations whether coolant temperature is con
stant or varying, as explained below.
CALCULATING MOMENTARY
COOLING RATE
In designing cooling systems it may be necessary to
know the rate at which a batch of produce will be cool
ing at some specific time. Using
R = 2.08 (t-to)
where
S = % cooling time (hours)
(t-to) = produce-to-coolant temperature difference
(°F or °C)
R = momentary cooling rate (°F/hour or "C-h"1)
2.08 = natural logarithm of Vs.
This formula applies whether coolant temperature is
constant or varying and may also be used to estimate S
from test measurements of R and (t—to).
COOLING COEFFICIENTS
Cooling rates are sometimes designated by a cooling
coefficient, the temperature reduction in degrees per
hour divided by the average temperature difference
between produce and coolant. For example, produce
cooled by 40° (°C or °F) in 10 hours would have cooled
at an average rate of 4° per hour. If the average temper
ature difference between produce and coolant over the
10-hour period had been 16°, the cooling coefficient
would have been
4° per hour A -,,- , , ,
—r^— = 0.25 degree per hour-degree.
Neglecting departures from idealized logarithmic cool
ing, the cooling coefficient is the same for any period
of a cooling operation or at any moment. Therefore,
using C for cooling coefficient (degrees per hour-
degree),
R = C(t-to)
In practice, cooling coefficients may vary considerably
as cooling progresses and should be measured over
temperature differences that approximate actual tem
perature differences.
Test results with variable coolant temperatures may
be applied to operations with constant coolant temper
atures, or the reverse, by the relation between cooling
coefficient and seven-eighths cooling time,
2.08
C=
or
S = 2.08
C
REFRIGERATION LOAD
CALCULATIONS
Forced-air coolers
Selecting evaporator coils and compressor and con
denser equipment in forced-air coolers requires calcu
lating peak refrigeration demand. The majority of the
demand is for fruit cooling, and the peak demand is
found by knowing product arrival times during the day
and temperature of incoming product and assuming an
acceptable cooling rate. Table 8 shows an example cal
culation in customary units. The following assump
tions are made in calculating refrigeration capacity.
^ Weighted average heat capacity of each load, cp=
0.9 Btu/lb/°F.
^ Cooling air temperature = 30°F.
^ Seven-eighths cooling time = 3 hours (half cooling
= lhr).
^ Product is removed from the cooler when it reaches
seven-eighths cool.
^ Load is calculated based on hourly average cooling
using
„... CpXATxm
t\. 1 = :
where
RT= refrigeration capacity (tons or kW)
AT= temperature drop (°F or °C) per hour based on
the time period selected (1 hr). In this example, 1
hour equals a half-cooling period. The product
 COOLING CALCULATIONS 39

Table 8. Example calculation of refrigeration load for a forced-air cooler

Refrigeration load for each batch (tons)

Time Product load (Ib) Product temp. (°F) 10am Noon 2pm 4pm 6pm Total load (tons)
10am 10,000 70 15.0 15.0
11 am SHW^^Vto'fc'^B?**:.' 7.5 7.5
Noon 10,000 80 3.8 18.8 22.6
1 pm Viltt-!HfflBi£il!!( * ';.'.- .I'UBStt ?.'-' 9.4 9.4
2pm 10,000 90 4.7 22.5 27.2
3pm Si^^iT;E-iv/;; "rvw^.-' vr. .-.;v i ."" 11.3 11.3
4pm 10,000 90 5.6 22.5 28.1
5pm SHBBeSWjS'^"'-'*^! : ./" > ;^iw*;< 11.3
6pm 10,000 90 5.6 22.5 28.1
7pm ;rasip^^^»>'f $Sft£" 11.3
8 pm 5.6 5.6

cools half the difference between its initial temper where

ature and the temperature of the cooling air.
m = weight of product (lb or kg)
cp = weighted average heat capacity of product and
packing material (Btu/lb/°F or kW-kg-'^Cr1) (0.9
Btu/lb-l/°F in this example)
k = 12,000 Btuh/ton of refrigeration or 3,600 s-rr1.
The peak refrigeration tonnage associated with
product cooling is 28.1 tons. Total refrigeration equals
product cooling load plus heat from miscellaneous
sources such as fan motors, lift trucks, lights, air infil
tration, people, and conduction through walls. As a
rule of thumb, heat from miscellaneous sources equal
25 percent of the product load. An extra 10 percent to
15 percent of the total heat load is added as a safety fac
tor to account for facility use beyond assumptions, for
example, starting two batches simultaneously or cool
ing unusually warm product.
Hydrocoolers
Peak demand for batch coolers can be calculated using
the method used for forced-air coolers. Because seven-
eighths cooling times are much shorter than in forced-
air cooling, loads may need to be calculated using
shorter time periods, usually equal to the half-cooling
time.
Continuous-flow hydrocooler refrigeration load
can be calculated with the following formula,
RT = refrigeration capacity (tons or kW)
AT = total temperature drop (°F or °C) of product
during cooling.
M = weight of product entering cooler per hour
(lb/hr or kg-sec"1)
cp = weighted average heat capacity of product and
packing material (typically about 0.9 Btu/lb/°F or
3.77kJ-kg-'-°C-')
k = 12,000 Btuh per ton of refrigeration or 3,600
s-h"'.
Total refrigeration equals product cooling load plus
heat from miscellaneous sources such as pumps, air
infiltration, makeup water cooling, and conduction
through walls. As a rule of thumb, heat from miscella
neous sources equals 25 percent of the product load
for a well-insulated cooler and 50 percent for a poorly
insulated cooler. An extra 10 percent to 15 percent of
the total heat load is added as a safety factor to account
for facility use beyond assumptions.
In some hydrocoolers, the maximum refrigeration
demand may be cooling the water before startup. This
is especially true if the water reservoir is large and the
operators want freshly added water to cool quickly to
operating temperature.
The following formula can be used to calculate
refrigeration load for water cooldown:

RT = Cp x AT x M RT = V x d x cp x AT
txh
40 COOLING CALCULATIONS

where t = water cooldown time (hours)

RT = refrigeration capacity (tons or kW) k = 12,000 Btuh per ton of refrigeration or 3,600 s-tr1.

V = volume of water in reservoir (ft3 or m3)

USEFUL CONSTANTS AND
d= density of water, 62.4 lb of water per cubic foot CONVERSIONS
or l,000kg-nr3
Tables 9 through 14 give constants and conversions
AT = total temperature drop (°F or °C) of water that are useful in refrigeration and cooling calculations.

cp = heat capacity of water (1.0 Btu/lb/°F or 4.187

Table 9. Refrigeration effect conversions

Refrigeration source Cooling effect

1 ton of refrigeration Heat absorbed by melting water ice, or given off by
freezing water ice, at a rate of 1 ton in 24 hr

288,000 Btu/day

12,000 Btuh

200 Btu/min

Melting 1 Ib of water ice 144Btu

Melting 1 kg of water ice 335 kJ

Vaporizing 1 Ib of water 1 ,073 Btu at 32°F or 1 ,035 Btu at 1 00°F

Vaporizing 1 kg of water 2,496 kJ at 0°C or 2,408 kJ at 38°C

Vaporizing 1 Ib of dry ice and warming the vapor to 32°F 264 Btu (equal to melting 1 .8 Ib of water ice)

Vaporizing 1 kg of dry ice and warming the vapor to 0°C 61 4 kJ (equal to melting 1 .8 kg of water ice)

Vaporizing 1 Ib of liquid nitrogen or 1 Ib of liquid carbon dioxide 1 75 Btu (equal to melting 1 .2 Ib of water ice)
and warming the vapor to 32°F

Vaporizing 1 kg of liquid nitrogen or 1 kg of liquid carbon dioxide 407 kJ (equal to melting 1 .2 kg of water ice)
and warming the vapor to 0°C

Table 10. Approximate compressor horsepower per ton Table 11. Approximate compressor power in kW per kW
of refrigeration of refrigeration

Evaporating temp (°F) Condensing temp (°F) Evaporating temp (°C) Condensing temp (°C)
95 115 135 35 45 55

30 1.1 1.5 2.0 0 0.23 0.29 0.39

20 1.3 1.8 2.4 -5 0.26 0.35 0.46
10 1.5 2.1 2.7 -10 0.30 0.41 0.51
 COOLING CALCULATIONS 41

Table 12. Heat input to refrigerated spaces

Heat source Heat input

I shaft horsepower (fans or pumps 2,540 Btuh
with motor outside refrigerated 0.21 tons of refrigeration
space) 0.74 kW of refrigeration

1 kW (lights, motors) 3,41 3 Btuh

0.28 tons of refrigeration
1 kW of refrigeration

Table 13. Physical properties of materials

Property Customary units SI units

Specific heat of fruits and vegetables 0.85 to 0.95 Btu/lb/°F, 3.56 to 3.98 kJ-kg-'-°C.'

avg 0.90 Btu/lb/°F avg 3. 77 kJ- kg-' -"C-1

Specific heat of dry wood and paper 0.30 Btu/lb/°F 1.26 kJ-kg-1 -"(:-'
Specific volume of air at 0°C (32°F) 12.5ft3/lb 0.78m3-kg"'

Density of ice in blocks 56 Ib/ft3 897 kg-m-3

Density of water at 0°C (32°F) 62.4 Ib/ft3 1000kg-nr3

8.3 Ib/gal

Table 14. Conversion factors, customary to SI units

Customary X Factor = SI unit

unit
ft X 0.3048 - m
ft2 X 0.0929 = m2
ft3 X 0.02832 = m3
—
ft3/min X 0.000472 m3'sec1
ft3/min/lb X 0.00104 = m3'sec"1'kg"1
ft3/min/lb X 1.04 = m3'sec1 -tonne'1
Ib X 0.4536 = kg
ton X 907.2 = Mg (= 1,000 kg = 1,000,000 g = 1 tonne)
Ib/in2 X 6.895 = kPa
Ib/in2 X 51.713 = mm Hg @ 0°C
Ib/ft3 X 16.02 = kg-rrr3 (kg-nr3 = g-h1)
inches of water column X 0.2487 = kPa
Btu X 1.055 = kJ (= kW-sec)
Btu/lb/°F X 4.1868 = kJ-kg-1-"C"1
hp X 0.746 = kW
ton of refrigeration X 3.52 = kW of refrigeration
gpm X 0.0631 = l-sec-1
gpm/ft2 X 0.6791 = l-secr'-tir2
5/9
PF-32) X = °C
42
8
Cooling Data
MITCHELL AND THOMPSON
COOLING AND STORAGE
REQUIREMENTS FOR
PRODUCE
Appendix A summarizes environmental information
for many products, but because of climatic, variety, and
cultural differences, there may be variations from the
data. (Where exceptions are known, they are noted in
parentheses on the tables.) Because handling require
ments for these commodities are often complex, refer
to Hardenburg et al. (1986) for more complete infor
mation.
IDEAL HOLDING
TEMPERATURES
The temperatures shown in appendix A are generally
considered optimal for the commodity. Unless produce
is subject to chilling injury, it should be held as closely
to its freezing point as possible. Many commodities
respond best if held at 0°C (32°F) or below. Storage
near the freezing point is possible only if temperature
fluctuations of the cooling system are not great enough
to cause freezing.
Products with ideal holding temperatures greater
than 0°C (32°F) may be subject to chilling injury if
held below their ideal temperature. Injury can take
several forms, including surface pitting, tissue discol
oration, increased susceptibility to microorganisms,
altered flavor or texture, and loss of ability to ripen.
Chilling injury is often found only for some varieties
or for produce grown under certain climatic condi
tions. Chilling injury is a time-temperature function,
and thus it may be possible to hold some commodi
ties safely for short periods at temperatures below
those found to cause injury. Holding temperature
requirements may also vary according to ripeness of
the produce.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
A relative humidity of 90 to 95 percent is recom
mended for most fresh commodities. Commodities can
only benefit from relative humidity this high if they are
uniformly cooled to near their optimal storage temper
ature. High relative humidity weakens unwaxed corru
gated containers. The storage room can be at lower
humidity if commodities are packed in film bags, keep
ing humidity high around the product.
HIGHEST FREEZING
TEMPERATURE
The freezing points shown in appendix A are the high
est noted for any test of that commodity (Whiteman
1957), with many varieties having been observed to
have lower freezing points. Because of limitations of
test data, readers should be aware that some varieties
may have freezing points higher than those shown here
for a commodity. The freezing point of a commodity is
influenced by the level of soluble solids. Fruits or veg
etables having low soluble solids content may freeze at
temperatures usually considered safe for them. Freez
ing has occurred at temperatures not generally harmful
in Bartlett pears containing low soluble solids, with
freezing occurring first among the least ripe pears in
the lot.
MAXIMUM MARKET LI FE
OF PRODUCE
There is a maximum time during which a product can
remain marketable under good storage and distribu
tion conditions, with considerable variations resulting
from variety, seasonal, or handling differences. To
obtain the longest market life, produce must be prop
erly handled before as well as during storage. Often
 COOLING DATA 43

special treatments noted in the "comments" column

are essential to maintaining maximum market life for a
particular commodity.

PRODUCE COOLING TIMES BY

METHOD OF COOLING

Appendix B contains cooling times, airflow rates, and

pressure drop for selected commodities. These figures
should be considered estimates if no other data is avail
able. Air-vent design and packing materials may cause
the actual pressure for a given commodity to be very
different from these values.
44

Appendix A-1
COOLING AND LONG-TERM STORAGE REQUIREMENTS
FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Commodity Ideal holding RH (%) Chilling Highest freezing Maximum Comments

temp(°F) temp(°F) temp (°F) life

Alfalfa sprouts 32 95-100

Amaranth 32-36 95-100 10-1 4 days
Anise 32-36 90-95 30.0 2-3 wk
Apple-nonchilling sensitive 30-31 90-95 29.3 3-6 mo Some varieties, including
chilling-sensitive 38-40 90-95 40 29.3 1-2 mo Yellow Newtown,
varieties (varietal) Mclntosh, some Jonathan,
and some Grimes Golden
subject to chilling injury;
controlled atmosphere
used for long storage
Apricot 31-32 90-95 30.0 1-3wk Ripenat65°to75°F
Artichoke, globe 32 95-100 29.9 2-3 wk
Arugula 32 90-100 7-10 days Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Asparagus 32 95-100 31.0 1 0 days Chilling injury if kept
(if stored) (36) (95-100) (36) (2-3 wk) more than 1 0 days below
36°F; sensitive to ethylene
damage
Atemoya 55 85-90 55 4-6 wk
Avocado 40-55 85-90 40-55 29.9 1 mo Ripen at 60° to 75°F; ripe
avocados can be held at
36°F without chilling injury

B
Babaco 45 85-90 45 1-3wk
Banana 56-59 90-95 55 30.5 1-4 wk
Barbados cherry (acerola) 32 85-90 29.4 6-8 wk
Basil 45-50 85-95
Beans, fava 32 90-95 1-2 wk
Beans, green, wax 40-45 85-95 30.7 7-10 days Ethylene senstive
Beans, lima 41-43 90 31.0 5-7 days Shell for longest life
Beans, snap 40-45 95 45-50 30.7 7-10 days Ethylene sensitve
Bean sprouts 32 95-100 7-9 days
Beets 32 98-100 30.3 4 mo Top for holding; maximum
(tops 31. 3) topped life with tops attached is
2wk
Belgian endive (chicory) 36-38 95-98 — 2-4 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Berries:
Blackberry 31-32 90-95 30.5 3-6 days
Blueberry 31-32 90-95 29.7 10-1 8 days
Boysenberry 31-32 90-98 2-3 days
 APPENDIX A-1 45

Commodity Ideal holding RH (%) Chilling Highest freezing Maximum Comments

temp (°F) temp (°F) temp (°F) life
Berries (continued):
Bushberries 31-32 95 — — 2-3 days Cool promptly and
thoroughly
Dewberry 31-32 90-95 29.7 2-3 days
Elderberry 31-32 90-95 — 30.0 5-1 4 days
Gooseberry 31-32 90-95 — 30.0 3-4 wk
Loganberry 31-32 90-95 29.0 2-3 days
Raspberry 31-32 90-95 30.4 3-6 days
Strawberry 32 95 30.6 7-10 days Cool promptly and thor
oughly; carbon dioxide
decay control in transit
Bitter melon 50-54 85-90 — — 2-3 wk
Black sapote 55-60 85-90 54 2-3 wk
Boniato 55-60 85-90 54 4-5 mo
Breadfruit 55-60 85-90 — — 2wk
Broccoli 32 95-100 31.0 10-1 4 days
Broccoflower 32-36 95-100 — — — Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Brussels sprouts 32 95-100 30.5 3-5 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage

c
Cabbage 32 98-100 — 30.4 2-6 mo Storage life depends on
variety and season of
harvest; sensitive to
ethylene damage
Cactus leaves (nopales) 41-50 90-95 — — 2-3 wk
Cactus pear (tuna) 41 85-90 — — 2-3 wk
Caimito(star apple) 38 90 — 29.9 3wk
Calabaza 50-55 50-70 40 2-3 mo
Calamondin 48-50 90 28.3 2wk
Canistel 55-60 85-90 28.7 3wk
Carambola 48-50 85-90 — 29.8 3-4 wk
Carrots 32 98-100 29.5 6-8 mo Top carrots for best market
(varietal) life maximum life with tops
attached is 2 weeks;
mature carrots have
longest life
Cashew apple 32-36 85-90 — — 5wk
Cassava 32-41 85-90 — — 1-2 mo no CA benefit
Cauliflower 32 95-98 30.6 3-4 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Celeriac 32 97-99 — 30.3 6-8 mo
Celery 32 98-100 — 31.1 1-2 mo Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Chard 32 95-100 — — 10-1 4 days Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Chayote 45 85-90 — — 4-6 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Cherimoya 55 90-95 28.0 2-4 wk Ethylene producer
Cherry, sweet 30-32 90-95 28.8 2-4 wk Modified atmosphere
packaging used
Chinese broccoli (Kailan) 32 95-100 — — 10-1 4 days
Chinese cabbage 32 95-100 — — 2-3 mo
Chinese turnip 32-36 90-98 30.4 —
Citrus
Grapefruit, CA, AZ 58-60 85-90 50 30.0 6-8 wk Curing for 3 days at 70°F
FL 50-60 85-90 — 30.0 6-8 wk Sometimes used to coun-
teract low temperature-
breakdown
Kumquat 40 90-95 — 2-4 wk
46 APPENDIX A-1
Commodity Ideal holding RH (%) Chilling Highest freezing Maximum Comments
temp (°F) temp (°F) temp (°F) life
Citrus (continued)
Lemon 50-55 85-90 29.4 1-6 mo Storage at 32° to 40°F is
(immediate (32-40) possible if market period is
marketing) less than 1 month; cure at
72° to 78°F and 85-90%
RH for 6-10 days
Lime 48-50 85-90 39 29.1 6-8 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Limequat 45-50 85-90 30.5
Orange 38^14 85-90 37 30.6 3-6 wk
(some Valencia) (48) — — (29.7) (3-4 wk)
Pummelo 45-48 85-90 29.1 12 wk
Tangelo 45-50 85-95 30.3 —
Tangerine 40-45 90-95 33 30.1 2-4 wk
and mandarins
Coconut 32-35 80-85 30.4 1-2 mo Rapid temperature change
will cause cracking
Collards 32 95-100 — 31.1 10-1 4 days Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Corn (sweet and baby) 32 95-98 30.9 5-8 days Chill quickly and
thoroughly to prevent
conversion of sugar
to starch
Cranberry 36^0 90-95 - 30.4 6-1 6 wk
Cucumber 50-55 85-90 50 31.1 10-1 4 days Waxing used to reduce
weight loss
Currant 31-32 90-95 — 30.2 1-4 wk
Custard apple 55 90-95 — — 2-4 wk
Cut fruits 32-36 90-98 — —
Cut vegetables 32-36 90-98 — —

D-E-F
Daikon (black radish) 32-34 95-100 — 4 mo Sensitive to ethylene
damage; top for long stem
storage
Date 32 75 3.7 6-12 mo
Dry onion 60-65 65-70 — —
Durian 39-43 85-90 — 6-8 wk Very strong odor; do not
mix with other perishables
Eggplant 50-54 90-95 50 30.6 1-2wk Waxing used to reduce
weight loss
Escarole, endive 32 95-100 31.9 2-4 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Feijoa 41-50 90 41 — 2-3 wk
Fennel 32-36 90-95 30.1 2-3 wk
Figs, fresh 31-32 85-90 27.6 7-10 days Ethylene producer

G-H
Garlic, dry 32 65-70 30.5 6-7 mo
Ginger 55 65 - — 6 mo
Granadilla 50 85-90 — 3-4 wk
Grapes 30-31 90-95 28.4 (stem) 1-6 mo Weekly S02 fumigation
27.1 (fruit) (varietal) used for disease control
Guava 41-50 90 36 — 2-3 wk Ethylene producer
Herbs (not basil) 32-36 90-98 — — Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Horseradish 30-32 98-100 — 28.7 10-1 2 mo
 APPENDIX A-1 47
Commodity Ideal holding RH (%) Chilling Highest freezing Maximum Comments
temp (°F) temp (°F) temp (°F) life

J-K
Jaboticaba 55-60 90-95 — — 2-3 days
Jackfruit 55 85-90 — — 2-4 wk
Jerusalem artichoke 31-32 90-95 27.5 4 mo
Jicama 55-65 85-90 — — 1-2 mo Sprouts at high temper-
ture, subject to decay at
high humidity
Kale 32 95-100 31.1 2-3 wk
Kiwano (horned melon) 55-60 90 — — 6 mo
Kiwifruit 32 99-100 — 30.4 3-5 mo Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Kohlrabi 32 95-100 30.4 2-3 mo

L
Langsat 52-58 85-90 — — 2wk
Leeks 32 95-100 — 30.7 2 mo
Lettuce 32 98-100 - 31.7 2-3 wk Vacuum cooling generally
used for prompt removal of
field heat
Lo bok(black radish) 32-34 95-100 — — 4 mo
Long bean 39-45 90-95 — — 7-10 days
Longan 39-45 90-95 27.9 2-4 wk
Loquat 32 90-95 28.6 3wk
Lychee 34-36 90-95 — — 3-5 wk

M
Malanga 45 70-80 — — 3 mo
Mamey 55-60 90-95 — — 2-3 wk
Mango 55 85-90 50 29.5 2-3 wk Ethylene producer
Mangosteen 55 85-90 — — 2-4 wk Ethylene producer
Melons
Cantaloupe 36-41 95 40 29.9 2-3 wk Storage temperature of
honeydew and cantaloupe
depends on maturity and
length of storage; chilling
possible below about 40°F
Cassaba 49-50 85-90 30.3 3wk
Crenshaw 45-50 90-95 45-50 30.5 2wk Hold partially ripe melons
above 50°F
Honeydew 41-50 90-95 45 30.3 2wk Gas with ethylene at
temperature above 68°F
for ripening; gassing time
depends on initial maturity
Juan Canary 45-50 85-95 — — —
Persian 45 90-95 30.5 2wk
Watermelon 50-59 90 40 31.3 2-3 wk Ethylene sensitive
Mint 32 95-100 — — —
Mushroom 32 90 30.4 7-1 4 days
Mustard greens 32-36 90-95 31.4 7-1 4 days Sensitive to ethylene
damage

N
Nectarine 31-32 90-95 — 30.4 2-4 wk
48 APPENDIX A - 1
Commodity Ideal holding RH (%) Chilling Highest freezing Maximum Comments
temp (°F) temp (°F) temp (°F) life

Okra 45-50 90-95 45 28.7 7-10 days

Olives 41-50 90-95 29.4 4-6 wk
Onion, dry 32 65-70 30.6 1-8 mo Market life depends on
variety and season; cure
with warm, moist air
circulation until 3-5%
weight is lost.
Onion, green 32 95-100 — 30.4 3wk

Papaya 45-55 85-90 30.4 1-3wk Ethylene producer

Parsley 32 95-100 — 30.0 1-2 mo
Parsnips 32 95-100 30.4 4-6 mo Handle like carrots
Passion fruit 50 85-90 3-4 wk Ethylene producer
Peach 31-32 90-95 — 30.4 2-4 wk Internal breakdown can
(varietal) occur at 36°to 50°F; ripen
at 65° to 70°F
Pear, Asian and European 29-31 90-95 29.0 2-7 mo Storage life depends on
variety, maturity and
storage conditions; very
low solids (pears, 9%
solids) may be damaged at
29° to 30°F; controlled-
atmospheres extend
storage; ripen at 60° to 70°F
Peas, sweet and snow 32-34 90-98 — 30.9 1-2wk Prompt, thorough chilling
needed to maintain sugar;
fresh peas keep better if
unshelled
Pepino 41-50 95 1 mo
Pepper, bell and chili 45-50 95-98 45 30.7 2-3 wk Waxed to reduce water
loss
Persimmon 32 90 28.1 1-3 mo Ethylene producer
Pineapple 45-55 85-90 30.0 2-4 wk Does not ripen after
harvest
Plantain 56-59 90-95 54 30.4 1-5 wk
Plum and fresh prunes 30-32 90-95 30.5 2-5 wk Storage life depends on
variety, maturity and
storage conditions; ripen at
65° to 70°F; only high-
solids, well-matured fruits
can be held at 30°F
Plumcot 32 90-98
Pomegranate 41-45 90-95 26.6 2-3 mo
Potato
Early, immature 50-59 90-95 38-40 30.5 10-1 4 days Market life depends on
condition and curing; cure
4-5 days at 70°F; store in
dark; store cured potatoes
at 40°F; without curing,
hold at 50°F; hold chip
potatoes at 70°F
Late, mature 40-55 95-98 38-40 30.9 5-1 0 mo Cure at 45° to 50°F and
high RH for 10-1 4 days;
store in dark; condition
chip potatoes for 1-3 wk at
70°F just before use
Pumpkin 54-59 50-70 — 30.5 2-3 mo
 APPENDIX A-1 49
Commodity Ideal holding RH (%) Chilling Highest freezing Maximum Comments
temp (°F) temp (°F) temp (°F) life

Q-R
Quince 31-32 90 — 28.4 2-3 mo Treat like early apples such
as Jonathan
Radicchio 32-34 95-100 — — 3-4 wk Subject to moisture loss
Radish 32 95-100 — 30.7 1-2 mo Top before storage
Rambutan 54 90-95 — — 1-3 wk
Rhubarb 32 95-100 — 30.3 2-4 wk
Rutabaga 32 98-100 — 30.1 4-6 mo Wax to reduce weight loss,
handle as topped carrots

s —
Salsify 32 95-98 30.0 2-4 mo Handle as topped carrots
Sapodilla 59-68 85-90 — — 2wk
Scorzonera (black salsify) 32-36 95-98 — — 6 mo
Shallot 32-36 90-98 — 30.7 —
Soursop 55 85-90 — — 1-2 wk
Spinach 32 95-100 31.5 10-1 4 days Cool rapidly and thor
oughly
Squash, summer, 45-50 95 41 31.1 1-2 wk Sensitive to ethylene
(soft rind) damage
Squash, winter 54-59 50-70 50 30.5 2-3 mo May be cured 10-20 days
(varietal) at 80°to 85°F
Sugar apple (sweetsop) 45 85-90 — — 4wk
Sweet potato 55-60 85-95 55 29.7 4-7 mo Cure for 4-7 days at 85°
and 85-90% RH
Swiss chard 32-36 90-98 — — 10-1 4 days

T
Tamarillo 37-40 85-90 — — 10 wk
Tamarind 36-45 90-95 — 25.4 3^1 wk
Taro (dasheen) 45-50 85-90 — 30.3 4 mo
Tomatillo 45-55 85-90 — — 3wk
Tomato
Mature green 50-55 90-95 55 31.0 2-5 wk Ethylene sometimes used
to ripen; fastest ripening at
65° to 68°F; slow ripening
at 57° to 60°F
Firm ripe 45-50 85-90 45 31.1 1-3 wk
Turnip 32 95 — 30.1 4-5 mo Top for extended storage;
store as topped carrots
Turnip greens 32 95-100 — 31.7 2wk

U-W-Y
Ugli fruit 40 90-95 — — 2-3 wk
Waterchestnut 32-36 85-90 — — 2-4 mo Subject to moisture loss
Watercress 32 95-100 — 31.4 2-3 wk Sensitive to ethylene
damage
White sapote 67-70 85-90 — 28.4 2-3 wk
Winged bean 50 90 — — 4wk
Yam 59 70-80 55 — 2-7 mo Sensitive to ethylene
damage
Yucca root (cassava) 32-41 85-90 — — 1-2 mo no CA benefit

Sources: Hardenburg et al. 1986; McGregor 1 987; Whiteman 1957.

Wore: A dash indicates data not available.
50

Appendix A-2
COOLING AND LONG-TERM STORAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR CUT
FLOWERS, FLORIST GREENS, BULBS, CUTTINGS, AND
MISCELLANEOUS NURSERY STOCK

Commodity Ideal holding Highest Maximum Commodity Ideal holding Highest Maximum
temp (°F) freezing life temp (°F) freezing life
temp (°F) temp (°F)
Cut flowers Godetia 50 — 1 wk
Gypsophila 40 1-3 wk
Acacia 40 25.7 3-4 days
Heather 40 28.8 1-3wk
Allium 32—35 2 wk
Heliconia 54 10 days
Alstroemeria 40 2-3 days
Hyacinth 32-33 31.5 2wk
Anemone 40-45 28.2 2 days
Iris, bulbous 31-32 30.6 1-2 wk
Anthurium 56 2-4 wk
Laceflower 40 3 days
Aster, China 32^10 30.4 1-3 wk
Lilac, forced 40 4-6 days
Bird-of-paradise 45-46 1-3 wk
Lilv
uij 32-34 31.1 2-3 wk
Bouvardia 32-35 1 wk
— Lilly-of-the-valley 31-32 2-3 wk
Buddleia 40 1-2 days
Lupine 40 3 days
Calendula 40 3-6 days
Marigold 40 1-2 wk
Calla 40 1 wk
Mignonette 40 3-5 days
Camellia 45 30.7 3-6 days
Narcissus 32-33 31.8 1-3 wk
Candytuft 40 3 days
Orchid, cattleya 45-50 31.5 2wk
Carnation 31-32 30.7 3-4 wk
Orchid, cymbidium 31-40 2wk
Carnation buds 31-32 30.7 4-12 wk
Orchid, vanda 55 5 days
Carnation, miniature 31-32 2wk
Ornithogalum 40 4-6 wk
Chrysanthemum 31-32 30.6 3-4 wk
Peony, tight buds 32-34 30.0 2-6 wk
Clarkia 40 3 days
Phlox 40 1-3 days
Columbine 40 31.1 2 days
Poinsettia 50-60 30.0 4-7 days
Coreopsis 40 3-4 days
Poppy 40 3-5 days
Cornflower 40 30.9 3 days
Primrose 40 1-2 days
Cosmos 40 3-4 days
Protea 40 7-10 days
Crocus 33-36 1-2 wk
Ranunculus 32-41 28.9 7-10 days
Dahlia 40 3-5 days
Rose (dry pack) 32 31.1 2wk
Daisy, English 40 3 days
Rose (in preservative) 33-35 31.1 4-5 days
Daisy, Marguerite 36 1-2 wk
Snapdragon 40 30.4 1-2 wk
Daisy, Shasta 40 30.0 7-8 days
Snowdrop 40 2-4 days
Delphinium 40 29.1 1-2 days
Squill 32-33 2wk
Eucharis 45-50 7-10 days
Statice 35-40 3-4 wk
Feverfew 40 30.9 3 days
Stephanotis 40 1 wk
Forget-me-not 40 1-2 days
Stevia 40 3 days
Foxglove 40 1-2 days
Stock 40 31.3 3-5 days
Freesia 32-33 10-1 4 days
Strawflower, fresh 35-40 3-4 wk
Gaillardia 40 3 days
Sweet pea 31-32 30.4 2wk
Gardenia 32-34 30.9 2wk
Sweet-william 45 3-4 days
Gerbera 34-40 1-2wk
Tulip 31-32 2-3 wk
Ginger 55 4-7 days
Violet 34-41 28.8 3-7 days
Gladiolus 35-42 31.5 5-8 days
Zinnia 40 5-7 days
Gloriosa 40-45 4-7 days
 APPENDIX A - 2 51

Commodity Ideal holding Highest Maximum Commodity Ideal holding Highest Maximum
temp (°F) freezing life temp (°F) freezing life
temp (°F) temp (°F)
Florist greens (decorative foliage) Erythronium 48-63 —
Freesia 86 3-4 mo
Adiantum (maidenhair) 32-40
Fritillaria imperialis 73-77
Asparagus (plumosa) 35-40 26.1 2-3 wk
Fritillaria meleagris 48-55
Asparagus (sprenger) 35-40 2-3 wk
Galanthus 55-63
Buxus (boxwood) 35-40
Galtonia 45-55 —
Camellia 40
Gladiolus 45-50 28.2 5-8 mo
Cedar 32
— Gloriosa lily 50-63 3-4 mo
Chamaedorea 45 2-3 wk
— Gloxinia 41-50 30.6 5-7 mo
Cordyline 45-50 2-3 wk
Hemerocallis 50 1 mo
Croton 35-40
Hippeastrum 38-45 30.9 5 mo
Dagger and wood ferns 32 28.9 2-3 mo
Hyacinthus 63-68 29.3 2-5 mo
Dieffenbachia 55
Hymenocallis 60-70 —
Dracaena 35-40 29.1
Iris, Dutch 68-77 4-1 2 mo
Eucalyptus 35-40 28.8 1-3 wk
Iris, English 63 — —
Galax 32
Iris, German 32-41
Ground pine 32
Iris, reticulata 63 —
Hedera 35^10 29.8 2-3 wk
Ixia 68-77 —
Ilex (holly) 32-40 27.0 3-5 wk
Ixiolirion 68
Juniper 32 1-2 mo
Liatirs 32-35
Leatherleaf (baker fern) 34-40 1-2 mo
Lilium 31-33 28.9 1-10 mo
Leucothoe, drooping 35-40
Montbretia 35-41
Magnolia 35-40 27.0 2-4 wk
Muscari 63 2-4 mo
Mistletoe 32 25.0 3^1 wk
Narcissus 55-63 29.7 2-4 mo
Mountain-laurel 32 27.5 2-4 wk
— Ornithogalum 68
Mytus (myrtle) 35-40
umbellatum
Palm 45
Ornithogalum 77 —
Philodendron 35-40
thyrsoides
Pittosporum 35-40 2-3 wk
Oxalis adenophylla 63-68 —
Podocarpus 45 27.9
Oxalis deppei 35-41
Pothos 35-40
Peony 32-35 5 mo
Rhododendron 32 27.5 2-4 wk
Primula 45-50 —
Salal (lemon leaf) 32 26.8 2-3 wk
Puschkinia 60-68 —
Scotch-broom 40 2-3 wk
Ranunculus 50-55 —
Smilax, southern 40
Scilla 63-73 —
Staghorn fern 55
Sparaxis 77 —
Vaccinium (huckleberry) 32 26.6 1-4 wk
Tigridia 35-41 — —
Woodwardia fern 32-40
Trillium 32-35 —
Bulbs, corms, rhizomes, tubers, and roots Tulipa 63 27.7 2-6 mo
Watsonia 40-45 — —
Achimenes 45-50
Zantedeschia 40-55 27.5 —
Acidanthera 45-55
Zephyranthes 40-45 —
Allium giganteum 73-77 — —
Alstroemeria 40-50 — — Cuttings and scions
Anemone coronaria 45-55 3-4 mo
Azalea, unrooted 31-40 4-1 Owk
Begonia, tuberous 35-45 31.1 3-5 mo
Blueberry wood, 30 5 mo
Bletilla orchid 35-40
Ulll UULcu
Brodiaea laxa 68-77 — —
Carnation, rooted
Caladium 70 29.7
and unrooted 31-32 5-6 mo
Camassia 63—68
Chrysanthemum, 31-35 3-6 wk
Canna 40-50
rooted
Chionodoxa 68
— — Chrysanthemum, 31-33 5-6 wk
Colchicum 63
Ulll UULCU
Convallaria 25-30 1 year
Geranium, unrooted 31 4-6 wk
Crocus 63 2-3 mo
Poinsettia, rooted 41 1 wk
Cypella herbertii 40-50
Privet, unrooted 34-36 6wk
Dahlia 40-48 28.8 5 mo
Raspberry, unrooted 30 12-1 5 wk
Endymion 63-68
Rose budwood 28-31 1-2 years
Eranthis 41-48
52 APPENDIX A-2

Commodity Ideal holding Highest Maximum

temp (°F) freezing life
temp (°F)
Nursery stock
Asparagus rhizomes 30-32 — 3-4 mo
Bedding plants 40-55 — 2-4 wk
Christmas trees 22-32 — 6-7 wk
Conifer seedlings 32-36 — 3-6 mo
Herbaceous perennials 27-35 — 3-8 mo
Rose bushes 31-36 — 4-5 mo
Seeds 32-50 — 1 year
Strawberry plants 30-32 — 8-10 mo
Tomato plants 50-55 — 10 days
Woody ornamentals 32-36 — 4-5 mo
and evergreens

Source. Adapted from Hardenburg et al. 1986.

Note: A relative humidity (RH) of 90-95% is recommended for long-term

storage of all cut flwers and greens. A dash indicates data not available.
 53

Appendix B-1
ROOM COOLING AND HYDROCOOLING TIMES

ROOM COOLING

Commodity Container, packing method, stacking pattern, Seven-eighths cooling times*

air circulation (reference) Average Slowest
Apple Wooden box, unpacked, pallet loads (7) 2-3.3 days
Wooden box, packed, pallet loads (7) 6-8 days

Artichoke Corrugated container (9) 24 hr

Grapes Wooden lug, solid stacked, on pallets (1 ) 30 hr

Nectarine Plastic tray pack, packed and stacked, on pallets, air velocity 400 fpm (3):
Wooden container, 20.5% side vent area (9) 12 hr
Corrugated container, 1 0-1 3% side vent area (9) 12 hr
Corrugated container, 6% side vent area (9) 12 hr
Corrugated container, 1 .9-3.4% side vent area (9) 27 hr

Pear Wooden box, 48 Ib, wrapped and upwrapped, on pallet (6, 7) 2.5 days 3-4 days
LA lug, 24 Ib (9) 16hr 20 hr
LA lug, corrugated, 24 Ib, wrapped (9) 30 hr 39 hr
Telescope container, 12" x 18" x 10" high, 36 Ib, tightfill, cross-stacked C\):
54 containers per pallet, two 1 V' holes in each side, '/2" space between sides 2.5 days 4-6 days
48 containers per pallet, two 1 'A" holes in each side, 3 3/a" space between sides 2 days 3.6 days
3'/2% side vent, 1 " spacing between containers 16hr 23 hr
5% side vent, no space between containers 24 hr 40 hr

Plum Corrugated containers, 1 1 " x 1 7 '/2 " x 8 " high, 28 Ib, tight-fill, cross-stacked on pallet (9) :
No vent and no spacing between containers, cross-stacked 84 hr
4% vent area, 1 " spacing between containers, cross-stacked 22 hr
4% vent area, no spacing, register stacked 18 hr
Single 4-basket crate, 2 sides exposed 27 hr

Plum Fruit in 47" square bins (9):

24" deep, no side vents 24-46 hr
24" deep, six Vs" x 16" slots on each side 23-40 hr
Metal bin, perforated, 'A" holes on 1 " centers 18-33 hr
Metal bin, perforated, six Va" x 16" slots on each side 20-32 hr

Orange Fruit in 47" square bins (9):

24" deep, no side vents 33 hr
30" deep, no side vents 45 hr —
54 APPENDIX B-1

HYDROCOOLING

Commodity Postharvest handling or packing (reference) Seven-eighths cooling times*

Average Slowest
Asparagus Bunches immersed in flowing water (5) 6 min

Cantaloupe Bulk in commercial hydrocooler (2) 45-60 min

Peach 47" square bins, 24" deep, water shower 1 50 gpm per bin (4):
Bin bottom with slots allowing free drainage 30 min
Bin bottom with ten 1 " holes allowing bin to fill 24 min
Commercial hydrocooler (8) 33 min

Pear, Anjou Open lug, 1 50 fruit, water spray 4 gpm per square foot (9) 42 min
Sweet corn Wirebound crates, immersion (6):
No agitation 46-84 min
Agitation 28 min
Wirebound crates, water shower 5 gpm per square foot, free drainage (9) 45 min

References: (1) Guillou 1960; (2) Lipton and Stewart 1959; (3) Mitchell et al. 1971; (4) O'Brien and Gentry 1967; (5) Pentzer et al. 1936; (6) Perry and Perkins
1968; (7) Sainsbury 1961; (8) Toussaint et al. 1955; (9) unpublished test data.

* Times are approximate and are to be used only as guides. Small differences in containers, packing procedures, or exposure to the coolant can affect cooling
rates considerably. A dash in either column indicates that information is not available.
 55

Appendix B-2
AIRFLOW RATES AND STATIC PRESSURE REQUIRED TO
FORCE- Al R-COOL COMMON PRODUCE

Flow rate needed to cool to times indicated, cfm/lb

(Pressure needed to force air through stack, inches w.c.)
Commodity, container, method of airflow
Cooling time to 7/sths cool downstream produce, hr*
1.5 2 3 4 6 9 12 18
Containers placed three-deep and in register

Artichoke, corrugated containers, 9% side-area vented 1.5 1.0

(2.4) (1.2)

Cantaloupe, corrugated containers, 6% side-area vented 2.0 1.2 0.6 0.3 0.20
(2.0) (1.0) (0.4) (0.15) (0.08)
Cherry, 18-lb Calex lug, cleat. 0.9 0.5 0.3 0.2
(0.20) (0.07) (0.03) (0.02)

Grapes, lidded paper-wood laminated containers, — 2.8 1.6 0.7 0.4 0.25
no bottom cleat (2-3) (0.4-0.7) (0.20) (0.10)

Grapes, lidded paper-wood laminated containers, 2.5 1.3 0.7 0.5

3A" bottom cleat (0.7) (0.25) (0.10) (0.05)

Grapes, full telescoping containers, 17'/4" x 15" x 6" high, 1.4 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.27 0.17
5.8% side-area vented (3.0) (1 .7) (0.7) (0.4) (0.16) (0.07)

Grapes, partial telescoping containers, 17'A" x 14" x 63A" high, 1.5 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.22
3.5% side-area vented (>4) (2.6) (1.1) (0.5) (0.23) (0.09)

Kiwifruit, corrugated flats, single-layer tray, poly-wrapped

No top pad — 0.8 0.5 0.26
(1.3) (0.8) (0.4)
With top pad — 1.5 0.9 0.4
NA (2.1) (1.0)

Nectarine (or peach), corrugated containers with plastic trays, NA NA 0.8 0.5 0.20 0.10
6% side-area vented (0.9) (0.4) (0.15) (0.04) N N
Nectarine, Bliss 2-layer tray, top pad, 5% side vent
Standard 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.2
(0.9) (0.4) (0.10) (0.06)
Poly-wrap top tray 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.25
(1.7) (0.7) (0.15) (0.08)

Peach (or nectarine), plastic trays in lidded wood lugs, NA 1 .6 1.0 0.7 0.4 0.25
20% side-area vented (2.3) (0.7) (0.3) (0.10) (0.03) N
Pear, corrugated containers, 12" x 18" x 9 Viz" high 1.2 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.20
2% side-area vented NA (4) (1.5) (0.5) (0.25)
5% side-area vented — — 1.0 0.7 0.4 0.20 0.15
(1.8) (0.6) (0.20) (0.09) N
56 APPENDIX

Flow rate needed to cool to times indicated, cfm/lb

(Pressure needed to force air through stack, inches w.c.)
Lommocmy, container, meinou 01 aimow
Cooling time to 7/sths cool downstream produce, hr*
1.5 2 3 4 6 9 12 18
Pear, 46-lb wrapped cartons, 5% side vent — — — 0.7 0.4 0.22
(2.1) (1.1) (0.5)

Plum, corrugated containers, 11 " x 171/2" x 8" high, 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.25 0.18
4% side-area vented (2.9) (1.3) (0.3) (0.15) NA

Strawberry, open crates on pallets 2.0 1 .4 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.20 — —

(0.4) (0.20) (0.08) (0.04) (0.02) N

Tomato, corrugated containers, 10% side-area vented NA 2.9 1.6 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.25
(2.3) (1.2) (0.8) (0.4) (0.20) (0.13) NA

Vertical airflow through slotted bin bottoms

Orange

2-ft depth 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.20 0.15

(0.09) (0.04) (0.02) N N

3-ft depth 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.20 0.15

(0.20) (0.10) (0.04) (0.02) N

4-ft depth 0.9 0.6 0.20 0.3 0.15

(0.20) (0.07) (0.03) (0.02) N

Bulk bins (47" square), airflow horizontally through slots in bin sides

Pear, wooden bins (slowest), 4' x 4' x 2', 5.2% side vent — — — — 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.2
(0.4) 0.15) (0.08) (0.05)

Plum, 3% side-area vented

Average fruit NA 0.7 0.4 0.20 0.10

(0.9) (0.25) (0.07) N N

Slowest-cooling fruit — — — — 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.20

(1.8) (0.7) (0.3) (0.12)

Plum, 5-6% side-area vented

Average fruit — 0.6 0.3 0.17 — —

(0.4) (0.13) NA

Slowest-cooling fruit — — 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.20

(0.7) (0.25) (0.12) NA

Sources: Mitchell et al. 1971; Parsons, et al. 1970, 1972; Wang and Tunpun 1968.

Note: Based on calculations of seven-eighths cooling of produce. Figures compiled from laboratory and field data. Dash indicates data not available.

* Static pressure shown is for air path through three tiers stacked in register. For other stacking, multiply static pressure by; 1 tier, 0.05; 2 tiers, 0.3; 4 tiers, 2.3;
6 tiers, 7.0. Figures without parentheses are flow rates needed to cool in time indicated. Figures in parentheses are pressures needed to force air through
stack. Figures are approximate only; small differences in container venting and stacking patterns can cause large change in static pressure losses.

NA: Data not available.

N: Negligible.
 57

Appendix B-3
STATIC PRESSURE, AIRFLOW, AND TIME REQUIRED TO COOL
SELECTED FLOWERS

Static pressure

0.5 in 1.0 in 2.0 in

Flower Box size Vent Gross Airflow 7/8ths Airflow 7/sths Airflow 7/sths
(in) hole wt. (Ib) (cfm/box) cooling (cfm/box) cooling (cfm/box) cooling
diam. time time time
(in) (min) (min) (min)
Carnation 48x21 x 12 2 51 70 48 90 40 110 35

Chrysanthemum 57x21 x 12 2 33* 80 62 130 58 210 54

Gypsophila 42x21 x 12 3 — 170 10 260 8 — —

Rose 48x21 x 12 2 t 140 34 200 25 290 20

Statice 42x21 x 12 3 75 150 40 210 18 280 13

Note: Each box has two vent holes in each end.

"45-lb box allows 50% less air through box.

t20 bunches per box.

58
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 61

Color Plates

Plate 1. Plate 2.
Air injected in a pear travels through gas Tunnel-type forced-air cooler.
pathways to the surface.

Plate 3.
A: Pallet bins placed against plenum wall in a serpentine cooler. B: Bumper opens air plenum slot when bin is placed in position. C: Cloth strips block
airflow in alternate bin levels.

Plate 4. Plate 5. Plate 6.

Cold-wall-type forced-air cooler. Cold-wall cooler for cut flowers. A well-vented box for forced-air cooling.
Plate 7. Plate 8.
In-line shower hydrocooler for cherries. Immersion-type hydrocooler for cherries.

Plate 9. Plate 10.

Manually operated ice-injection system. A: Automated ice injector for palletized product. B: Waxed brocooli box filled with
crushed ice.

Plate11.
A: Twelve pallet capacity vacuum cooler. B: Portable refrigeration and vacuum equipment for vacuum cooler.