Performance of a fabricated solar-powered vapour compression cooler in maintaining post-harvest quality of French beans in Kenya
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Date
2020-08Author
Ogumo, Eric O
Kunyanga, C. N.
Okoth, M
Kimenju, J
Type
ArticleLanguage
en_USMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The quality and shelf life of French beans can be affected within hours of harvesting if the produce is
not cooled after harvest. Solar-powered cooling systems are suitable for use in rural areas that are not
connected to the grid. This study aimed at developing a solar powered cooling system to improve the
quality of French beans in smallholder farms in Kenya. Freshly harvested French beans were stored
under conventional field shed conditions and a solar-powered prototype cooler, after which weight and
temperature were measured at intervals of 2 h and later packed in modified, atmosphere packaging
bags. The bags were stored for 7 days in a cold room. Accumulated gas levels of oxygen and CO2 in the
packaging bags were measured at the end of the shelf life. Significant differences (P≤0.05) in weight
loss between produce stored in the conventional shed and those in the solar cooler prototype were
observed. The weight of French beans reduced by 5 and 2.8% after 7 h under a conventional field shed
and a fabricated solar cooler respectively. The volume of CO2 and O2 released from produce stored in a
conventional shed and those in a fabricated solar cooler prototype were significantly different (P≤0.05).
URI
https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJFS/article-full-text-pdf/10D5A6164541http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/155010
Citation
Ogumo, E. O., Kunyanga, C. N., Kimenju, J., & Okoth, M. (2020). Performance of a fabricated solar-powered vapour compression cooler in maintaining post-harvest quality of French beans in Kenya. African Journal of Food Science, 14(7), 192-200.Publisher
AJFS