Cold rooms with controlled atmosphere

Thanks to favorable climatic conditions and favorable geographic location, Ukraine is successfully developing agribusiness today. In total, around 32 million hectares of black soil are cultivated here – a third of all arable land in Europe. Every year, agricultural enterprises and farmers prepare huge amounts of food: fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy products, grain products, sunflower oil, etc. Ukraine is one of the world leaders in the export of cereals, nuts, rapeseed, sunflower oil and meat. Berries and fruits require proper storage conditions, this is the main factor in preserving their appearance. For proper storage of fruit, it is necessary to create appropriate conditions, such as refrigerating chambers with a controlled gas environment. As an example, we can give a table with the use-by date of fruit using a controlled atmosphere chamber or without it.

Fruit Type	Standard Chamber	Controlled Atmosphere
Apple	5 months	8 months
Pear	2 months	5 months
Grapes	3 months	6 months
Peach	5 weeks	10 weeks
Cherry	10 days	32 days
Currant	7 days < / td>	42dni
Strawberry	5 days	30 days

Ralco Technic successfully implements projects in Ukraine and Europe in the design and construction of cold rooms with controlled atmosphere.

Controlled atmosphere chambers: the principle of operation

Refrigerating chambers for different types of fruit will differ in their technical parameters due to to different requirements for storage conditions. A competent engineer knows what to look for when designing a facility, at the stage of collecting primary information, he indicates the following information:

• li Volume of loaded products;
• Type of fruit;
• Temperature conditions external and internal;
• The degree of product maturity;
• Technological processes.

It is very important to know that vegetables and fruits breathe. They take up oxygen and release carbon dioxide. As oxygen is released, the moisture evaporates, reducing the weight of the product. With the help of special equipment, this process can be regulated while maintaining the desired temperature for the stored product. For example, storing apples in controlled atmosphere chambers is associated with the conditions in which the gas exchange will be carried out with increased CO2 content at a certain temperature. In order to reduce the oxygen content and its partial pressure, and at the same time increase the CO2 concentration, it is necessary to seal the storage environment tightly. Only in this case, gas exchange will slow down and the shelf life of products will increase. The controlled atmosphere chiller is designed with:

• Compatibility of the material with gas permeability;
• Resistance to the absorption and release of odors;
• Resistance to moisture;
• Endurance;
• Fire resistance;
• Compliance with the required storage parameters.

Thermal insulation of a cold room with a controlled atmosphere consists in the use of special polyurethane foam panels of a specific thickness, as well as thermal doors and curtains. The principle of their construction resembles the constructor, which significantly speeds up the installation process, and also gives more options for choosing the configuration of chambers with a controlled atmosphere. Such panels are mounted on a metal frame in a short time. Using the experience of our specialists, you can design and build a vegetable warehouse that allows you to store up to 5 thousand. tons of crops before the start of their harvest.

Controlled atmosphere fruit chamber from Ralco Technic

We are a professional engineering company that has been designing, building and servicing cooling systems for the agricultural industry since 2007. The company’s portfolio already includes over 400 completed projects. An experienced engineer will design a cold room with a controlled atmosphere with an optimal set of refrigeration equipment and minimal capital expenditure. We are direct suppliers of refrigeration equipment from EU and US producers, we provide a warranty of up to 36 months, and we are ready to rent such devices to customers on favorable terms. A video presentation of a cold store with a controlled atmosphere has been prepared especially for our clients. Fill out the application on the website and our engineer will provide you with comprehensive information on all your questions.