Fresh n juicy
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14/08/1997
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Down To Earth
a low-cost cooling chamber that increases the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables has been developed by Susanta K Roy and his team at the Division of Fruits and Horticulture Technology at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi ( Science Reporter , Vol 34, No 6).
Even though India is the largest producer of fruits in the world and the second largest of vegetables - second only to China - 20 to 40 per cent of the produce is lost due lack of proper storage facilities. One reason is that farmers in rural India, do not have access to refrigeration .
This small zero-energy cool chamber that can be built anywhere near farms using locally available materials. The low-cost cool chamber works on the same principle which keeps water in earthen pots cool. According to this principle, when dry air comes in contact with or is blown across a wet surface, water evaporates and produces a cooling effect.To achieve this effect, the cool chamber has a wet, porous bed from where air passes through causing cooling by evaporation of water.
The cool chamber is a double-walled chamber of bricks, sand and bamboo which are kept wet. The evaporative cooling effect reduces the temperature inside the chamber by as much as 18
Even though India is the largest producer of fruits in the world and the second largest of vegetables - second only to China - 20 to 40 per cent of the produce is lost due lack of proper storage facilities. One reason is that farmers in rural India, do not have access to refrigeration .
This small zero-energy cool chamber that can be built anywhere near farms using locally available materials. The low-cost cool chamber works on the same principle which keeps water in earthen pots cool. According to this principle, when dry air comes in contact with or is blown across a wet surface, water evaporates and produces a cooling effect.To achieve this effect, the cool chamber has a wet, porous bed from where air passes through causing cooling by evaporation of water.
The cool chamber is a double-walled chamber of bricks, sand and bamboo which are kept wet. The evaporative cooling effect reduces the temperature inside the chamber by as much as 18