Controlled atmosphere storage of apples (3)

Abstract

The controlled atmosphere room must be gastight or it will not operate properly. The gas seal is critical for the successful operation of the C-A storage. Therefore C-A storage rooms should be pressure tested for leaks annually before lading. A pressure blower is connected for the C-A room and air is blown into the room until the pressure reaches one inch water gauge. Most of the experiences in U. S. A. have shown that the room should not lose all the pressure (down to zero) in less than 30 minutes. The study reported in this paper was made at two storages of Hokkaido University in Japan. These rooms were built in 1961 and 1962. By the theoretical analysis, the water height (h) of manometer is given by the formula. h=h0e-λt where t=time, min, h0=water height of manometer at t=0 mm, λ=leakage factor. In 1961, we have constructed No. 2 room of Mc Intosh Apples, but we could not satisfy the gas contents required, because its λ was 0.33 (mm/min.). In next year we have reconstructed No. 2 room for Mc Intosh and constructed No. 1 room for Delicious Apples. By the pressure test, λ was 0.026 and 0.01 respectively, and gas contents were kept easily. And one inch pressure drop in 30 minutes corresponds to λ=0.1. Therefore we can say that λ of C-A storage of Apples should be kept under 0.1 during season. © 1963, Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. All rights reserved.