Desiccant Dehumidification System for Storage of Fruits and Vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables are perishable and possess short life under ambient conditions. Post-harvest losses are one of the major concerns in the storage of fruits and vegetables. In this regard, proper control of temperature and humidity is required to reduce post-harvest losses and enhance the shelf life of fruit and vegetables with the finest quality, quantity, and nutritive attributes. Several options such as vapor compression-based air-conditioning systems have been studied and implemented worldwide for possible storage of fruits and vegetables but consume a huge amount of energy and degrading the environment. Therefore, in this study, the energy-efficient standalone desiccant air conditioning (DAC) and Maisotsenko cycle-based desiccant air conditioning (M-DAC) systems were explored from the viewpoint of potential storage of fruits and vegetables. The systems analysis to check the feasibility was carried out in the climatic conditions of Multan, Pakistan. The proposed systems were thermodynamically explored from the viewpoint of ideal temperature and humidity control storage zones, cooling capacity, and coefficient of performance (COP). The results appreciably showed that the M-DAC system performed relatively better than the proposed standalone DAC system. It was found that the cooling capacity and COP of the M-DAC system were found 32.5 kJ/kg and 1.07, respectively, as compared with standalone DAC.