Kogi State College of Education Technical Zero Energy Cooling Chamber
Ileada FatimaaAyegbIleada FatimaAyegba Ileada FatimaaAyegbIleada FatimaAyegba
Paper Contents
Abstract
Production pf fruits and vegetables are never a problem in Nigeria but its storage. The production is way beyond enough for production but the usually goes to the gabbage due to its short shelf life. The Zero energy cooling chamber is a zero energy storage facility that is used in the storage of fruits and vegetables using evaporative cooling principle. As the name implies, it does not use any form of energy as energy is expensive in Nigeria using either electrical or fuel as a source of energy. The research took place at the Kogi State College of Education (Technical) Kabba, Kogi State farm. The chamber was constructed to compare the percentage weight loss of fruit (banana) and vegetables in the chamber and at room temperature and as well determine the shelf life of the crops. The cooling was achieved by wetting the seabed sand in between the core of the chamber morning and evening. The vegetables that were used are tomatoes, cayene pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, okro, amaranths and fluted pumpkin. The fruit used for the research was banana. The percentage weight loss for fluted pumpkin which is a common and most used vegetable was 13.42% in the chamber as against 30.37% under room temperature, with a shelf life of 7 and 3 days in the chamber and room temperature respectively. Amaranths had a percentage weight loss of 14.85% in the cooling chamber and 37.54% under room temperature and shelf lives of 4 and 2 days respectively. The shelf life of tomato in the cooling chamber was between 15 to 20 days and 10 days under room temperature. Scotch bunnet; 10 to 18days in the chamber and 9 days under room temperature. Cayenne pepper had The shelf life of between 10-18 days in the chamber and 9-10 days under room temperature. Banana had a percentage weight loss of 1.48% in the chamber and 3.66%under room temperature and shelf lives of 4 and 2 two days in the cooling chamber and under room temperature respectively. The temperatures in the chamber and room (ambient) were recorded at three different time intervals;
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