Ethylene Scrubber Display Table for Produce Ripening Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Display tables for produce fail to effectively extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables due to the accumulation of ethylene gas, which accelerates ripening.
Innovation Solution
A display table design featuring an enclosure with a perforated table top, a blower to create underpressure, and an ethylene scrubber, such as an ultraviolet lamp with a photocatalyst or potassium permanganate, to draw in and remove ethylene gas, thereby extending the life of the produce.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If produce is displayed on an open table top, then accessibility and visibility are improved, but ethylene gas accumulates and accelerates ripening
Solution Approach 1:
The table top is segmented with multiple perforations distributed across its surface, allowing gas to escape through various points rather than requiring a single large opening. This maintains the solid surface needed for produce display while providing numerous pathways for ethylene removal.
Solution Approach 2:
An enclosure structure acts as an intermediary between the produce and the surrounding environment. It provides a controlled microenvironment that captures ethylene gas near the produce and directs it through the perforations to the blower system, preventing direct accumulation while maintaining produce accessibility.
2Strength
If a solid table top is used to support produce, then structural integrity is improved, but gas flow and ethylene removal are hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The table top incorporates perforations that create a porous structure. These openings are sufficient to allow gas flow while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the table top. The porous design enables simultaneous support of produce and facilitation of ethylene gas removal.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If ethylene scrubbers are added to remove ethylene gas, then shelf life is extended, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful ethylene gas is extracted from the air surrounding the produce using the blower system that draws gas through the perforations. The ethylene scrubber then removes ethylene from this extracted gas stream, concentrating the removal function on a specific pathway rather than requiring complex distributed systems throughout the display table.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical ethylene removal systems with chemical or biological scrubbing mechanisms. The ethylene scrubber uses chemical reactions or biological processes to neutralize ethylene gas, substituting simpler mechanical components for what would otherwise require complex pneumatic or mechanical separation systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively removes ethylene gas, slowing down the ripening process and extending the shelf life of produce by creating a clean air environment through the use of ethylene scrubbers and photocatalytic oxidation.
Implementation Method 1
The blower is positioned in communication with the enclosure to create an underpressure that draws a gas into the enclosure through the perforations
Implementation Method 2
The surface irradiated by the ultraviolet lamp has a photocatalyst suitable to provide photocatalytic oxidation of ethylene
Implementation Method 3
The ultraviolet lamp is positioned in communication with the enclosure and in a flow path of the gas
Data Source
AI summary
A display for supporting produce generating ethylene gas as the produce ripens includes a surface for supporting the produce, a blower positioned in communication with the produce to move a gas containing at least a portion of the ethylene gas from the produce and an ethylene scrubber positioned in communication with the produce and in a flow path of the gas. The ethylene scrubber removes the at least a portion of the ethylene from the gas. The display does not include a refrigeration system such that a life of the produce is lengthened without use of refrigeration.