Hydroponic Leafy Crop Pre-Cooling and Packaging Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydroponic crop post-production processing systems face challenges with the rapid decay of leafy crops after harvesting, requiring lengthy cooling times and increased energy consumption, which reduces the produce's marketable life and operator comfort.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a pre-cooling method that gradually cools vital plants from 25-30°C to 5°C within 12 hours before cutting, using a spraying apparatus to maintain hydration and an automated system for controlled temperature management, ensuring optimal preservation and efficient processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If rapid cooling is applied to harvested leafy crops, then cooling time is reduced, but the crops suffer dehydration and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-cooling the plants in the growth channels before harvesting. The cooling system is activated during the growth phase to gradually lower the temperature of plants and substrate to approximately 10°C, so that when harvesting occurs, the plants are already in a pre-cooled state ready for immediate packaging and transport without requiring additional cooling time that would cause dehydration.
2Reliability
If prolonged cooling is applied to prevent decay, then crop preservation is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cooling during the growth phase, establishing a low-temperature state before harvesting. This preliminary action ensures that plants are pre-cooled and ready for immediate post-harvest handling, eliminating the need for prolonged cooling after harvesting and thereby reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining crop preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is integrated into the growth environment itself, using the same infrastructure to provide both growth conditions and cooling. The system cools plants in situ during growth, and this pre-cooled state automatically carries through to harvesting and packaging, reducing the need for separate, energy-intensive cooling operations after harvest.
3Device complexity
If traditional post-harvest processing is used, then processing simplicity is maintained, but the marketable life of produce is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary cooling to plants before they are harvested and packaged. By pre-cooling plants to approximately 10°C during the growth phase, the plants are already in an optimal state for preservation when harvested. This preliminary action extends the marketable life of the produce without adding complex post-harvest processing steps, as the cooling infrastructure is already in place during growth.
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
Extends the useful life of hydroponically grown leafy crops by at least 12 hours, reduces energy consumption, and maintains a comfortable processing environment, enhancing the integration with existing automated systems like MGS.
Implementation Method 1
spraying a plurality of vital plants such to create a water film on leaves
Implementation Method 2
gradually pre-cooling the temperature of vital plants from about +25 -30° C. at a temperature lower than or equal to +5° C. within a period of about 12 hours, in order to slow down their development and ripening
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (100) for harvesting and post-production packaging of leafy crops by hydroponic technique comprises the steps of: - spraying (102) a plurality of vital plants (60) such to create a water film on leaves to keep them hydrated, said plants (60) being anchored by their respective roots to a supporting substrate (62); - gradually pre-cooling (108) the vital plants (60) at a temperature lower than or equal to + 5 °C within a period of about 12 hours, in order to slow down their development and ripening; - cutting (112) and separating the plants (60) from the supporting substrate (62) and from roots. - packaging (118) of the plants (60) at a temperature not higher then 5 ° C; where said plant (10) comprises a spraying apparatus (14) configured to spray the plants (60) and that said cold-storage room (16) is a pre-cooling storage room configured to bring still vital plants (60) to the packaging temperature before being cut in the cutting station (20). The invention is also referred to a plant (10) for harvesting and post-production packaging of leafy crops by hydroponic technique.