International. Container manufacturing company Maersk Container Industry (MCI) has developed a technology to modernize the transport of fresh produce from around the world, by improving air condition and significantly reducing energy consumption.
MCI, which is part of MaerskGroup, has created an automatic ventilation device, called AV+, which monitors the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by fruits and vegetables in transit, and adjusts the amount of fresh air entering the container according to these levels.
Conventional fixed vents open to air exchange (Airex) often allow more fresh air to enter than necessary. Next, all this air must be cooled by a separate system.
MCI sales and marketing manager Anders G. Holm told Portalfruticola.com that the main benefit of this technology is that since it no longer lets in more fresh air than necessary, unnecessary cooling should not be applied.
"I think with the automatic ventilation solution the main advantage is that you only let in the fresh air that is required to keep the produce fresh, and therefore you can reduce energy consumption, as there will be less hot air coming into the container that you need to cool," Holm said.
The device can also be pre-programmed for the type of fruit or vegetable being transported, as the maximum level of CO2 in the air they can withstand can vary greatly. For example, avocados should not be transported in an environment with more than 10% CO2, while for potatoes, this figure is much lower than 3%.
