Evaluating a novel carton design to improve the efficiency of forced air cooling and refrigerated containers in the pome industry

The South African pome industry has a growing challenge of increased production cost such as fuel, packaging, etc, and markets increasing focus on carbon footprints. Therefore, there is a need to become more efficient. An innovative and insight paper was published by (Berry et al., 2022), illustrating new carton and pallet designs to increase the floor area usage of refrigerated freight containers (RFCs) using Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. The aim of this project was to scope the possibilities of a new carton design which improves space usage with a reefer container as well as to improve cooling efficiency.

The first objective of the study was to establish and consult with a packaging committee to design and drive the manufacturing of a new packaging system for the pome industry. The second objective was to engage with industry stakeholders and conduct a survey. The third objective was to create a virtual prototype of a new carton design and to evaluate the carton design using computational fluid dynamics.

A packaging committee was established consisting of various industry members within the pome industry, engineering sector and packaging sector. After engagements, the agreed main goal was to increase space usage within shipping containers and to also improve cooling efficiency. It was agreed that before any steps were taken to develop a new carton design, the current 22-pallet system used in industry should be evaluated. This led to the discovery of two MK 4 (M18C) carton types used industry with different vent hole designs, namely; supervent and edge vent cartons. It was also discovered that various pallet layouts within the container was used in the industry. The different carton type and pallet layout would have an effect on the cooling efficiency. Hence, it was decided to postpone objective 3 and apply for a new project application which would first assess the current 22-pallet systems before designing any new type of carton.

The establishment of a packaging committee and consistent engagement with industry stakeholders, led to an improved approach to conduct research regarding new carton designs. The survey uncovered variations of packaging types and transport of produce which otherwise would not have been highlighted as various corporations do not necessary communicate and share ideas. The usage of the various 22-pallet systems and pallet layout were not previously test or modelled with the focus of cooling efficiency. The main aim of the 22-pallet system was to fit in an extra pallet to save of transport costs. Hence, the new project will focus on cooling efficiency and carton type which could identify areas for improvement, thereby, leading to a project that could improve the carton designs and pallet layouts.

A research gap exists within the usage of the popular 22-pallet systems in terms of carton type and pallet layouts. Cooling efficiency which relates to produce quality retention are unknown and should be further investigated for optimization.