COOLING

Nur Sabrina Nor Jaeman, Muhamad Aznan Mahamod, Siti Nur Aida Damanhuri, Siti Nur Aisyah Mohamad
Othman, Siti Nur Amalina Mohd Sabli.
Department of Biology and Agricultural Engineering, University Putra Malaysia.
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT
Cooling is an important post-harvest process in agricultural and food department. It helps to slow
down the deterioration process in order to increase the storage period. This paper provides the
cooling operation and how to calculate the cooling rate and rate of heat transfer for the cooling
process. Four tomatoes are used as the sample and it is cooled in the hydro cooling system with
the initial temperature of hydro cooling system 4°C. Weight and diameter of the tomatoes had
been measured. The thermocouple is placed inside the sample to measure the temperature
changes. Start the cooling process by soaked simultaneously the samples into the hydro cooler.
The temperature reading is measured continuously until the temperature of samples similar to the
temperature of water. Final diameter of the sample is measured.

Keywords: Cooling; tomato; cooling rate; heat transfer; hydro cooler.

1. INTRODUCTION

There are few cooling methods available such as forced-air cooling, vacuum cooling and ice
cooling. In this experiment, hydro cooling method had been applied. The cooling of fruits and
vegetables in hydro cooling system can be a suitable technique to define cooling time for fruits
[1]
and vegetables of different sizes . Hydro cooling is the process or technique of arresting the
[2]
ripening of fruits and vegetables after harvesting by immersion in ice or cold water . To
preserve the quality of fruits and vegetables, it is critical to control the temperature of fresh
produce and minimize the amount of time that products are exposed to detrimental temperatures.
Hydro cooling is one of the fastest precooling methods. Fruits and vegetables can be cooled
rapidly by bringing them contact with cold moving water. In most hydro coolers, a pump moves
chilled water into contact with warm produce. The warmed water is then cooled again and
recycled. For cooling the water, many hydro coolers have a vapour-compression refrigeration
system similar to an air conditioner or refrigerator. A refrigeration system can be thought of as a
pump that moves heat. One main advantages of hydro cooling is that it does not remove water
from the produce and may even revive slightly wilted produce. For efficient hydro cooling, water
should come in contact with as much of the surface of each fruit or vegetable as possible. Water
also must be kept as cold as possible without endangering produce.

In the process of hydro cooling, the heat in the produce is carried away by the currents of moving
water. This type of heat transfer is known as convection. Several factors contribute to the rate at
which heat is transferred during convection is the heat transfer coefficient, which remains nearly
constant for all types of produce. The heat transfer coefficient is a measure of how fast heat is
transferred from the surface of an object. Other factors also affect the rate of heat transfer,
including the surface area of the produce and the temperature difference between the surface of
the produce and the chilled water. These factors relate directly to the time it takes to cool a
specific type of produce. This means that the rate of heat transfer for produce increases when the
surface area of the produce increases or when the difference between the produce temperature
and the water temperature increases [3].

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1. Apparatus

The apparatus that have been used in this experiment are hydro cooler, balancer, vernier
caliper, thermocouple, stop watch and four tomatoes.

2.2. Methods

Firstly, the hydro cooler machine is switched on. The weight and diameter of the sample
is measured. The initial temperature for water and sample is recorded. Then, the samples
are soaked simultaneously into the hydro cooler. Temperature reading is recorded for
every 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60 minute and so on until the temperature of the sample
is similar with the water temperature. The final diameter of the sample is measured. The
cooling rate is determined by plotting temperature versus time graph. The rate of heat
transfer for the cooling is calculated by using the formula given.

Figure 2.1: The sample is weighed Figure 2.2: The sample is labeled

Figure 2.3: Cooling process is started

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The method used in this experiment is cooling methods which to examine the time needed to
cool some fruits or vegetables which is tomatoes. Cooling is one of important post harvest
process in agriculture where the understanding is same as the refrigeration system applied in the
hydro cooling system. Table 1 below shows the diameter and mass of the tomatoes being use
before the experiment.

Table 3.1: The diameter and mass of each tomato before cooling process

Tomato Diameter (mm) Mass (g)

A 56.89 90.29

D 57.67 79.34

E 58.03 91.33

G 57.99 94.45

Table 3.2: The diameter and mass of each tomato after cooling process

Tomato Diameter (mm) Mass (g)

A 56.68 91.91

D 56.56 80.46

E 58.55 92.45

G 57.52 96.57
 Table 3.3: Temperature reading of the cooling process
Tomato E D G A
Time (min)
0 31 30.9 29.9 30.0
1 28.3 30.6 20.5 25.0
2 25.3 29.4 17.5 22.0
3 23.3 27.8 15.7 19.0
4 21.6 26.1 14.3 18.0
5 20.2 24.4 13.2 16.0
6 19 22.9 12.3 15.0
7 18 21.5 11.5 14.0
8 17 20.2 10.9 13.0
9 16.2 19.0 10.4 12.0
10 15.3 17.8 9.8 12.0
15 12.4 13.6 8.2 9.0
20 10.4 11.0 7.1 7.0
25 9 9.5 6.5 6.0
30 8.1 8.6 6.2 6.0
35 7.4 7.7 5.8 5.0
40 6.9 7.3 5.4 5.0
45 6.6 7.0 5.3 4.0
50 6.4 6.8 5.2 4.0
55 6.1 6.4 4.7 4.0
60 5.4 5.5 4.3 4.0
65 5.4 5.4 4.0 4.0
70 5.4 5.4 - 4.0
75 5.2 5.3 - -
80 4.8 5.2 - -
85 - 5.0 - -
90 - 4.7 - -
6. APPENDIX

Calculation:
2) Cooling rate:
1) Heat transfer per unit area:
T(t) = TS + (TO – TS) exp –kt

= Based on average diameter.

Tomato A For tomato E (big):

5.4(1) = 4 + (31 – 4) exp –k(1)

=
-k = ln 0.1742
= 7.38 W/m2
k = 1.75
Tomato G When time for 1 hour, the cooling
rate:
=
T(1) = 4 + (31-4) e -1.75(1)
= 5.58 W/m2
= 8.69 oC/h
Tomato D For tomato A (small):

= 4(1) = 4 + (30 – 4) exp –k(1)

-k = ln 0.1333
= 10.98 W/m2
k = 2.015
Tomato E
When time for 1 hour, the cooling
= rate:

2 T(1) = 4 + (30-4) e -2.015(1)

= 11.02 W/m
= 7.47 oC/h
For tomato E (big):

T (oC) T vs t (Tomato E)
35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
-5
t (min)

Figure 3.1: Graph of sample E

For tomato A (small):

T (oC) T vs t (Tomato A)
35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
-5
t (min)

Figure 3.2: Graph of sample A

From the sample used, the tomato E is the biggest size and tomato A is the smallest size.
While from the table 3, we can see the differences between time taken for tomato A and E to
reach same water temperature (4oC) where time taken for A is 70 minutes and tomato E is 80
minute. So, there is a logical hypothesis where the bigger the size, the longer time taken for
cooling process to reach the same bath temperature. From the graph of temperature versus
time, we can see that the tomato A has a rapid decreasing of temperature where below than
10oC in 20 minutes while the tomato E is just 10oC in 20 minutes. Sample G has the bigger
size compare to the sample A and D but the time taken for sample G temperature to reach
water temperature is faster than sample A. If we are looking to the sample D, it size is bigger
than sample A and smaller than sample G and E but the time taken to reach water temperature
is longest one compare to the other samples. There are several factors that can affect the rate
of cooling besides the size of tomatoes which is surface structure, skin permeability, thermal
properties, ripening process of tomatoes and the conditions of tomatoes during cooling such
as whether there is movement of water or static cooling. So, if we only consider the size factor
that affect cooling rate. We cannot explain what happen to the others two sample of tomatoes
which is sample G and D. Ideal conditions for ripening are 19 to 21 °C while storage at below
than 13 °C retards ripening and can lead to development of chilling injury. So, the temperature is
related to the ripening process where can be the cause of behaviour of cooling rate at sample G
and D. However, this ripening process is more particularly happen to the matured green tomatoes.
The tomatoes are very permeable when the fruit is very young and the light green skin. So, if
one of the tomato sample is younger than the others samples. It can be that cooling rate also
will be faster compared to the others sample that have lower skin permeability.

4. CONCLUSION

Cooling is a method to slow down the deterioration process in order to increase the storage
period by using a hydro cooler. In this experiment, the biggest sample provide large amount
of heat transfer and consume more time to undergo cooling process. By increase the surface
area of the sample, it will help to fasten the cooling method as the size of the sample effect the
cooling rate.
5. REFERENCES

1. (2015). Retrieved from Hydro-Cooling: http://swvafarmersmarket.org/hydro-cooling/

2. Barbara Teruel, T. K. (2004). COOLING PARAMETERS FOR FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES OF DIFFERENT SIZES IN A HYDROCOOLING SYSTEM. 655.
3. M. D. Boyette, A. R. (1992). Hydrocooling. NORTH CAROLINA COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION SERVICE.