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Article history: The present article describes the numerical implementation of a space-and-time dependent mathemat-
Received 9 July 2007 ical model of perforation-mediated modied atmosphere packaging for respiring commodities as Part II
Accepted 14 June 2008 of a study in which the mathematical model is described in Part I. The model includes species transport
of CO2 , H2 O, N2 , and O2 through the MaxwellStefan equations, velocity and pressure through Darcys
Keywords: law and the NavierStokes equations, and temperature of the gas mixture and the commodity through
Modied atmosphere packaging
the energy equation. Numerical solutions of the coupled system of equations were obtained using the
Perforations
nite-element method. To illustrate the capabilities of the general approach, simulations of a package of
Respiration
Gas exchange
strawberries have been presented, for which experimental results are available in the literature. Com-
Mathematical model parison of the measurements and the model predictions were fair, considering the uncertainty of the
Numerical modelling available information. The sensitivities of the solution to the respiration rate model, respiration rates,
porosity, package aspect ratio, relative humidity, transpiration coefcients, storage temperature, CO2 sol-
ubility and volume of ambient storage area considered were examined. The steady-state concentrations of
O2 and CO2 in the package were found to be very sensitive to the value of respiration rate, but much less so
to changes of other input parameters within the ranges considered. The steady-state commodity temper-
ature depended on the aspect ratio of the package. Including the CO2 solubility in the commodity did not
affect the steady-state gas concentrations, but it increased the time required for the CO2 concentration to
reach equilibrium in the package. It was shown that neglecting the ambient space beyond the perforation
overpredicted the steady-state O2 concentration. Approximately 80% of the resistance to diffusion was
found to occur within the perforation, with the remainder equally divided between the spaces beyond
each end of the perforation.
2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
0925-5214/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.postharvbio.2008.06.012
T.J. Rennie, S. Tavoularis / Postharvest Biology and Technology 51 (2009) 1020 11
Table 1
Boundary conditions
1 i = p = p T = T
2 i = p = p T = T
3 Impermeable No slip Adiabatic
4 Continuity Continuity Continuity
5 Impermeable No slip Adiabatic
6 Continuity Continuity Continuity
7 Impermeable to CO2 , N2 , O2 ; mw con for H2 O No slip Flux = qw
8 Impermeable to CO2 , N2 , O2 ; mw con for H2 O No slip Flux = qw
9 Continuity u = ud pd = p Continuity Adiabatic
normal N2 ux
10 Impermeable to CO2 , N2 , O2 ; mw con for H2 O u= N Flux = qw Adiabatic
2
normal N2 ux
11 Impermeable to CO2 , N2 , O2 ; mw con for H2 O v= N Flux = qw Adiabatic
2
T.J. Rennie, S. Tavoularis / Postharvest Biology and Technology 51 (2009) 1020 13
Table 2
Commodity properties for strawberries, package dimensions, and storage conditions
used for the case study
Table 3
Results of the mesh independence tests
Elements Maximum time step (s) Day 1 Day 3 Day 5 Day 1 Day 3 Day 5 Day 1 Day 3 Day 5
665 Free 10.3 7.2 7.1 8.8 18.0 21.9 7.87 8.40 8.49
665 3600 10.1 7.3 7.1 8.9 18.0 21.9 7.91 8.39 8.48
1648 Free 10.3 7.4 7.0 8.8 17.6 21.5 7.86 8.35 8.47
1648 3600 10.0 7.3 7.0 8.9 17.9 21.7 7.88 8.39 8.48
1648 1000 10.0 7.2 7.0 8.9 18.0 21.8 7.89 8.39 8.48
3810 Free 10.3 7.2 7.0 8.8 18.0 21.8 7.86 8.39 8.48
3810 3600 10.0 7.2 7.0 8.9 17.9 21.7 7.88 8.39 8.48
results indicate (Table 3) that there was little difference between such differences must be examined by giving due consideration to
the three meshes and for the different time-stepping procedures. the diversity of sources for the physical and biological properties
For example, the relative difference between the reported min- of the strawberries, the differences between models of respiration
imum and maximum concentrations are 1.4% and 1.8%, for O2 and the overall complexity of the mathematical model.
and CO2 concentrations, respectively. The difference between the The differences between predictions using the data of Hertog et
reported minimum and maximum commodity temperatures was al. (1999) and those of Talasila et al. (1995) clearly demonstrate the
0.02 C. The 1648 element mesh with a maximum time step of importance of using respiration rate data for the appropriate vari-
3600 s was selected as the base mesh for all other trials presented ety and, if possible, for similar growing and harvesting conditions.
in this work. This allows for some exibility, as some of these tests A closer agreement of one set of predictions with experimental
required changing the dimensions of the package. In these cases, results should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence that the
the same procedure for constructing the mesh was used, though corresponding respiration rate model is generally better than the
the exact number of elements differed slightly between cases. other. Each model was t to experimental data and the differences
could simply be due to varietal effects and biological variation.
3. Results and discussion Even so, considering that the Talasila et al. (1995) respiration rate
model resulted in a better agreement with the available experi-
3.1. Experimental validation of predicted concentrations for the mental results, we have used this model for all further simulations
base case described in this article.
The numerical model was tested by simulating the conditions 3.2. Sensitivity to respiration rate
described in Section 2.2. The numerical results were compared with
the experimental results of Silva et al. (1999). As Fig. 3 shows, the The sensitivity of the model to the chosen value of the respira-
general trends in the evolutions of the O2 and CO2 concentrations tion rate was tested by repeating the simulations using the Talasila
were compatible with both expectations and experimental trends, et al. (1995) model with +10% and 10% changes in the respiration
however, the differences between the predicted and measured val- rates RRmO2 for O2 consumption and RRmCO2 for CO2 produc-
ues were signicant, with the simulations under-predicting the tion. For the base case, RRmO2 = 3.384 107 mol kg1 s1 and
measured O2 concentrations by 34.9% and over-predicting the CO2
RRmCO2 = 3.018 107 mol kg1 s1 . Additional simulations were
concentrations by 51.6%, after 4 d from the start of the process using
conducted by replacing these values in Eqs. (3) and (4) in Part I by
the Hertog et al. (1999) data for strawberries. The model of Talasila
3.722 107 and 3.320 107 mol kg1 s1 for the +10% case, and
et al. (1995), on the other hand, under-predicted the measured O2
by 3.046 107 and 2.716 107 mol kg1 s1 for the 10% case, for
concentrations by 14.4% and over-predicted the CO2 concentrations
O2 and CO2 , respectively. The results of these simulations, shown in
by 4.9%, after 4 d from the start of the process. The importance of
Fig. 4, indicate that this sensitivity was appreciable: for the base res-
The aspect ratio AR = (Hhs + Hcl )/dpac of the package used in their
experimental work was not reported by Silva et al. (1999). As
mentioned in Section 2.2, an aspect ratio of 0.5 was assumed. To
determine the aspect ratio effect on the numerical results, addi-
tional simulations were conducted using the values AR = 0.17 and
1.5 and keeping all other variables in the model unchanged. In all
cases, the porous medium occupied the bottom 43.8% of the pack-
age. Differences in predicted O2 headspace concentrations for the
three aspect ratios were found to be small. For example, after 4 d of
storage, this concentration was 9.1% for AR = 0.17, 9.4% for AR = 0.5
and 9.4% for AR = 1.5. An explanation for these differences can be
given by considering that the O2 concentration would decrease
with increasing O2 diffusion path from the perforation to the com-
modity mass. An average diffusion path ldiff can be dened as the
weighted average distance from the respiring commodity to the
intersection of the symmetry axis and boundary 6 (Fig. 1): Fig. 7. Water vapour pressure (in Pa) after 4 d of storage.
4
2 r b r 2 + (Hcl + Hhs z)2 dz dr
ldiff = (1)
4
2 r b dz dr The gas temperature was also highest in the middle of the com-
modity layer and decreased towards the package wall, as a result of
The values of ldiff were 0.18, 0.11, and 0.11 m for the aspect ratios heat transfer through the wall (Fig. 8). In the commodity layer core,
of 0.17, 0.5, and 1.5, respectively, in conformity with the explanation higher gas mixture temperatures allow for higher water vapour sat-
given previously. In summary, the aspect ratio value has some effect uration pressures, whereas, on the package walls, relatively low
on gas concentrations but not an important one. temperatures result in extensive condensation. After 4 d of storage,
It is interesting to note that the ratio of outer surface area to the rate of transpiration was 5.86 109 kg s1 , and the rates of
package volume would increase if the aspect ratio changed towards vapour condensation within the commodity layer and on the pack-
either very small (long slim cylinder) or very large (thin disk) values. age walls were 3.2 1010 kg s1 (5.5% of the transpiration rate) and
As the package surface area to volume ratio is increased, resistance 5.55 109 kg s1 (94.7% of the transpiration rate), respectively. In
to conductive heat transfer is decreased. In this work the package addition, 1.95 109 kg s1 (0.3% of the transpiration rate) of water
volume was kept constant at 0.0038 m3 . The outer surface areas of vapour was transported out of the package through the perfora-
the package for the aspect ratios of 0.17, 0.5, and 1.5, were 0.137, tion. The slight imbalance of the transpiration-condensation values
0.143, and 0.198 m2 , respectively. The differences in the package mentioned above could be due to numerical inaccuracy and/or the
surface area to volume ratio had an effect on the average commodity fact that after 4 d of storage the gas concentrations had not yet
temperature, with values of 8.4, 7.9, and 7.5 C, for AR = 0.17, 0.5, reached steady-state. The cooling rate due to transpiration was
and 1.5, respectively. Even though it may be proved that increasing 0.0146 J s1 , whereas the conductive heat transfer from the com-
the package surface to volume ratio would decrease the average modity was 0.0283 J s1 , indicating that in the present simulations
commodity temperature using the present model, full investigation both processes were of comparable importance. In their develop-
of the heat transfer is beyond the scope of this article. ment of a mathematical model of modied atmosphere packaging
(MAP) with lms, Talasila et al. (1995) assumed that the heat
3.6. Relative humidity, transpiration, and condensation transfer from the commodity due to transpiration was negligible
and disregarded it in their model. Song et al. (2002) developed a
The base-case water vapour distribution after 4 d of storage is mathematical model for MAP with lms with the assumption that
shown in Fig. 7. The partial pressure of the water vapour was highest the commodity temperature and gas mixture temperature were
in the middle of the commodity layer and decreased towards the identical, thus eliminating the convective heat transfer from the
sides of the package, where vapour condensation was observed. commodity and relegating all of the heat transfer to transpiration.
T.J. Rennie, S. Tavoularis / Postharvest Biology and Technology 51 (2009) 1020 17
transport of chemical species. Such effects would increase the effec- the ambient storage area was not accounted for in the model, which
tive gas exchange through the perforation. Because measurement corresponds to lower resistance to species transport.
of velocities in the perforation and package is extremely difcult, Transpiration and condensation, which are often disregarded
if not impossible, further numerical investigations are required to in models of MAP, were modelled to gain insight into a process
determine whether there would be signicant sensitivity of the gas that is very hard to investigate experimentally, due to the difculty
exchange rate to the previously mentioned effects. in accurately measuring local relative humidity and condensation
levels. The results indicated that the majority of the water vapour
4. Conclusions of the entire study that is transpired eventually condenses on the package walls or on
the commodity. The model also indicated that heat removal from
In Part I of this work a space-and-time dependent mathematical the commodity due to transpiration and conduction were of the
model, based primarily on fundamental laws with some empir- same order of magnitude. Consequently, both mechanisms should
ical relations, was proposed for perforation-mediated MAP. The be included in models of MAP.
model was presented in a general form that could be applied to The solubility of CO2 within the commodity was demonstrated
perforation-mediated MAP of arbitrary geometries. The transport to inuence strongly the headspace CO2 concentration over time,
of CO2 , H2 O, N2 , and O2 was modelled based on the MaxwellStefan but did not have an effect on the steady-state gas concentrations.
equations throughout the domain and coupled with the gas mix- This solidies the argument that the solubility should be included
ture velocity, determined by Darcys law in the commodity layer in transient models, but it is not necessary for steady-state models.
(modelled as homogenous porous medium) and the NavierStokes The difference between the storage temperature and the com-
equations in the remaining subdomains. Commodity temperature modity temperature was predicted to be appreciable. Thus, the
and gas mixture temperature were modelled using energy equa- assumption that the product temperature and the storage room
tions. The consumption of O2 and the production of CO2 due to temperature are equivalent, a common in assumption in many
respiration, as functions of gas mixture composition and tem- models, could lead to errors in the prediction of the gas concen-
perature, were distributed throughout the commodity layer. Both trations.
transpiration and condensation were included in the model. The numerical model allowed the determination of the con-
The general objective of Part I was to lay the foundation of a gen- vective and diffusive transports of the different species, which are
eral model for perforation-mediated MAP and to identify areas that quantities difcult, if not impossible, to determine experimentally.
need further exploration and development. Modelling the com- The results show that the majority of the transport is diffusive,
modity layer as a porous medium was required to keep the model though due to differences in the O2 consumption rate, CO2 produc-
general and to test its feasibility. However, this assumption requires tion rate, and the diffusive rates of the different species, a convective
knowledge of tortuosity, permeability, effective thermal conduc- ux was observed. The convective ux accounted for about 3.8% of
tivity and diffusion coefcients, and heat transfer coefcients. Due the total O2 ux into the package. It is expected that the convective
to the randomness of the size and shape of fresh commodities, as ux would be more appreciable in packages that contain chemical
well as varied packaging arrangements or random packing arrange- CO2 scrubbers.
ments, values for these parameters are not readily available. This Overall, the mathematical model developed in Part I and the
is an area that has been identied as requiring further investiga- solution examples presented in Part II demonstrate the feasibility
tion for numerical modelling of specic commodities. The model of modelling perforation-mediated MAP based primarily on fun-
assumes that the temperature distribution within an individual damental laws that account for all the major transport phenomena
commodity is uniform. Simplied analysis proves this assump- during storage of fresh commodities. There are aspects of the model,
tion to be approximately valid, however, experimental verication in particular the modelling of condensation and heat transfer in
is required. In this work, condensation on the commodity sur- the porous medium, which could be improved in future work. The
face and on the package walls is modelled using an empirical model can be used for steady-state as well as transient analysis of
model based on a mass transfer coefcient and a water vapour MAP in a wide variety of circumstances and could prove to be useful
pressure difference. Further renement of this approach may be in risk analysis studies.
possible.
In Part II, the system of equations developed in Part I was solved Acknowledgment
numerically as a case study and compared to experimental results
from literature. The case study was based on the experimental work The nancial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering
of Silva et al. (1999) on strawberries. Data for the properties of Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is gratefully acknowledged.
strawberries were taken from various literature sources.
Signicant differences in the resulting gas composition were References
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