Development of an Adaptive Food Preservation System for food quality and energy efficiency enhancement

This paper proposes a system design of an Adaptive Food Preservation System (AFPS). It is motivated by the fact that constant storage condition in today's refrigerators has deficiency. Customized storage with fast freezing capability can better manage food quality and energy efficiency. Key components include AFPS packages and vortex tubes. Superior fast freezing capability is demonstrated by comparisons with benchmarks from refrigerator tests and regulatory standards, and experimentation with a simulated test setup at various settings of input. Theoretical and analytical models are proposed to predict package inlet and exit temperatures, freezing capacities, and freezing efficiencies. At 7 bar inlet pressure, the maximum available freezing efficiency, mean efficiencies with vacuum insulation and with ABS insulation of the AFPS Package and Vortex Tube Assembly are 6%, 4.66%, and 2.80%, respectively. AFPS technology consumes 0.18% in time and 45% in energy during fast freezing comparing with what a typical household freezer does.