Thanks to the consultation of MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Chiquita substituted 65% of its fleet. Energy saving and CO2 reduction were the centre of the corporate social responsibility programme.
Chiquita's four year plan to renew the reefers that transport bananas is going according to plan. Given what the company said in mid-March, 65% of the fleet should be substituted by the end of 2013. This change has the objective of reducing carbon emissions but it will also increase environmental sustainability and lower costs.
The programme is divided into three separate areas: reducing electricity consumption, using environmentally-friendly refrigerants and employing low-emission insulating material.
As mentioned above, the schedule is being adhered to and figures are clear: by investing $135 million in the purchase and rent of reefers, Chiquita introduced more than 7,000 new containers to replace the old ones. By the end of 2013, another 895 old reefers will be replaced with ones equipped with energy saving systems.
The main part of the Chiquita project is that concerning electricity saving. Once the programme is completed, the new reefers will enable saving up to 35% electricity with respect to the old ones. The percentage will reach 58% if reefers equipped with the QUEST® software are used. This means $4 million saved per year corresponding to 34 million KWh. This operation, which will go on throughout the twelve years that the new containers will operate, and will reduce CO2 emissions by 185,000 tons.
The key of the system is the QUEST® software, a revolutionary saving method developed in the Netherlands by the Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group (A&F) of the Wageningen University Research Centre, with the support of the Dutch government. The fact that Maersk, the biggest logistic operator worldwide, and Carrier, leading for cooling technologies, tested the software first is a testimony to the fact that it is truly revolutionary.
In fact, QUEST® technology to save energy during the transportation of perishable goods is based on two elements: on the one hand, switching off the refrigeration compressor and, on the other hand, operating the evaporation fans at low speed for a prolonged period of time. Dutch researchers discovered how, despite the fact that air temperature is important, it is only essential that it remains within precise limits.
The intervals between the compressor being switched off and on are also important. First of all, researchers found which temperatures must be respected for each product and then Carrier technicians developed codes for the software regulating cooling accordingly. The device can be activated in automatic mode or upon request. In both cases, the QUEST® software will be the one choosing the profile that will better suit the set temperature or the type of produce.
The system is therefore ideal for the most delicate products: in addition to bananas, pineapples, pears, apples, table grapes, kiwis and avocados can also be transported.
The intervals between the compressor being switched off and on are also important. First of all, researchers found which temperatures must be respected for each product and then Carrier technicians developed codes for the software regulating cooling accordingly. The device can be activated in automatic mode or upon request. In both cases, the QUEST® software will be the one choosing the profile that will better suit the set temperature or the type of produce.
The system is therefore ideal for the most delicate products: in addition to bananas, pineapples, pears, apples, table grapes, kiwis and avocados can also be transported.
Among the other main elements of the project there was the adaptation of refrigerant gases. In 2008, Chiquita containers were updated, abandoning Freon R12 (based on chlorofluorocarbon) to start using the more environmentally friendly R409a. The evolution continued in 2012, as all containers started using R134a, which guarantees zero ozone emissions (ODO, Ozone Depletion Potential) and a GWP level (Global Warming Potential, i.e., greenhouse effect) ten times lower than Freon R12.
The last part of the programme is the use of agents with a low environmental impact to promote the use of polyurethane for thermal insulation. In this case, the old R141b agent was no longer used and now Supotec® and cyclopentane have been introduced.
These interventions alone will reduce 90,000 tons of CO2 emissions throughout the life of the reefers. To make a confrontation, it would be like not using 17,000 cars for a whole year.
Author: Emanuele Mùrino
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