ME LAB FINAL PROJECT

FRESH ASPARAGUS COLD STORAGE

SUBMITTED TO :

ENGR. ROGELIO ALTAMERA

SUBMITTED BY :

AQUIATAN, JAY RALPH

BATUIGAS, LEVI DEO

DIAGBEL, ALEXIS

LISTON, ARIE EMMANUEL

 INTRODUCTION

Asparagus is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing to 100150 cm (3959 in) tall, with
stout stems with much-branched, feathery foliage. The "leaves" are in fact needle-like cladodes
(modified stems) in the axils of scale leaves; they are 632 mm (0.241.26 in) long and 1 mm
(0.039 in) broad, and clustered four to 15 together, in a rose-like shape. The root system is
adventitious and the root type is fasciculated. The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to
yellowish, 4.56.5 mm (0.180.26 in) long, with six tepals partially fused together at the base;
they are produced singly or in clusters of two or three in the junctions of the branchlets. It is
usually dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes
hermaphrodite flowers are found. The fruit is a small red berry 610 mm diameter, which is
poisonous to humans. Plants native to the western coasts of Europe (from northern Spain north
to Ireland, Great Britain, and northwest Germany) are treated as Asparagus officinalis subsp.
prostratus (Dumort.) Corb., distinguished by its low-growing, often prostrate stems growing to
only 3070 cm (1228 in) high, and shorter cladodes 218 mm (0.0790.709 in) long. It is treated
as a distinct species, Asparagus prostratus Dumort, by some authors.
 Storing
Precooling conditions

Asparagus is highly perishable and must be cooled immediately to 0 to 2 C (32 to 36 F).

A 4-hr delay in cooling resulted in an average 40% increase in shear force due to tissue
toughening. Asparagus is typically partially cooled during the washing, selection, and packing
operation, and then hydrocooled to near 0 C (32 F) after packing.

Optimum Storage Conditions

The recommended conditions for commercial storage of asparagus are 0 to 2 C (32 to

36 F) with 95 to 99% RH, yielding 14 to 21 days of storage life. Maintaining a low storage
temperature is critical to delay senescence, tissue toughening, and flavor loss. High RH is
essential to prevent desiccation and to maintain freshness. Typically, asparagus is packed and
shipped with water saturated pads in the bottom of the containers to maintain high RH and to
replenish water lost by the spear or water used during spear elongation; this practice maintains
spear turgidity. Excessive free water at elevated storage or shipping temperatures may lead to
increased decay.

Chilling Sensitivity

Asparagus is subject to chilling injury after about 10 days at 0 C (32 F). Symptoms
include loss of sheen and glossiness and graying of tips. A limp, wilted appearance may be
observed. Severe chilling injury may result in darkened spots or streaks near the tips.
 Calculations
ASPARAGUS
= 10,000,000
Specific heat above and below freezing from ASHRAE

0.94 0.48

Approximate amount of respiration heat produced:

32 40 60 70 80

9,700 18,050 38,500 48,750 93,250
24

Storage conditions:
Temperature 10 0 (23 18)
Relative Humidity Vapor-proof packaging
Storage Period 1 Year +

Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Above Freezing
0.96 4.03


Specific Heat Below Freezing
0.43 1.79


Latent Heat of Fusion
133 309

Recommended Storage
Temperature 0 2
Relative Humidity 95 100%

, = 3.35 + 0.84 ( )

, = 1.26 + 0.84 ( )
Where a is the fraction of water content

= 334 ( )

The moisture content of asparagus base from WFLO commodity storage manual is 93.22%

, = 3.35(0.9322) + 0.84 ( )

, = 3.9629
(10,000,000)(3.94)(24)
=
(3600)(24)
= 10,944.44 ( )
10,944.44 = (630 + 610)
= 8.826 /

= 8.826 (2 1 )
= 1059.12
Recommendations:
Use a multi-stage compressor that can provide the calculated compressor work. Use
ammonia as refrigerant. Eat asparagus everyday.