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Thermo Cover ®
Is temperature abuse in-transit an issue
for your product?
Have you considered using a Thermo Cover® (patent pending) from
Süd-Chemie Australia Pty Ltd?
Independent tests by Food Science Australia have shown that
inclusion of a thermal insulating blanket above a stow of food
products can significantly reduce the temperature the food product
is exposed to.
METHODOLOGY
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Two non-refrigerated (dry standard) 20' containers were
instrumented for monitoring of temperatures and relative humidity
and loaded with flour (in 50 kg bags). A 25 mm thick thermal blanket
was installed in one container whilst the other had no additional
thermal insulation installed. Note that previous testing in Food Science Australia’s Sydney
Laboratories showed that blankets of greater thickness gave only
marginally improved performance. The thickness chosen balanced cost
of manufacture and benefit gained in thermal protection.
Temperature loggers were used to monitor product surface, air,
internal and external container surface temperatures (total of
forty-one positions) and internal and external relative humidity.
Figure 1 shows the temperature sensor positions.
RESULTS
Figure 2 shows the mean, maximum and minimum measured
temperatures on the inside ceiling of the 2 containers as well as
the temperature of the upper surface of the flour. In the container
without the thermal blanket installed, there was little difference
between the ceiling and product surface temperatures. In the other
container, the thermal blanket provided an additional
resistance to heat transfer and therefore the temperature histories
for the ceiling and product surface were substantially different.
The thermal blanket reduced the variability in product surface
temperature.
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Figure 1: Sensor positions used to monitor temperatures in
the two 20’ containers loaded with flour.
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Figure 2: Measured mean, minimum
and maximum temperatures of the container interior ceiling and
product surface during the monitoring period of the 20’ container
without (left) and with (right) a Süd-Chemie Australia thermal
blanket.
CONCLUSIONS
In laboratory controlled testing,
there was no significant benefit associated with an increased
insulation thickness, as the reduced rate of heat transfer was
mostly due to the surface properties of the blanket. Installation of
the thermal blanket reduced the variation in product surface
temperature over the diurnal cycle
APPLICATIONS
Wherever there is a need for a low cost effective means of
suppressing the extremes of temperature, Süd-Chemie Australia’s
Thermo Cover® offers a solution. It is an effective, low cost
thermal protection solution for non-refrigerated cargos, and
combines ease of use with measured performance.
Market applications include:
Wine transport (both domestic and export) - Specialist vegetable
products – Canned foods.
A full report (SCI 033 – 04/2004) on the tests
carried out by Food Science Australia can be sourced from
Süd-chemie Australia Pty Ltd.
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