What Is the Onion Storage Project?
The Onion Storage project is all about fast drying and quality storage of onions through a mechanical system that ensures the produce is dried and stored perfectly. The process takes away the uncertainty of unpredictable weather, giving full control over the drying process. Using condensation drying, the system extracts moisture from the air via condensation and discharges it outside through a drain pipe… Within a day of harvesting, the adhering moisture is gone and the onions begin their drying journey, ensuring that every onion is treated with the utmost precision and care.
Main Benefits of Onion Storage
- Fast drying: Drying continues 24 hours a day, ensuring the onion neck remains perfectly conditioned.
- Quality preservation: Stable storage conditions keep the onions in their optimal state, reducing storage loss.
- Energy efficiency: Lower energy consumption is achieved by reusing heat from the cooling process.
- Sustainability: No gas or chemical refrigerants are used, leading to significantly lower CO₂ emissions.
- Adaptability: The system offers controlled heating and cooling, adjustable to the core temperature of the onion as well as room conditions.
Efficient Drying Process
When drying onions with outside air, the challenges of cold, humid, or too warm weather can be a real headache. Outside air that’s too cold and humid might prevent the onion neck from drying quickly enough, causing head rot, while excessively warm air might dry the neck too fast and trap unwanted moisture inside the onion. In a clever twist of technology, condensation drying eliminates these unpredictable conditions. The system works continuously, ensuring that every onion has the ideal opportunity to release its internal energy gradually. The process is fine-tuned so that drying happens at just the right pace – not too slow, not too fast – allowing natural processes to occur without interruption.
Precise Heating and Cooling
After the drying phase, the precise heating of onions becomes crucial. Instead of using gas heaters, the system employs the gentle warmth provided by the onions themselves, enhanced slightly by a fraction of electricity produced by solar panels if needed. Cooling is managed with the same level of precision: conditions such as temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels in the storage room are meticulously controlled. This tailored approach makes sure that the onions cool down gradually, preserving their natural quality and allowing them to remain in a perfect state for as long as possible.
Stable Storage Conditions
Once the onions have been dried, maintaining quality becomes the next key challenge. In the storage phase, stability is paramount. By keeping the temperature and humidity constant in closed storage, the onions remain comfortably within their skin and retain their excellent quality. Whether opting for box storage or bulk storage, the design of the mechanical storage system ensures that the product remains top-notch. The whole approach is crafted to minimize any storage losses while keeping the natural characteristics of the onions intact, making them even better than when they were first stored.
Project Impact
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Utilizing energy-efficient solutions including heat recovery and solar power integration.
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – Showcasing technological innovation with condensation drying and automated temperature control.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Reducing waste and ensuring sustainable storage practices.
- SDG 13: Climate Action – Minimizing CO₂ emissions by eliminating harmful refrigerants and optimizing energy use.
Customer Cases and Innovations
The innovative onion storage system has already made waves in various agricultural settings. Customer cases provide clear examples: VAN OORSCHOT uses a condensation drying system for diverse crops, ensuring that whether for washing or drying, the quality always comes out superior. In another instance, the new NIVU storage facility at an arable farm boosts product quality by integrating data with condensation drying technology, resulting in less quality loss and higher yields. Similarly, farmer Jan Goense benefits from an energy-efficient refrigeration system that uses CO₂ as a natural refrigerant, underlining how flexible and sustainable the technology is. Another remarkable project demonstrates the reliable drying and storing of onions, free from the limitations of outside air conditions. Even Timpelsteed, known for its commitment to sustainability, has adopted a cooling installation with a minimal environmental footprint. These examples underline the versatility and long-term benefits of the system, making it not just a technological innovation but a step toward more sustainable agricultural practices… Truly, this project sets a benchmark in quality, sustainability, and efficiency in onion storage.
