Other

Grumman Allied Industries, Inc.

American Management Group, LLC

Atlas Bimetals Labs, Inc.

Stanley P Burg

Richard D Bothell

Jed C Bothell

A system and method for hypobaric (low pressure or 'LP') storage of plant matter is disclosed. The method is characterized by controlling the correlated conditions of total pressure, oxygen partial pressure, air intake rate, and pumping speed and additionally controlling the pressure with a vacuum regulator operating at a higher temperature than the storage space; storing plant matter in storage boxes which are unable to adsorb water and release the heat of water condensation; shielding the storage boxes from radiation emitted by the storage space's wall; shielding plant matter in the storage boxes from radiation emitted by the box's inner surface; and decreasing the total storage space pressure and steady-state oxygen partial pressure to a minimum value which does not cause low oxygen injury and is optimally effective in extending storage life, reducing metabolic heat and biochemical energy production, and preventing microbial decay in the plant matter.

Controlled and correlated method and apparatus to limit water loss from fresh plant matter during hypobaric storage and transport

A hypobaric apparatus and methods capable of inducing and maintaining in stored horticultural cellular tissue controlled pervaporation of undesired chemical compounds without reaching the boiling point of intracellular water molecules, comprising a hypobaric chamber constructed to provide a leak rate of less than 4.0 mm Hg per hour, sensors and regulators coupled to the chamber and to a controller to measure and regulate target correlates. Commodities processed, including processing storage periods longer than any known involving controlled atmosphere, exhibit an absence of low oxygen injury, high carbon dioxide injury, chilling injury, leaf abscission, leaf de-greening, fungal decay, bacterial decay, gravitational curving, geotropic curvatures, leaf epinasty, stem epinasty, flower fading, senescence, live invertebrates at any life stage, fumigant chemical compounds, volatile fungicides, volatile bactericides; no advance in ripening; minimal water loss.

Systems and methods for controlled pervaporation in horticultural cellular tissue

The hypobaric preservation of respiring plant matter without the step of humidifying the storage atmosphere by contacting it with a supplementary body of heated water is hereby disclosed, characterized by storage at controlled and correlated conditions of temperature, subatmospheric pressure, evacuation rate, air recirculation rate and air intake rate, and by the dependence of each set of correlated conditions upon the weight, respiration rate and type of plant matter. Expanded relatively dry atmospheric air is passed into and humid rarified air is withdrawn from the storage chamber at rates which maintain an optimal steady-state oxygen partial pressure for each type of respiring, oxygen-consuming plant matter, and a nearly saturated relative humidity sufficient to keep the temperature of the respiring, heat producing plant matter equal to or slightly higher than the temperature of the chamber walls and rarified air. The evacuation rate is adjusted to exhaust less saturated steam from the cargo chamber than the amount released from the plant matter responsive to its respiratory heat, and the recirculation rate is controlled to mix at least 25 volumes of cool, saturated chamber air with each incoming volume of expanded dry atmospheric air before the incoming dry air is permitted to contact the stored plant matter. The preferred recirculation means, a jet-type Venturi air mover powered by the incoming atmospheric air, automatically adjusts the recirculation rate to a proper volumetric displacement responsive and correlated to the amount of expanded dry atmospheric air which enters the storage chamber.

Hypobaric storage of respiring plant matter without supplementary

The hypobaric preservation of non-respiring animal matter without the step of adding fresh air to the storage chamber, and without humidifying the storage atmosphere by contacting it with a supplementary body of heated water, is hereby disclosed, characterized by storage at a controlled temperature correlated to the type of animal matter, by a hypobaric pressure slightly less than the vapor pressure of water at said storage temperature, and by evacuation at a controlled rate correlated to the storage temperature and the weight of stored animal matter. The evacuation rate preferably is set to pump nearly saturated steam from the vacuum tank at a rate which exhausts an amount of water equal to about 1% of the initial weight of the animal matter each month. Heat is continuously supplied to the non-respiring animal matter responsive to the temperature of said matter and sufficient to evaporate said amount of water and prevent the non-respiring animal matter from freezing responsive to this amount of evaporative cooling. Said preferred rate of evaporation creates a slight vapor pressure gradient between the animal matter and moisture in the chamber atmosphere, causing the chamber pressure to be lower than the vapor pressure of water at the storage temperature. The water activity at the surface of the animal matter is decreased proportionate to said vapor pressure lowering, inhibiting superficial microbial growth on the animal matter.

Hypobaric storage of non-respiring animal matter without supplementary

The preservation of metabolically active matter such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fowl, shrimp, fish, other food, cut flowers, cuttings, foliage plants and the like is disclosed, characterized by storage at controlled and correlated conditions of hypobaric pressure, temperature, humidity, air circulation and air exchange. A non-deleterious gas such as air is humidified by contacting it with heated water from a supply, and then the humid air is passed through, and when advisable, recirculated and/or rehumidified within a storage chamber containing the metabolically active matter. The relative humidity is maintained within the range of about 80 to 100 percent and the pressure is maintained continuously or intermittently at a selected value at least slightly higher than the vapor pressure of the water in the stored commodity.

Low temperature hypobaric storage of metabolically active matter

The preservation of metabolically active matter such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fowl, shrimp, fish, other food, cut flowers, cuttings, foliage plants and the like is disclosed, characterized by storage at controlled and correlated conditions of hypobaric pressure, temperature, humidity, air circulation and air exchange. A non-deleterious gas such as air is humidified by contacting it with heated water from a supply, and then the humid air is passed through, and when advisable, recirculated and/or rehumidified within a storage chamber containing the metabolically active matter. The relative humidity is maintained within the range of about 80 to 100% and the pressure is maintained continuously or intermittently at a selected value at least slightly higher than the vapor pressure of the water in the stored commodity.

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Miami, FL, United States of America

Stanley P Burg