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Ultra Low Temperature Process Cooling

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How Low Can You Go?

Our modern lives, as we know them, would be very different without process cooling. Many of the products we use, buy, wear, and eat, rely heavily on precise temperature control at different stages of their manufacturing and transportation processes. But what do manufacturers do when their products require exposure to extreme temperature environments? Let’s take a closer look at ultra low-temperature process cooling, who needs it, and why.

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 Why Go So Low?

There are many reasons why certain industries need process cooling equipment to reach ultra-low temperatures. One of the most common uses of ultra-low temp chilling is for durability testing. 

Durability Testing For Extreme Environments

Take a look around you. As most of us sit in our comfortably climate controlled homes, offices, and vehicles, it can be hard to imagine how the products around us would react to extremely cold temperatures. At what point would they stop working…crack…explode…rupture? Most of the items around you would never naturally reach those temperatures, so there is little reason to worry. Everyday items undergo typical durability testing to make sure they can operate safely and efficiently in a wide range of seasonal environments. 

However, materials and devices that are intended to operate in the upper atmosphere, deep ocean, or outer space must undergo more rigorous testing. In order to be prepared for anything mother nature can throw at them, every piece of equipment, protective gear, machinery, electronics, and other supplies need to be thoroughly tested before they can be safely used in such an environment.  

North Slope Chillers graphics on ultra low temperatures in nature

Land

The lowest temperature ever recorded at Earth’s ground level occurred on July 21, 1983. The Soviet run Vostok Station in Antarctica recorded a temperature reading of -128.6° F (-89.2° C). More recently, satellites have detected even lower readings (some as low as -144° F), but the 1983 record is still recognized as the most accurate reading from the ground level. 

Sea

Similarly, the coldest seawater temperature was also recorded in Antarctica. A super salinated stream of seawater running under an Antarctic glacier measured in at 27.3° F. The high salt content allowed the water to reach sub-freezing temperatures and still remain liquid. 

Atmosphere

Another natural extreme temperature environment exists above us at all times. The Earth’s atmosphere is comprised of multiple layers, and each has different environmental conditions. The mesosphere is the layer that extends from 31-53 miles above the Earth’s surface. The top of the mesosphere (aka the mesopause) is the coldest section of our atmosphere and has an average temperature of -130° F. 

Space

For the most extreme temperatures, we have to look beyond our home planet. According to NASA, gaseous matter out in space routinely drops to -454° F. Because of the extremely cold conditions in space, astronauts will soon be able to conduct quantum cooling experiments in the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) on the International Space Station (ISS). There, astronauts will be able to use quantum process cooling to chill atoms well below the average temperature of deep space, boldly going where no thermometer has gone before. 

Cryogenics

Another common need for ultra-low temperature process cooling lies in the vast field of cryogenics. Broadly speaking, cryogenics is the study of ultra-low temperatures and how matter behaves at those temperatures. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, cryogenic temperatures range from -238°F all the way down to -460°F or absolute zero. Absolute zero is theoretically the point where molecular motion is as close as it can get to stopping completely. Over the years, many different cryogenic sub-studies have evolved in our modern world.

North Slope Chillers graphic on the types of cryogenics

Cryobiology – studying the effect of ultra-low temperatures on organisms

Cryonics/Cryoconservation/Cryopreservation – conserving genetic material and organisms for future revival

Cryoelectronics – the study of electricity at ultra-low temperatures

Cryosurgery – using cryogenic temperatures to medically destroy harmful tissues or growths 

Materials behave very differently when exposed to cryogenic temperatures. Some, like rubber, become so brittle they are easily broken down. Others, like ceramics and some metals, become superconductive and allow electricity to flow through them with zero resistance.

What Industries Use Ultra-Low Temperatures?

The field of cryogenic and ultra-low temperature process cooling is expanding every year. As we continue to find new ways of utilizing this technology, the possibilities seem endless. Let’s look at some specific examples of industrial uses for ultra-low temperature process cooling.

North Slope Chillers graphic on the industries that use ultra low temperature process cooling

Aerospace

The aerospace industry must rigorously test every component used in modern aircraft for its ability to withstand extreme temperature changes. Ultra-low temperatures can increase wear and in compromise the structural integrity of many kinds of materials. These aeronautic materials undergo what is known as cryogenic tempering to increase their durability. They are exposed to strategic high and ultra-low temperatures during fabrication so their microstructure becomes more stable, durable, and long lasting. Cryogenic processing is used to improve the performance and strength of engine components, turbine blades, seals, brake lines, and more.

Pharmaceuticals/Medical

Medical and pharmaceutical laboratories use ultra-low temperature freezers and storage rooms to preserve important samples. These can include: bone marrow, blood, stem cells, vaccines, DNA and RNA, Sperm, Eggs, Embryos, and more. Many of these samples are extremely valuable and some are irreplaceable. Ultra-low temperature storage and transportation is absolutely crucial to protect the viability of delicate lab products. 

Pharmaceutical companies also use ultra-low temps for the lyophilization (freeze-drying) process. Lab samples are inserted into a special ultra-cold vacuum chamber that freezes and removes moisture simultaneously.

In addition, some medical devices, like MRI machines (which require cryogenic cooling temps of -400° F) need ultra-low temperature process cooling in order to operate safely.

Food Service

If you have ever purchased frozen seafood in a landlocked state, then your taste buds have benefitted from ultra-low temperature process cooling. Commonly referred to as “flash freezing”, food products can be frozen so quickly, they don’t expand or lose taste or nutritional value. Flash freezing also preserves natural flavors so your food still tastes fresh and delicious. 

Automotive

Similar to the aerospace industry, the automotive industry tests structural and engine components for usability in extreme temperatures. Testing a car in ultra-low temperatures allows car manufacturers to see if fluids and batteries hold up, electronics still function, how quickly the engine and cabin heat up, and to what degree the vehicle is still operable. 

Defense

Civilians like us will never know all the ways the defense industry uses ultra-low and cryogenic temperatures. However, looking closely at the private sector we can see many ways the defense industry can benefit from ultra-low process cooling. As mentioned above, aerospace engineers subject every material used on an aircraft to thorough temperature testing. Ultra-low temperatures are also useful for storing and transporting flammables and combustible materials safely. Cryogenic tempering is also used on a wide variety of metals (including on firearms) to strengthen their microstructure and increase durability. 

Chemical

Storing and transporting temperature sensitive chemicals can be extremely dangerous. Many flammable and combustible materials require ultra-low temperature solutions in order to meet hazardous location safety certifications.

Plant Oil Extraction

Extracting highly pure oils out of plant matter involves some ultra cold temperatures. Some companies use CO2 extraction methods that use carbon dioxide which is chilled below -69° F. Some companies also use ultra-low temperatures (-20°F) to remove natural waxes from their extracts. These extraction methods produce high concentration oils that are very valuable. In recent years, the production and use of essential oils, especially CBD oil, has grown into a very lucrative industry. 

Plastics

Plastic injection molding is a highly efficient plastic manufacturing method that greatly reduces waste material. Special thermoplastics (such as ABS and Polyethylene) are heated, injected into a mold and then quickly chilled before they are released from the mold. Molding plastics at high temperatures creates a nice glossy finish and makes the finished plastic more heat resistant. Rapidly chilling then makes the plastic stronger and more impact resistant.

North Slope Chillers Ultra-Low Temperature Solutions

North Slope Chillers graphic on deep freeze ultra low temperature chillers

Here at North Slope Chillers, we specialize in portable and powerful industrial process cooling. Our Deep Freeze line features a wide temperature range from -112° F to 70° F. With fully insulated interior components, Deep Freeze operates efficiently with little thermal loss. If you need a liquid cooling system that is both reliable and as cold as it gets, look to Deep Freeze. Contact us today to find the perfect ultra-low temperature solutions for your needs at (866) 826-2993 or [email protected]

The Fabric of Our Lives: Plastic

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Plastic Injection Molding Touches Our Lives Every Day

Products created by plastic injection molding are all around us, from water bottles to the button on your shirt. This process is efficient and can create products that are very large heavy-duty to products that are tiny and delicate. This article explores the top level of all there is to know about the plastic injection molding process.

Learn more about Plastic Injection Molding

Let’s Learn about Plastic Injection Molding

*Note to reader:  American English has no mould, and British English has no mold. In other words, the word referring to (1) the various funguses that grow on organic matter or (2) a frame for shaping something is spelled the same in both uses, and the spelling depends on the variety of English.  For the purposes of this article regarding plastic manufacturing, I will be using the American English version.

Standard  household items, produced every day, are the result of injection molding. The applications cover commercial, industrial, and consumer products. Because of injection molding manufacturing, companies can design products that are intricate, versatile, and complex, and also range from very small to large objects.  

This method has produced solid parts such as electronic housings, bottle caps, containers, computers, televisions components, outdoor furniture, agricultural products, toys, machinery components, and much more.

We Use It:  Common Products Made with Plastic Injection Molding   

Plastic bottles are the most common product manufactured by the billions each year.  Plastic bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), because the material is both strong and light.

Electronic housings used in devices such as remote controls, computers, televisions, medical equipment, and other consumer electronic components, are all produced by injection molding process. 

Toys: Toys need to be lightweight, durable, and corrosion-free.  Lego is a perfect example of an injection mold toy. A firmer plastic granule is heated until liquified and then injected into metal molds.  After cooling, that heated plastic becomes one of the world’s favorite toys. Lego is a precision product that must fit together perfectly–manufacturing must be perfectly executed.  

Quick List of All the Places We Find Injection Molding Products

Automotive:

  • Color-matched Interior Components

Commercial Construction:

  • Conduits for Concrete Beams
  • Insulators
  • Raised Flooring Panels

Residential Construction:

  • Roofing Vents
  • Railing Gaskets
  • Deck Fasteners
Commercial Products:
  • Electrical Boxes
  • Mop Heads 
  • High-end Trash and Recycling Receptacles 
  • Vending Machine Components 
  • Equipment Housings 

Consumer Goods:

  • Skateboard Storage Racks
  • Barbecue Accessory
  • Bird Feeder
  • Tackle Boxes
  • Toilet Seats

Food Service:

  • High-Temperature Serving Pans
  • Bread Trays
  • NSF Food Service Products

Home Products:

  • Flower Pots
  • Wire Ties
  • Air Freshener Units

Medical Components: 

  • Sharps Disposal Bins and Wall Mounts
  • Medication Trays

Toys and Hobbies:

  • High-end Collectible Models
  • Decorated Children’s Furniture

POP (Point of Purchase):

  • Spring-loaded Supermarket Display Tray
  • Literature Display Rack

Sporting Goods:

  • Training Device
  • Exercise Tools

Short-Run 3D Printed Components:

  • Electrical Knobs
  • Specialty Buttons
  • Fixtures

Good to Know

First, the Mold

Injection molds must have a high precision match between the two mold halves in order to perfectly control the material flow. Creating the mold is crucial to building a seamless, precision product.  Injection molds are typically constructed using steel or aluminum, and precision machined to form the features of desired product.  

The mold must be:

  1. Sturdy and able to withstand the pressure involved during injection.
  2. Made of materials that the polymer will properly flow along.
  3. Carefully designed to allow heat transfer to control the cooling process.

Over and Over

Once a funcional and errorless mold is produced, the injection molding process is fairly repetitive. It also has a low scrap rate (percentage of failed assemblies or material that cannot be repaired or restored, and is therefore condemned and discarded) relative to other manufacturing processes. 

Advantages

Repetition and reliable high volume production is the signature advantage of this process. Once the first part is produced, the second is going to be practically identical.  Other advantages are the wide range of material selection, low labor costs, minimal scrap losses, and few requirements for post-molding finishing operations. 

Disadvantages

The major disadvantage of injection molding is the initial cost of the mold design, which tends to be high due to design, testing, and tooling requirements and the longer required lead times. Some custom complex parts may encounter problems during the injection molding process such as warpage or surface defects. Therefore, injection molded parts must be designed with careful consideration to any change in geometry as they cool and the material selection to ensure stability.

The Injection Molding Process

Injection moulding involves a high pressure injection of a polymer into a mold where it is shaped. The individual parts of this process are very short. The whole injection molding process usually lasts from 2 seconds to 2 minutes, and is yet, highly complicated.  There are four stages in the cycle. To watch an excellent animated video on the Injection Molding Process CLICK HERE.

Clamping

Before the mold is injected with material, both halves must be closed. The clamping unit takes care of this. Both halves (the cavity and the core) are then secured in the tool.  Material is then injected as the clamping unit pushes the halves together and both halves are held tightly while material is injected. Larger machines (machines with more clamping power) take longer to close and clamp the mold.

Injection

A hopper feeds plastic pellets into the injection mold machine.  Heat and pressure melt the pellets and help the transformed plastic move through the injection unit. The volume of injected material is called the ‘shot’. Injection is complete when 95%-99% or the mold is filled.  It is hard to calculate exactly the injection time because the flow of the plastic is always changing and dynamic. Injection time can be estimated by other factors such as injection pressure, power and shot volume.

Cooling

Cooling is when the plastic within the mold hardens.  This process begins as soon as the plastic makes contact with the interior mold.  During cooling, the part may shrink slightly. The mold should not be opened until cooling is complete.  Cooling times are estimated based upon the wall thickness of the mold and the thermodynamic properties of the plastic.

Ejection

Now, the product must be removed.  An ejection system is used because force is required to remove the product.  The product will shrink and stick to the mold. Once removed, the mold is shut, and the process begins again. 

Injection Mold Manufacturing Machines

The machines are differentiated by the type of driving systems they use: hydraulic, electrical, or hybrid.

Hydraulic

Hydraulic presses, until 1983, were the only option available to molders.  Hydraulic machines, although not nearly as precise, are the predominant type in most of the world.  These systems use hydraulic cylinders that clamp the mold halves together, with enough force that the mold will remain shut and sealed during injection – between three and four tons of clamp force per square inch are generally required–sometimes more. Modern hydraulic injection molding clamps can exceed 8,000 tons of pressure, allowing them to create parts in excess of 50 pounds.

Advantages:
  • Higher clamping force for large parts, plus larger shot size
  • Resistance to wear and tear
  • Excellent injection rates and ejection capabilities
  • Lower initial purchase price
  • Low cost and great availability for replacement parts
  • Gas accumulators available to help account for slower clamp movements
Disadvantages:
  • High energy consumption, even while idle
  • Higher required molding temperatures and therefore longer cooling times

Electric

In 1984 an all-electric injection molding machine was introduced in Japan – it took a bit of time, but these systems are now popular all over the world.  The electric press, also known as Electric Machine Technology (EMT), reduces operation costs by cutting energy consumption. Electric presses have a reputation for being quieter, faster, and having higher accuracy, however electric machines are more expensive.

These systems utilize digitally-controlled servo motors for their power rather than hydraulics, meaning that they can bring faster and more repeatable processes with more precision and efficiency. Once you pinpoint a given process within your system, it can be replicated consistently with ease, allowing for the creation of bulk projects for a variety of major industrial applications. These systems can also run unattended, which lowers labor costs.

Advantages:
  • Precision and ease of repetition, along with low scrap rates
  • Lower down time than hydraulics
  • Cleaner processes with no fluid leaks
  • Major energy savings
  • Less noise and faster operation with a shorter startup time
  • Lower unit cost and less material waste
  • Lower power requirements that lead to lower operating costs
Disadvantage:
  • Cannot achieve the clamping force of a hydraulic system

Hybrid Systems

Hybrid injection molding machines (sometimes referred to as “Servo-Hydraulic”) are meant to combine the benefits of hydraulics and electrical systems. These systems have the high clamping force of hydraulics, and combine that with the precision, energy savings and reduced noise associated with electrical systems.

Advantages:
  • Electrified screw rotation that limits screw recovery needs
  • Diversity in product design capability
  • Reasonable costs (lower than electric, higher than hydraulic)
  • Continuous adjustments by the servo pump
  • Closed loop processes with a faster response time
  • Lower temperatures required for limited cooling times and extended machine life

Hybrid machines are used for a variety of wall thickness needs, including heavy industrial projects.

Injection Mold Process Cooling

There are two main reasons for using a chiller for the injection mold cooling process. 

  1. Protect Equipment:  While the chiller represents a small cost of the processing equipment, it provides solid protection of your investment, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for years and years to come.
  2. Increase Production: Maintaining a constant and proper cooling temperature in equipment will increase the number of parts produced per hour, and a significant reduction in the number of defective parts.

Cooling  is a critical stage in the process; over 80% of the total plastic manufacturing process is devoted to cooling. An injection molding chiller will drastically reduce the cooling time and preserve the quality of your products.

North Slope Chillers industrial liquid coolers are the best way to consistently and efficiently maintain life of your equipment and the quality of your plastic parts while also reducing your production time.

Contact us to find the right temperature control solution for your needs:

Learn more about plastic injection molding

(866) 826-2993 [email protected]

Processing and Cooling Cultured Meat

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What is Cultured Meat?

Lab-grown meat is a new trend in the United States. By feeding nutrients to meat cultures, ground beef and other meats can be grown and harvested without ever needing a cow. However, just as with meat processed from animals, cultured meat requires cooling to help prevent it from spoiling. 

Fresh, But Not Farm Fresh

Meat made from animals is a groundbreaking new technology with worldwide implications. Imagine famines no longer happening due to stored cultured meats, or meats ethically sourced from labs instead of sometimes inhumane cattle processing facilities. For these reasons, cultured meat is often referred to as clean meat. 

The process for doing so is not that much different that how meat grows normally. Sample cells are taken from an animal and given nutrients to help them grow, developing into muscle tissue. From that point on, further steps are taken as described by Mosa Meat, a cultured meat manufacturer: 

When we want the cells to differentiate into muscle cells, we simply stop feeding them growth factors, and they differentiate on their own. The muscle cells naturally merge to form “myotubes” (a primitive muscle fibre that is no longer than 0.3mm long). The myotubes are then placed in a gel that is 99% water, which helps the cells form the shape of muscle fibres. The muscle cells’ innate tendency to contract causes them to start putting on bulk, growing into a small strand of muscle tissue. From one sample from a cow, we can produce 800 million strands of muscle tissue (enough to make 80,000 quarter pounders). When all these strands are layered together, we get what we started with – meat.

The result is referred to as cultured meat. It can be used in the same way as normal meat. Hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. According to a June 2019 Forbes article, the process from retrieving cell samples to eating lab-grown stroganoff takes only two to six weeks. 

Economy of Scale

Companies like Mosa Meat have already created meat processed from cow cells, producing hamburgers and other foods. The first burger to be made with cultured beef by Mosa Meat cost more than $227,000 due to the small amount of meat being grown at the time. Scaling up production ideally would bring the cost down. Doing this would require utilizing bioreactors, large cooking vats used in creating cheese. 

Keeping it Cool

As will all meat products, temperature control is vital to maintaining freshness and in preventing bacterial growth that would cause meat to spoil. However, the scale of cultured meat production can have negative effects on the ability to keep provide adequate refrigeration. The larger the system is used in culturing meat, the less efficient the cooling processes typically are. 

Chillers in Cultured Meat Production 

Chillers stand out in cooling needs for their ability to provide consistent, even temperatures to even the biggest of industrial applications. They are capable of using fluids to lower contact temperature well below zero, which is more than what is required for cultured meat production. 

Collection of industrial chillers from North Slope Chillers

North Slope Chillers 

For the most efficient and reliable chillers on the market, use North Slope Chillers for all of your cultured meat needs. Whether you’re experimenting with beef growth in the lab or producing massive amounts of clean meat, North Slope Chillers manufactures the chilling equipment needed to keep you in control of temperatures from start to finish. For more information about sizing or custom chilling options, call our chilling engineers at (866) 826-2993 or reach them by email at [email protected]. 

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Cultured Meat
The World’s First Cultured Hamburger

Dairy Cooling Solutions

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Don’t have a cow over keeping your milk cool

Farmers are well accustomed to staying in control over milk temperatures. What methods do they use?

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It’s said that you should never cry over spilled milk. When you utilize dairy coolers, you’ll never have to cry about spoiled milk either. In the cooling of milk, stable temperatures are crucial in ensuring it will still be fresh when it reaches the grocery store. 

Temperature control for milk starts as soon as it leaves the udder. It leaves the body of the cow at 98° F, but remaining at that temperature would spoil the milk quickly. The ideal range for dairy cooling tanks is between 40° F and 32° F, which balances keeping it above freezing with preventing bacteria growth. 

milk cow dairy

There are two main methods currently used to keep milk cool. 

  • In-line coolers: Some dairy farms prefer in-line plate coolers because they use less expensive electricity than other milk cooling methods. Milk is precooled by running it through an in-line plate cooler before it is stored in a larger dairy cooling tank. The heat is removed from the milk as water is also circulated in and out of the cooling plate. According to Wisconsin dairy experts, doing so only takes about 10 minutes, as opposed to cooling milk in large batches that can take as long as 45 minutes. Running in-line plate coolers to cool the milk for shorter times can save up to 50% of energy costs, and the water can be reused as long as it was clean going into the plate. 
  • Process chillers: Often used on large-scale dairy farms, process chillers utilize water or another coolant liquid to remove heat from the milk tank. Chillers pump coolant at low temperatures from the chiller machine to a cooling wrap encasing the milk tank, enveloping it in a blanket of cold. As the heat is absorbed into the wrap, the coolant then flows from the wrap back to the chiller, where it is cooled back down and sent back out to the wrap. 

Process chillers are by far the most effective dairy cooling solution. A milk tank wrapped in a Fluxwrap from North Slope Chillers will keep temperatures exactly where you want them, regardless of external climate influences. When connected to Beacon temperature control technology, Fluxwraps and chillers collect temperature data and allow for remote access to milk tank cooling settings. 

North Slope Chillers carries everything needed for milk cooling solutions. Contact North Slope Chillers to learn which cooling equipment is right for your dairy needs at 866-826-2993 or [email protected].

cow

Cooling in Food Processing

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Riding the “Cold Chain”

As food products make their way from farm to table, they travel a path that is fraught with danger. As they are processed, packaged, distributed, and sold they are susceptible to spoilage, pathogen growth, and other contamination. Let’s follow food’s journey and find out what systems are in place to make sure it safely reaches our plates.

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Image of food packaged on pallets

The Cold Chain

North Slope Chillers diagram on the parts of the cold chain

The cold chain is a series of refrigeration units that protect food along its journey. This chain is comprised of stationary and mobile cooling units as well as a network of data sensors. 1 broken link in this chain causes destructive product loss, endangers consumers, and results in expensive product recalls.

Stationary Cooling

Blast chilling and blast freezing is a critical early step in food processing. Roller coaster temperatures are very damaging to food products so once food is chilled, it needs to remain that way until it is consumed. Large open space cold rooms provide food with a safe place to wait for transportation. These rooms are often large enough for food products to be packaged, reorganized, and consolidated while remaining chilled. Some cold rooms are large enough for loading machinery, such as fork-lifts, to enter and exit.

Mobile Cooling

The most complicated sections of the cold chain involve cold cargo on the move. Once food products leave the cold room, they need to be quickly loaded into a mobile refrigeration unit. These units include refrigerated trucks, reefers (ships with chilled cargo bays), refrigerated rail cars, cold air cargo planes, or a combination. Mobile chilling units need to be equipped with enough cooling power to make sure food can endure a potentially long journey.

As reliable cold chains are becoming more common, consumers are able to enjoy food products from farther and farther away. It is becoming easier for food to traverse continents, oceans, and hemispheres and still retain freshness. Once chilled food arrives at its destination, it needs to be quickly unloaded back into stationary cooling environments such as walk in fridges and freezers at restaurants, grocery stores, etc.

Managing the Cold Chain

North Slope Chillers diagram of the components the cold chain

Specialized Packaging

Shipping cold cargo can be a tricky endeavor. Cold cargo must be packaged for thermal and light protection. Reflective outer layers can be used to reduce solar temperature increases while food is being moved outside on loading docks and ramps. Specially insulated storage containers compartmentalize foods according to their temperature and humidity needs. Packaging can also have compartments to hold ice, or other chilling liquids until the food reaches a stationary cooling room.

Temperature Sensors

The most reliable cold chains have a network of temperature sensors on stationary units, mobile units, and even on the packaging itself to ensure that food is preserved the entire length of the journey.

Employee Training

Workers all throughout the cold chain need to be well trained in HACCP food handling guidelines. This ensures that workers use the most efficient food handling practices to keep food out of the contamination danger zone.

Timers

State of the art sensors can also keep track of how long packages of food have spent in each of the cold chain stages. This information can be very helpful for companies that are looking to tighten up their chain and keep food fresher for longer.

Data Collection & Analysis

Temperature, timing, and mapping data can be collected and analyzed for weak points. Previous generations needed to have workers out in the field to monitor this data, whereas now all these control points can be monitored digitally. There are many cold chain data analysis apps available that streamline cold cargo processing. It is now simpler than ever to catch food processing problems in real time before costly mistakes arise.

Internet of Things

The IoT is making waves in the food processing industry by allowing machines, sensors, and process cooling systems to all transfer data and communicate with each other without human to human or human to computer interaction. “Skynet” fears aside, this network of tech to tech communication is working hard to keep our food safer.

The Global Cold Chain

Cold Cargo in Developing Countries

The cold chain enables developing countries to more fully participate in global trade as both food producers and food consumers. Uninterrupted cold chains provide greater food variety and freshness that historically was only available to persons of higher socio-economic status. One of the fastest ways to improve the quality of life in developing areas is to provide access to fresher and healthier food options.

A reliable cold chain also creates jobs in the food manufacturing, food processing, food transportation, and food preservation industries. Post harvest losses are very detrimental to local, national, and global economies. High food spoilage rates hurt every industry involved and with a rapidly growing world population, it is even more critical that food safely reaches consumers in a timely manner.

In 2017, the Indian Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal cited a study that revealed startling statistics. She said, in India “hardly 10% of the horticulture produce is processed or reaches cold storages.” India is now conducting a nationwide push to create a national cold food grid to reduce post-harvest losses, create jobs, increase agricultural incomes, and provide their citizens with a greater variety of fresh, healthy food.

Environmental Concerns

Global climate change has a tremendous impact on cold cargo both in developed and developing nations. As worldwide temperatures rise, we need even more reliable cold chains extending around the globe.

Reducing food waste will help us get the most from the agricultural lands we already have, and cut back the need to hastily acquire more. By optimizing our cold chains, we can control agricultural expansion into wildlife habitats. We are currently watching vast areas of the Amazon rain forest become engulfed in flames. This is largely due to intentionally set fires to prepare more farmland to feed increasing populations.

By strengthening the global cold chain, we can greatly reduce the amount of food waste happening every year. And by so doing, we can scale back the need for hasty and destructive agricultural expansion.

Cold Chain Solutions From North Slope Chillers

Our portable industrial fluid chillers can efficiently cool loads of all shapes and sizes. They are compact, easy to install or relocate, and won’t interrupt the layout of your current system.

Contact us to find the right food chilling solution for your needs:

(866) 826-2993 [email protected]