Studies have shown that exposure to ethylene at 15-20 ppm can cause a fruit loss of 50 to 100 percent. The monitoring system provides an easy to use, cost effective tool that is capable of continuous monitoring in fruit packing houses. Previous devices were either too expensive, difficult to use, too slow, or did not provide continuous monitoring. The Ethylene Monitoring and Control System can be installed in a central location and tubes are run to each de-greening room to collect air samples from up to 12 rooms per system. A pumping system draws an air sample from each room and injects it into the sample chamber.
Ozone is used in the sample chamber to create a chemiluminescent reaction that produces light.
A light detector monitors the level produced, and measures the ethylene concentration against predetermined light levels associated with certain ethylene concentrations. Control signals are then sent to either introduce or stop the flow of more ethylene gas into the room. The entire process takes less than 30 seconds per room. Inc. Geo-Centers hopes to further enhance the sensitivity of the system to make it useful to the larger potential market associated with produce storage applications.