A Study on the Combined Equipment for the Pre-cooling and the Thawing using the Low Temperature Vacuum System

저온진공기술을 이용한 예냉 및 해동 겸용장치에 관한 연구

We need refrigeration system which can maintain the freshness of agricultural products, because of being distance from a tiller to a consumer. Vacuum Pre-cooling system has an advantage in quality maintenance through vapid cooling down by using latent heat of evaporation of stored products. A number or thawing methods in current use have also several disadvantages in thawing time. discoloration mass loss caused by drying, capital costs and running cost. These damages are, it is claimed, either eliminated or improved by the vacuum thawing system. An experimental study on the pre-cooling for the bean sprouts and cabbage, and thawing for hairtail and croaker by the low temperature vacuum system were carried out. The cabbage cooling time with this Pre-cooling vacuum system took about 60 minutes to reach from $23.2^{circ}C to 4.5^{\circ}C$ at 5 mmHg abs. ($6.66\times10^{-4}$ MPa). The croaker thawing time with this low temperature vacuum thawing system took about 170 minutes to reach from $-10.3^{circ}C to -0.8^{\circ}C$ at 20 mmHg abs ($2.67\tiems10^{-3}$MPa). The vacuum Pre-cooling and thawing system have merits compared with present systems in their short intervals to cool down and to thaw without any quality losses.