NIFTEM-K develops SARTHI, a Smart Reefer Transportation integrating IoT, sensors & solar power

National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli, an institute of national importance under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has developed a novel Solar Assisted Reefer Transportation with Hybrid controls and Intelligence (SARTHI) It is an intervention to reduce Post Harvest losses while transporting fruits and vegetables.

Transporting fruits and vegetables at different temperatures and relative humidity conditions in a single reefer container has not been attempted in the country so far. Fruits and vegetables being live commodities continue to respire even after harvest and temperature variation during transportation leads to drastic physiological changes, resulting in spoilage. Yet another challenge is the long breaks due to traffic jam, rest, food, etc. result in temperature variation and moisture migration to the surface.

SARTHI has dual compartments to store fruits and vegetables at different temperatures. Fruits, if stored at temperatures lower than their optimal temperatures are amenable to chilling injury, while vegetables, especially leafy vegetables, if stored at temperatures higher than then their optimal requirements lose turgidity and texture owing to evaporation. Because of different storage requirements for fruits and vegetables, it becomes imperative to have different compartments for storage and transportation to obtain a good shelf life for the nutritionally dense fruits and vegetables which suffer from extensive Post Harvest losses.

The temperature in SARTHI ranges from 0-5°C in one compartment and 7-12°C in the other compartment with a provision for temperature alterations based on specific requirements. One compartment has been provisioned to achieve and maintain a temperature of even -10°C. SARTHI has a unique refrigeration unit capable of running on engine power and standard 220 V Alternating current, 50 Hz power. During halts and interruptions. the stand by compressor unit with single phase AC power supply can be used to maintain the temperature. Temperature, Relative Humidity, Ethylene, and carbon dioxide in two different compartments is monitored using specific sensors.

The data acquired from the sensors is integrated with IoT (Internet of Things) and sent to the cloud which can be downloaded using a mobile app for getting a real time information about the quality parameters and physiological changes occurring during transportation of fresh fruits and vegetables. This will help in making effective decisions about the quality of perishables inside the closed containers, thereby assisting in their better Post Harvest management. The vehicle may off load the produce in a nearby market based on the quality assessment, rather than carrying spoiled/ rotten and damaged produce to the destination, resulting in huge nutritional loss, increased carbon footprint and energy wastage.

A solar PV system is provided on the SARTHI’s roof top with a charge controller, battery, and inverter to run the air handling unit fans for air circulation and maintain desired temperature for short periods during intermittent halts.