Refrigerated transport by sea

Sea transport of refrigerated goods is a vital link in the cold chain conveying perishables from producer to consumer. Despite the unprecedented crisis at present afflicting marine transportation and shipyards, sea refrigerated transport has experimented with important advances in the last few years. A ‘reefer’ ship is today a complex structure, with a great deal of computer technology and automation installed onboard. Ships are always ships, they may have lost some of the fascinating allure of the past, only to become sophisticated, specialized and efficient tools, up to the expectations of today's way of life. This Paper will concentrate on cargo ships and fishing vessels and will omit references to the specialized vessels required for liquefied gases.     

Heat pumps in the USA

First commercially introduced in the 1930s, heat pumps are now used to heat, or heat and cool, approximately 30% of all new buildings, both residential and commercial, in the USA. Their use is considerably lower for domestic water and industrial process heating, and is still at the pioneering stage for district heating and cooling. Widespread installation of air conditioning, prevalent use of air rather than water for heat distribution, and generally lower energy prices result in major differences in heat pump acceptance compared to that in European countries. This Paper surveys the current status of heat pumps in the USA and factors influencing their future.     

Problems in cold storage of citrus fruit

The three main problems (moisture loss, fungal rotting and chilling injury) limiting cold storage of citrus fruit are reviewed. The factors influencing the nature and importance of breakdown are considered and the procedures to overcome these problems are outlined.     

Refrigeration throughout the world

The economic impact of refrigeration technology throughout the world is already very impressive, and more significant than is generally believed. While the yearly investment in machinery and equipment may approach US$100 billion, the value of products treated by refrigeration is perhaps ten times this amount. The importance of refrigeration is bound to increase since it will be an essential factor in solving two major problems of the future: the supply of enough food and the development of new energy sources. The use of low temperatures constitutes a major means of conservation of perishable foods during storage and distribution and it is widely applied in the developed countries. In the Third World, however, the use of low temperatures is mainly limited to food for export and the needs of the ‘well-to-do’ sector of the population. Refrigerated or frozen foods, in their present form, are generally priced too high for the undernourished poor. There is a pressing need for simple and inexpensive cooling methods to enable efficient low cost mass production and distribution under more primitive conditions. The future of man, and his food supply in particular, depends on the availability of sufficient energy. At present, fossil fuels carry the main load, but in the course of the next century new energy sources, such as nuclear fusion, will have to be commissioned. Refrigeration technology will play an important part in this development.