In the face of rapid technological advancements, the business sector in 2024 grapples with a unique set of challenges. India, the 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China, heavily relies on Cold chain logistics, where you encounter difficulties and challenges in delivering perishable products like agriculture, crops, vegetables, and dairy products. These products are susceptible to temperature fluctuation, where 90% of them need thermal stability throughout their delivery process.
This cold chain packaging plays a vital role in the transportation of these products without losing their originality. Reefer trucks are widely used in cold chain transportation; however, they are 60% more costlier than standard trucks, with excess fuel consumption and high operational costs.
The Government and private sectors are on the lookout for technologies that could offer an economically feasible solution. Pluss®, a pioneer of passive temperature control solutions, introduces Phase Change Materials (PCM) based thermal battery coined as ThermoTab™active, an innovative and comprehensive retrofittable solution with numerous benefits like temperature maintenance, sustainability, and low energy consumption. This technology navigates business operations, reducing downtime and enhancing economic efficiency. This blog explores ways to overcome issues in cold chain logistics with Pluss®’s advanced PCM technologies.
Cold chain logistics serves as a cornerstone in transporting these sensitive products to consumers. This logistics needs to maintain a consistent temperature of 2 to 8°C to keep the fresh products non-perishable.
Temperature fluctuation leads to 70 to 80% of product spoilage. In addition, the lack of infrastructure also increases the risk of fresh products’ shelf life.
Though the reefer truck plays a predominant role in cold chain logistics, the refrigerated transports foster three broad temperature ranges: CRT’ (18 to 25°C), ‘frozen’ (-20 to -25°C), and ‘Chilled’ (2 to 8°C), and high-level consumption of fuel, which impacts the operation cost. Regardless of the scale of the business, the sector opts for technologies that offer cost-efficiency. Beyond this economic factor, the business sector prefers organic, healthy products that align with consumer demand for sustainability.
Ultimately, with all these factors in mind, Pluss® introduces the next-level technological advancement strategy for all these complications. Leveraging PCM with ThermoTab™active plates that can be actively used in both cold storage and transport applications.
The study states that there is a broader gap in logistics, as the number of trucks is insufficient to meet the demands of delivering products to different business domains. The statistics highlight this gap, i.e., in India, there are around 10,000 refrigerated vans used to provide the capacity of approximately 17 million tonnes of produce. Several factors predominately limit the use of conventional reefer trucks. Fuel Consumption and Emissions: Reefer trucks consume a significant portion of fuel, which leads to high operational costs and carbon emissions. Temperature Control Challenges: Temperature fluctuations are common in conventional trucks, which leads to product spoilage and budget expansion. Refurbishment Charges: The refrigeration unit should need regular maintenance. Otherwise, it will result in a breakdown, leading to costly repairs and potential delays in transportation. Environmental Concerns: Conventional reefer trucks emit high amounts of carbon, which leads to air pollution. Pluss® analyzes these limitations and provides solutions that coincide with health and environmental factors.
Fig1: Courtesy Images from Rinac India Ltd – Solar based truck to enable innovative retail concept installed with thermal battery
ThermoTab™active is a thermal battery that uses Phase Change Material Reefer Trucks to retain cold energy. This advanced technology is the flagship of cold chain logistics, where it maintains a substantial environment and cost-effective approach that brings down operational costs. The active plates encapsulates Phase Change Materials (PCM), and an evaporator coil that runs inside the PCM helps to maintain efficient freezing during the delivery process. The freezing starts from the surface of the coil, forming layers until the entire volume of PCM around the coil is frozen. The PCM, which is closer to the plate’s surface, melts first, henceforth providing cooling inside the insulated space of the truck or cold storage.
Fig2. Phase Change Material(PCM) filled thermal battery
This kind of top-tier technology enhances numerous advantages over conventional reefer trucks, and we deliver quality products, reducing their spoilage to 50%. It helps to retain their shelf life when it reaches their destination. Some key features make our ThermoTab™active plates a unique and potential technology in the logistics market.
Advantages of ThermoTab™active Plates There are many advantages to ensuring that fresh products are non-perishable. We guarantee quality preservation and reduced waste, ultimately providing services for small- to large-scale businesses, which is a profitable and sustainable solution.
These ThermoTab™active are integrated in various types of applications, such as trucks and cold rooms, to sustain the freshness and quality of frozen and chilled products.
Fig 3.Installation of thermal battery in micro-solar coldroom
Cost Savings and ROI The solution is highly cost-effective and has an ROI of under 2 years. The thermal stability of these active plates minimizes energy consumption and reduces frequent refrigeration maintenance, leading to reduced operational costs.
We ensure that fresh products maintain their shelf life, reducing downtime. The solar-powered and rechargeable option extends the operational efficiency. Additionally, the multi-storage compartments allow for the simultaneous storage of different product types, reducing delivery costs and maximizing delivery efficiency.
In the current context, the disadvantages of conventional reef trucks, such as high-level fuel consumption, maintenance cost, and carbon emission, can be mitigated with low maintenance cost, rechargeability, and being environment friendly. Our team of experts is undergoing consistent research to analyze the next step of PCM technology for advancing sustainability and efficiency in cold chain logistics.
Celsure® Temperature Controlled Packaging
Pluss Advanced Technologies
B-205, Pioneer Urban Square, Sector – 62, Gurugram – 122101, (Haryana), INDIA
+91-124-4309490/91/92
info@pluss.co.in
© 2024. All Rights Reserved.
