In research by Björn Margeirsson, a doctoral student at Matís, it was found that foam plastic boxes have considerably more insulating value than comparable boxes made of corrugated plastic. It is important that the packaging protects the product from temperature fluctuations on its way to the market.
The project "Simulation of cooling processes" is funded by the AVS Fund, the RANNÍS Technology Development Fund and the University of Iceland Research Fund, and the intention is to improve temperature control in the processing and transport processes for fish products. Extensive experiments have recently been carried out with two types of packaging for fresh fish fillets, ie. corrugated plastic box on the one hand and foam plastic box on the other. Fresh fillets were placed in both types along with thermoses, the boxes were also with and without ice mats. The cooling mats (ice mats) proved to be very effective in protecting the fish fillets from heat stress. Furthermore, the results showed the superior thermal insulation of the foam plastic box over the corrugated plastic box regardless of the use of cooling mats. In fact, the difference in insulation value is even more visible when using cooling mats. Experiments with fully stacked pallets of fish boxes (approximately 300 kg per pallet) showed that the average temperature rise of fillets can be double for a corrugated plastic box with a foam plastic box, provided that the surrounding air is 10 ° C hot and has considerable movement.
The green, thin line shows the air temperature around the packages, while the other lines show the temperature inside the boxes.
Finally, it was shown that several hours. fluctuations in air temperature around an entire fishing board can cause a very uneven heat distribution within the position on the board. The project "Simulation of cooling processes" will develop heat transfer models, which can be used to assess the effect of the heat load that packaged fish products inevitably experience in transport processes. Possibilities for redesigning packaging to ensure a better product will also be examined.
The project manager's report can be accessed here: Thermal Performance of Corrugated Plastic boxes and Expanded Polystyrene Boxes