Visualization and control of the cooling process in banana ripening rooms at Chiquita Sweden

The Dutch company De Laat Koudetechniek has implemented a new control system responsible for the monitoring and control of the cooling process in Chiquita Sweden's banana ripening rooms.

The ripening facility, which is located in the city of Enköping, has 14 ripening rooms. Each ripening room can store up to 32 pallets with banana boxes. All ripening rooms are equipped with Siemens Saphir controllers to provide intelligence to the ripening process.

The ripening facility is equipped with an advanced cooling system protecting the stored product from drying up. During the ripening process, the temperature in the rooms changes as needed. To monitor and control the cooling process in the banana ripening rooms including the release of ethylene (C₂H₄), the Reliance SCADA/HMI system is used.

Ripening rooms

Ripening rooms full of banana boxes

Examples of visualization windows

The main visualization window

A trend showing the banana ripening process in a room

PI control

The main visualization window

A trend showing the banana ripening process in a room

PI control