Catalytic Ethylene Removal

Fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers are transported and stored in refrigerated containers. As the produce ripens, ethylene gas is produced, which further ripens the product and can lead to premature spoilage. Most fruits and vegetables emit ethylene gas which promotes ripening. Certain species, such as apples and bananas, produce more ethylene than others. Elevated ethylene levels can significantly reduce storage time; concentrations as high as only 1 ppm can destroy an entire container of produce in one day. The current ethylene removal industry uses single-use potassium permanganate adsorbent blankets or sachets, or a removal device that has a limited lifetime (38 months). Other devices that are on the market or currently being developed include biofilters, ozone generators, and photocatalytic and electrocatalytic devices. Disadvantages of these devices include very strict storage requirements, the potential of contamination by the ethylene-destroying bacteria, the need to employ complex systems to produce ozone, and high manufacturing costs of the photocatalytic device and nanoporous gold electrocatalysts. The goal of this Phase I program is to optimize Eltron's proprietary catalytic adsorbents for ethylene removal and design a prototype ethylene removal device. We envision that by the end of the Phase II program a prototype low-cost device for the catalytic removal of low concentrations of ethylene will have been fabricated, evaluated in a lab setting and in a real-world setting by Ethylene Control Inc., who have already expressed interest in this technology.