Potato storage

For potato growers, maintaining the quality of the potato during storage is essential. The longer you maintain the quality of the potato, the better you can pick the right trading moment and achieve maximum profit. Mechanical cooling is an excellent method for potato storage with the longest shelf life and without quality loss. And offers an answer to the ban on the chemical sprout inhibitor chlorpropham (CIPC).

The storage of potatoes, optimally tailored to your product

With mechanical cooling, the refrigeration is specifically designed for your product. We have already built many mechanical cooling installations at several clients, for, among other things, the storage of carrots, onions, and potatoes. We can maintain product quality for a longer period of time than with traditional ventilation systems, thanks to the specific design of the installation and the highly accurate tailoring of both temperature and humidity.

Thanks to the mechanical storage, we can maintain product quality and we need less of the often more expensive alternatives of the sprout inhibitor chlorpropham The products can be stored for a longer period than with traditional ventilation systems.

How does mechanical cooling for potatoes work?

The basic principle of ENGIE’s mechanical cooling system is the use of an almost entirely isolated storage environment. The different stages of the storage process are completely under control. The computer continuously measures the temperature and humidity in the storage and adjusts the cooling capacity and storage programme to the cooling demand.

The management of the installation controls the system in such a way that it automatically adapts to the characteristics of your product. Environmental factors, such as the temperature and humidity of the outside air, no longer have any influence. After all, the storage is entirely isolated. The sprout inhibitors stay inside because the shutters remain closed. Also, each mechanical cooling solution is tailor-made, to achieve the best possible quality of your potatoes.

Langer vers met innovatieve aardappelbewaring

Hoe langer u uw aardappelen vers houdt, des te meer tijd heeft u als teler om het juiste moment te kiezen om uw producten te verkopen. Onze effectieve aardappelbewaring door middel van mechanische koeling zorgt ervoor dat u uw oogst aanzienlijk langer in topkwaliteit houdt.

Meer verhandelbaar product

Een beschadigde aardappel in een conventionele opslagplaats kan rotten en omliggende producten infecteren. Het mechanische bewaarsysteem van ENGIE mummificeert de beschadigde aardappelen en tast andere producten niet aan. Zo blijven rotnesten uit. In combinatie met minder indroging, geen drukplekken en minder schilafval, kan mechanische bewaring u tot wel 30% meer verhandelbaar product opleveren.

Do you also want to store potatoes energy-efficiently and improve product quality?

Our client, Borgmann, opted for a sustainable cooling installation based on natural refrigerants. Henk Tebben, Project Manager at ENGIE Refrigeration says: “Cooling independently from the outside air results in considerably less dehydration of the product. This is what we have seen at our client Borgmann. Dehydration of 10% is common, but with our innovation, we achieved less than 3% dehydration. This resulted in increased weight, better product quality, and therefore higher yields.” In addition to that, Borgmann now produces in a much more energy-efficient manner.

Mechanische koeling als ondersteuning op ventilatie

Een mechanische koelinstallatie kan ook altijd als aanvulling op een ventilatiesysteem met buitenlucht ingezet worden. Met name in het voorjaar komt het voor dat de lucht van buiten te warm is om de temperatuur van uw aardappelen laag te houden. Op dat moment kunt u met een mechanisch koelsysteem de knollen nog wat langer rustig houden. Hierdoor blijft de kwaliteit beter behouden en verlengt u het bewaarseizoen.

Stable temperature and humidity during storage

Stable climate during storage
With mechanical cooling, you always ensure a stable temperature, humidity and CO₂ concentration when storing potatoes. This provides a solution for the ever-changing outside air conditions and the ban on the chemical sprout inhibitor chlorpropham. This sprout inhibitor brought life in the potato to a standstill, so that the quality was preserved. Alternatives, such as organic sprout inhibitors, are more expensive. If you use these in storage that you ventilate with outside air, you blow away the germ inhibitors. And that is a waste of money.

In the closed environment, constant storage conditions ensure that the potato remains calm, produces less heat and barely germinates. That means that you need less sprout inhibitor. The potato retains its quality, size and weight. Minimal aging of the potato also occurs, because fewer sugars are formed in the potato. As a result, less post-processing is required and this leads to lower energy consumption and therefore a cleaner production process.

Storing potatoes sustainably

The manner in which potatoes are stored and grown, are becoming increasingly important. More often, French fries producers and fast-food chains are being asked to explain how their suppliers have organized their production processes and how they use raw materials. Therefore, potato growers must produce in a more sustainable and energy-efficient way, for example by replacing synthetic refrigerants with natural refrigerants. These resources are environmentally friendly and often more energy-efficient, without compromising the cooling capacity.

Financing options

If you are interested in our solution but are currently unable to invest in sustainable technology, then ENGIE will help you. In addition to design and realization, ENGIE can also help you finance and operate it. This way, you will immediately benefit from lower energy costs and sustainable entrepreneurship. Explore the options.