Horticultural packaging is a critical component of the cold chain and influences both the preservation of fresh produce quality as well as the efficiency of cold chain operations. Development and ...optimisation of packaging designs is a multidisciplinary task. Nevertheless, knowledge and expertise are often not transferred between domain specialists. This review, therefore, provides a summary of the existing science and practices used to design corrugated paperboard packaging systems. We investigate the main interactions and challenges affecting package design decisions. Recent studies towards an optimised carton design were reviewed for each of the various cold chain unit operations. We identified existing knowledge gaps in the areas of food cooling performance and mechanical strength of the boxes, particularly for stacked packages and cartons packed with internal packaging such as liners. Future prospects indicate a more wide-spread application of multi-scale experimental and simulation approaches towards improved packaging design, where multiple packaging performance indicators are evaluated simultaneously.
•Evaluation of integrated performance evaluation approaches of fresh produce packaging.•Review of carton design recommendations and research within a dynamic cold chain environment.•Overview of multi-scale approaches to holistically evaluate a carton design.•Review the cold chain design space within the context of holistic multi-parameter assessments.•We speculate on future trends for packaging evaluations and research.
The forest sector can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate warming by decreasing emissions to the atmosphere and increasing carbon removals. In an expanding bioeconomy, the pulp and paper ...industry provides opportunities for various low‐carbon wood products with promising substitution effects. However, assessing climate effects of wood product systems is complex and requires a holistic approach. The objective of this study was to advance time dynamic climate impact assessment of a bioeconomically promising wood product from a system perspective. For this purpose, a time dynamic life cycle assessment was conducted on a pulp‐based beverage carton. The assessment included fossil value chain emissions from cradle to grave, effects from biogenic carbon in a eucalyptus plantation, and credits from substitution. A polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle was considered for material substitution (MS) and differing marginal electricity and heat mixes for energy substitution. The results revealed dominating climate warming from value chain emissions and slight offsetting by biogenic carbon from standing biomass and soil organic carbon, and short‐term carbon storage in the beverage carton. MS and displacing marginal energy mixes transformed the climate warming into a substantial total cooling effect. However, substitution effects varied strongly in terms of substitution factors and temperature change with varying replacement rate of the beverage carton and different marginal energy mixes. A climate cooling range of −0.8 · 10−15 to −1.8 · 10−15 K per unit of beverage carton by 2050 was found, highlighting potential relevance for climate policy making. Thus, production and use of wood‐based beverage cartons over PET bottles can have climate cooling effects. Further assessments on alternative forestry systems (e.g., Nordic forests) are needed to identify the role of biogenic carbon in holistic climate assessments, with dynamic substitution effects included to increase the validity.
In an expanding bioeconomy, the pulp and paper industry provides opportunities for various low‐carbon wood products with promising substitution effects. The objective of this study was to advance time dynamic climate impact assessment of a bioeconomically promising wood product from a system perspective. For this purpose, a time dynamic life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on a pulp‐based beverage carton. The results revealed dominating climate warming from value chain emissions and slight offsetting by biogenic carbon while material substitution and displacing marginal energy mixes transformed the climate warming into a substantial total cooling effect.
Producers and consumers associated with small scale backyard egg production tend to reuse egg cartons. Egg cartons are also reused for arts and craft projects, gardening, and organization units for ...small items. The reuse of egg cartons is primarily driven by economic or ecological reasons. The ability of zoonotic bacteria, such as Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), to survive on the eggshell surface and a variety of food packaging materials makes the reuse of egg carton risky. This study was aimed at determining the scope of cross-contamination of SE between eggshell and different egg carton types using 2 experiments. Unwashed eggs from end-of-lay white Leghorn hens were used in the experiments. Two different SE strains were used with 3 independent tubes of inocula from each strain as replicates. In Experiment 1, 216 eggs from each SE strain (72/replicate) were inoculated with 10 μL of SE inoculum (~ 9.95 log cfu/mL), allowed to dry in room temperature, and placed in nonadjacent wells of noninoculated plastic, polystyrene foam, and pulp egg cartons. Egg cartons of each type were then stored either at refrigeration (4°C) or room temperature (25°C). After 24 h eggs were discarded and the carton-wells were swabbed for SE recovery. In Experiment 2, wells of egg cartons were inoculated with SE and uninoculated eggs were placed in them and stored similar to Experiment 1. A total of 216 wells within the egg cartons were inoculated for each SE strain (72/replicate). Eggshell samples were collected for SE recovery. Only 3 samples were detected positive for SE in Experiment 1 and no effect of carton type, SE strain, or incubation temperature was observed. In Experiment 2, 8 eggshell samples were SE positive – 6 from polystyrene foam and 2 from plastic carton. Statistical difference was observed for pulp versus polystyrene foam only (P < 0.05). These results indicate that transfer of SE between egg carton and eggshell surface is possible and that the risk of cross-contamination is associated with type of carton material.
To reduce the heat island effect brought by conventional asphalt roofing products with high solar absorption, we propose a category of self-cleaning and self-cooling composited roofing tile (CRT) ...made of old corrugated containers (OCC) and tung oil inspired by traditional Chinese oil-paper umbrellas, which can be fabricated at scale and easily recycled for roofing applications. Compared with asphalt shingles, CRTs can improve the solar reflection due to the randomized structure of the cellulose microfibers, contributing to a significant temperature difference of ∼13.2 °C. In addition, they have a high thermal emissivity of 0.93 in the atmospheric window, radiating great amounts of heat into the cold outer space (∼ 3 K). The top layer tung oil film smeared on the OCC pulp fibers transforms the roofing tile from a waterabsorbing to a waterproofing state and significantly enhances the mechanical strength, contributing to a stable thermal performance in outdoor applications. Furthermore, dyed CRTs can selectively reflect visible light for desired colors and effectively reflect near-infrared light to reduce solar heating, which synchronously achieves roof cooling and aesthetic variety. These cheap, eco-friendly, and multifunctional roofing tiles can provide a value-added path for OCC recycling, which may inspire more radiative cooling composites purely from recycling waste towards an energy-saving and sustainable society.
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•Cool roofing tile (CRT) is made of recycled corrugated containers and tung oil inspired by traditional oil-paper umbrellas.•Compared with asphalt shingles, CRT features a higher solar reflection and an ultrahigh infrared emissivity of 0.93.•CRT exhibits excellent waterproof, mechanical and aesthetic performance for outdoor applications.•The multifunctional CRT can provide a value-added path for old corrugated containers recycling.
The development of cost-efficient biochar adsorbent with a simple preparation method is essential to constructing efficient wastewater treatment system. Here, a low-cost waste carton biochar (WCB) ...prepared by a simple two-step carbonization was applied in efficiently removing Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous environment. The maximum ability of WCB for RhB adsorption was 222 mg/g, 6 and 10 times higher than both of rice straw biochar (RSB) and broadbean shell biochar (BSB), respectively. It was mainly ascribed to the mesopore structure (3.0–20.4 nm) of WCB possessing more spatial sites compared to RSB (2.2 nm) and BSB (2.4 nm) for RhB (1.4 nm✕1.1 nm✕0.6 nm) adsorption. Furthermore, external mass transfer (EMT) controlled mass transfer resistance (MTR) of the RhB sorption process by WCB which was fitted with the Langmuir model well. Meanwhile, the adsorption process was dominated by physisorption through van der Waals forces and π-π interactions. A mixture of three dyes in river water was well removed by using WCB. This work provides a straightforward method of preparing mesoporous biochar derived from waste carton with high-adsorption capacity for dye wastewater treatment.
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•WCB can effectively treat dyes in river water.•The maximum adsorption capacity was 222.6 mg/g and controlled by van der Waals forces.•The superior ability was mainly due to mesopores, graphitization and hydrophobicity.•External mass transfer dominated the mass transfer resistance.
Due to the growing concerns of deforestation, renewable materials as recycled cellulosic waste and non-wood fibres provide an alternative solution for partial replacement of wood resources as a ...reinforcement agent in building material. This study examined the effect of cellulose pulp inclusion on the physical, mechanical, and thermal performance of extruded cement stabilized earth-based matrices. Laboratory experiments of earth-based matrices reinforced with two types of fibres (bamboo pulp and recycled waste carton pulp) at varying fibre contents (0, 5, 7.5 and 10 %wt.) were performed. The results show that the inclusion of recycled waste carton pulp fibre in the soil matrix significantly improved the performance of the composites compared to matrices reinforced with bamboo pulp fibre. Addition of recycled waste carton pulp displayed improvement in flexural strength (56%), in toughness (733%), and in thermal insulation (36.35%) compared to the control sample. Inclusion of recycled waste carton pulp in earth-based matrix increases the moisture loss, the drying shrinkage and behaves as a water reservoir for earth-based materials. It has been concluded from this study that recycled waste carton pulp has the potential as a suitable reinforcement for the promotion of lightweight earthen wall block materials (reduction of bulk density up to 21% after the inclusion of 10% of recycled waste carton pulp), where flexural strength, ductility, and thermal insulation performance are the primary requirements. In addition, the successful replacement of virgin bamboo pulp fibres with recycled waste carton pulp fibres reduces the environmental footprint of the building material. Therefore, the use of this recycled waste carton pulp in the construction industry will be an attractive alternative as it will solve both energy and environmental concerns.
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•Recycled waste pulp as a water reservoir for earth-based materials is explored.•The inclusion of cellulose pulp in the earth-based matrix improves the resistance to cracking during drying shrinkage of the composite.•Cellulosic fibres inclusion in cement stabilized soil enhances ductility and strength of the composite.•Cellulosic pulp reduces density/thermal conductivity and provides lightweight and thermal insulation properties in earth-based composite.•Recycled waste carton pulp is identified as a reinforcing element of earth-based building materials in order to reduce the environmental footprint of construction and provide comfort inside the building.
•Temperature data followed typical composting temperature variation trends.•Carton and paper containing high lignocellulosic content slowed the composting rate.•All composting mixes yielded ...phytotoxic-free composts.•Key process parameters were within the relevant compost standards.
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of carton in the composting process of mixed vegetable wastes using an experimental composter of capacity 80L. Three different mixes were set-up (Mixes 1, 2 and 3) which consisted of vegetable wastes, 2.0kg paper and bulking agents, vegetable wastes, 1.5kg carton and bulking agents, vegetable wastes, 4.5kg carton and bulking agents, respectively. Temperature evolution, pH trends, moisture levels, respiration rates, percentage volatile solids and electrical conductivity were monitored for a period of 50days. The system remained under thermophilic conditions for a very short period due to the small size of the reactor. The three mixes did not exceed a temperature of 55°C, where sanitization takes place by the destruction of pathogens. The highest peak of CO2 evolution was observed in Mix 2 indicating that maximum microbial degradation took place in that mix.
•Fundamental guide provided to understand corrugated carton fires when depressurized.•Three distinct burning stages of cardboard boxes fire were qualitatively investigated.•Greater depressurization ...rate delays accumulation of CO but accelerates CO growth rate.•Depressurization tends to elongate flame region and suppress notably combustion.•Pressure has stronger impact on radiative feedback than convection for carton fires.
An approved fire-protection method for in-flight freighter aircraft is aircraft depressurization. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of depressurization on the burning characteristics of typical combustibles based on large-scale corrugated cartons test data, which is believed to be valuable for aircraft fire safety engineering. The fuel mass loss, pressure, CO concentration, and axial temperature distribution were investigated in comparative tests conducted in a newly designed hypobaric chamber to simulate a depressurization process from 100 to 60 kPa with respective rates of decrease of 91, 182, and 328 Pa/s. The depressurization experimental results show that the fire plume temperature, burning rate and pressure have a good power function correlation. A theoretical analysis of the sub-atmospheric pressure dependence relationship on the burning rates was conducted to predict the burning behavior, showing good agreement with the experimental results. Two kinds of pressure effects on the burning control mechanism were proposed. For the convective heat feedback control, a 2/3 power law with pressure was formulated with experimental validation. For the radiation heat feedback influenced by soot emissivity and mean beam length, a 3/2 power law with pressure resulted.
•Carton design greatly affects fruit quality in the cold chain.•All new designs should be assessed using a multiparameter approach.•Vent-hole design affects cooling and strength ...requirements.•Numerical modelling eases complexity of performance analysis of the fruit chain.
This review was initiated to realise the state-of-the art in optimising the ventilation and structural requirements of corrugated packaging carton design. Researchers have been using computational methods: computational fluid dynamics, particularly, the finite volume method, to analyse the airflow and heat transfer performances, and computational structural dynamics, particularly, the finite element method, to analyse the loss of compression strength due to vent-holes. Models are validated using actual testing: wind tunnel based forced air cooling system to study the produce cooling kinetics and box compression test machine for the package industry to study the structural dynamics. Studies on the rate and uniformity of produce cooling and the loss of structural strength in corrugated cartons as a function of size, shape, and location of vent-holes are reviewed. Based on experimental data, results show that the loss in strength can range between 10–40 % on addition of vent and hand holes on cartons, and reasonable increase in cooling rates is only achieved with increase in carton face ventilation area only up to 7–8 %. With regards to internal packaging components, increasing awareness of consumers to the environmental degradation of especially disposable plastic packaging means packers and suppliers must devise means to cut back and eventually eliminate plastic packaging from fruit and vegetables.
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