posted on 2019-06-09, 00:00authored bySunghoon Kim, Gyoung Hwa Jeong, Sang-Wook Kim
The
harmful effect of ethylene arising from fruits and vegetables
renders heavy losses of fresh-cut products resulting in environmental
waste. Various strategies such as controlled atmosphere devices and
ethylene scavenger packaging have been developed for extension of
shelf life in postharvest commodities. The photocatalytic oxidation
process for ethylene removal can be considered as a promising alternative
to use of coupling with zeolite absorbents maintaining high surface
area though morphological characteristics of photocatalyst nanocrystals.
Herein, we developed nanocomposites composed of visible-light active
Pt-loaded monoclinic WO3 nanorods on ZSM-5 (ZSM-5/WO3-Pt) displaying a synergistic effect for ethylene removal.
The hydroxyl radicals caused by WO3-Pt migrate into the
micropores of the ZSM-5 matrix. These facilitated both adsorbing and
decomposing ethylene during fruit storage without requiring a circulation
device. The ZSM-5/WO3-Pt powders were processed with organic
binder-free granules using a drum rotary method, and ethylene removal
capacity was studied by measuring the ethylene concentration, CO2, and increased humidity in Tedlar gas sampling bags. The
practical applications were tested by evaluating the color change
and degree of surface spoilage in tomatoes stored with and without
ZSM-5/WO3-Pt; for more realistic conditions, this test
was performed in a refrigerator. The results indicate the potential
for successful commercialization of this system.