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This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. 0Analysis of the spatiotemporal temperature fluctuations inside an apple cool store in response to energy use concerns Alemayehu Ambaw (a, c) , Niels Bessemans (a) , Willem Gruyters (a) , Sunny George Gwanpua (a) , Ann Schenk (b) , Ans De Roeck (b) , Mulugeta A. Delele (a) , Pieter Verboven (a) , Bart M. Nicolai  It has been demonstrated that fan and refrigeration cycling works to save energy. Load shifting of controlled atmosphere stores for saving energy costs seems worthwhile. AbstractEnergy cost concerns have led to question the temperature and air flow regimes in cool store facilities. In this paper, a CFD model of the air flow and temperature dynamics inside an apple fruit Page 1 of 33 1 cool store was developed, validated and used to analyse energy cost saving alternatives. Load shifting was attempted by cycling the temperature set point between 1.2 °C and 0.6 °C following a day/night regime. Discontinuous use of the cooling operation, including 12 h on / 12 h off; 10 h on / 14 h off; and 8 h on / 16 h off were also investigated. The study showed that the air circulation fan is the major source of heat load. Hence, an attempt to reduce energy cost should first deliberate on reducing the fan operation time. The study developed a generic tool to analyse temperature control options inside an apple cool store in response to energy use concerns.

Stochastic modeling provides a useful tool in managing biological variation in the postharvest chain.In the current study, the fruit-to-fruit variability in the postharvest firmness of apples was modeled.Apples from three cultivars (Jonagold, Braeburn, and Kanzi) were harvested at different levels of maturity, and stored at different temperatures and controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions. By using a kinetic model describing firmness breakdown as a function of time, temperature, controlled atmosphere conditions and endogenous ethylene concentration, the main stochastic variables were identified as the initial firmness and the rate constants for firmness breakdown and ethylene production. Treating these variables as random model parameters, the Monte Carlo method was used to simulate the propagation of the fruit-to-fruit variability in flesh firmness within a batch of apples during storage under different CA conditions and subsequent shelf life exposure. The model was validated using independent data sets from apples picked in a different season. The model developed in this study can be used to predict the probability of having apples of certain firmness after long term storage for different scenarios of temperatures and CA conditions.