Demonstrating efficiency in cooling and storage systems for onion and potato drying using the KATflow 100 flow meter

This long-established, family-run company supplies refrigeration and storage systems to its customers, enabling them to store vegetables for up to six months after harvest without any loss of quality in the crop yield and, consequently, without having to worry about a fall in price. Process measurement technology and data acquisition play a major role in ensuring process reliability and cost savings for customers.

When it comes to storing agricultural produce, nothing is left to chance these days. In addition to technical and structural design approaches, it is above all ventilation and cooling systems – along with their associated control solutions – that counteract the natural decay of a vegetable harvest (usually after four to eight weeks) during the drying and storage process, and can thus be the key to success. The Upper Bavarian company Gaugele GmbH offers vegetable growers agricultural storage solutions for harvested produce that meet precisely this high standard. Extensive experience in vegetable storage is combined with essential, bespoke cooling systems and the corresponding integrated control solutions. The result is state-of-the-art cooling and storage systems, and the assurance for customers that they can store vegetables such as onions or potatoes for up to six months after harvest without fear of any reduction in quality or even rotting of their crop. This extended storage period of up to half a year is precisely what is required. It enables vegetable growers to secure sales well beyond the harvest period, regardless of the season.

In addition, Gaugele GmbH actively seeks public funding from the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) as part of the implementation of particularly energy-efficient storage solutions. The company is familiar with the various funding options offered by the BAFA for different types of facilities, ensuring that projects for its customers are implemented in line with the BAFA’s funding criteria. Purchasers of a climate-controlled agricultural storage facility from Gaugele GmbH receive, so to speak, a government-guaranteed subsidy, but are also subject to a certain obligation to provide evidence to the BAFA.
Key elements of the climate control for Gaugele GmbH’s refrigeration and ventilation systems are the monitoring of refrigerant flow rates and heat loads. In the past, mechanical systems – so-called paddle flow meters – were used to monitor the high flow rates in the process. The high pressures involved usually led to damage to these devices, which is why, when searching for a new solution, the focus was placed on non-contact technology. “A functioning measurement system,” says Gaugele, “is the basic prerequisite for investing in such equipment.” The required “flexibility of Katronic’s flow measurement systems and their range of selectable process interfaces used in today’s industrial landscape” were a second key consideration for Gaugele GmbH, for the purpose of meeting reporting obligations and securing the associated funding for their customers.

In this specific case, the climate control for Gaugele’s agricultural storage facilities is implemented using an in-house control unit. The control unit ensures the optimum freshness of the stored produce whilst operating as energy-efficiently as possible. It regulates the cooling and ventilation systems of the onion and potato drying plants. In addition, the climate control system records all relevant data on flow rates and heat quantities from the process, so that this data can later be bundled and automatically transmitted to the BAFA via the Modbus protocol. Continuous documentation of the plant’s energy efficiency is a prerequisite for ultimately receiving the relevant financial subsidies from the BAFA. The obligation to provide evidence of energy efficiency to the BAFA applies for a period of five to ten years.

Today, a stationary KATflow 100 ultrasonic flow meter, installed on pipework sections with nominal diameters ranging from DN 80 … 150 mm, is sold as a reliable component solution for verification purposes whenever Gaugele GmbH delivers one of its bespoke, energy-efficient onion or potato drying plants to customers.