Efficient mango drying
Imperial Consultants worked with a global fair-trade company to improve the efficiency of their mango production process. Fullwell Mill supply organic and fair trade fruit and nuts to major UK supermarkets and have a number of factories across the globe.
With a desire to be not just fair-trade but also environmentally sustainable, Fullwell Mill recently won a grant from Comic Relief to develop eco-friendly processes.
Dried mango is one of their staple products and the drying process is unique to each country the fruit is grown in. In Burkina Faso, a major African exporter of mangos, the fruit must be dried by passing hot air, produced by burning butane gas, into chambers.
Fullwell Mill approached Dr David Howey about a project to increase the energy efficiency of their mango-drying ovens as part of the grant. A research associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering interested in sustainable energy solutions, Dr Howey did the work through Imperial Consultants.
“I wanted to work through Imperial Consultants because of the support they provide and to have Imperial’s name on such a worthwhile project.” Dr Howey explains.
Adam Brett, the director of Fullwell Mill, adds “We were very pleased with the report provided and the professional and efficient way in which the project was handled. We’ve now got a clear route forwards for improving the efficiency of one of our major processes.”
Dr Howey calculated the efficiency of the mango-drying ovens and suggested methods to combat any heat loss through the walls and chimney.
“Whilst the original oven design is quite simple, the calculations to determine the heat loss were a bit more involved.” says Dr Howey. “Any suggested modifications also had to take into account the resources available in a country like Burkina Faso. It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to apply my research to a real-world problem like this one.”
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