Innovation: Technified and sustainable solar drying to dehydrate
In 2011 the company CK2 was born, by the hand of Cristián Valdés and Sébastien Jacot-Descombes. The union of a Chilean and a Swiss that give rise to an innovative, sustainable and low-cost creation, unlike the traditional drying fields that are used to dry fruits such as plums.
Cristián Valdés, partner-founder and general manager of the company, explains the operation and benefits of solar drying.
"The solar tunnels are designed for plums, but this year we made an experimental plant where we tested cherries, blueberries, huesillo and grapes", indicates.
The system is designed to allow scaling from medium-sized units to loads of industrial volumes.
It is a conveyor belt 55 meters long by 4 wide, which is introduced into a kind of greenhouse, with a height of 1.20 meter. Once the tunnel is loaded, fans are programmed according to the type of product and the temperature limitation or drying. Once the fruit is dried, the ribbon advances to unload the fruit into a container.
"It is a simple design that allows drying at low cost and in a scalable way at the industrial level. It is a tunnel that is armed and disarmed, you can change places "adds the manager of CK2.
The plum is kept inside the tunnel from 3 to 5 days, in the case of the blueberry 2 days, cherries and huesils 3 days, and raisins 5 to 6 days.
The benefits of this system is that the drying is done in controlled conditions, therefore, the risks that run with the drying courts, in case of rains, or losses are not run.
"There are a number of risks that with this system are reduced to zero"said Valdés.
Regarding the issue of safety and quality, Valdés stressed that in open fields the fruit is exposed to contamination of dust, animals, mice, etc., while with this system that is fully controlled.
"The innocuousness and quality is equal to the fruit that comes out of a combustion furnace, but with the benefit that we use sustainable energy and with a lower cost", Agregó.
This system is in patent process in Switzerland, it is unique in Chile and the world, and we want to extend the patent to Australia and South Africa, countries where a prototype has been sent. The tunnels have a capacity for 2.500 kilos of fresh plums.
Valdés reported that this drying system is intended for small producers and that the product is already available in Chile for a reference price of USD 9.000.
Source: Fruit Portal
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