Journal of Agricultural Machinery
with the collaboration of Iranian Society of Mechanical Engineers (ISME)

Performance and Economic Evaluation of a Zero-Energy Evaporative Cooling Chamber for Post-Harvest Storage of Green Chilli

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article- En

Authors

A. Oyon 1
M. Mahfuzul Hasan 2
M. Fuad Ahmed 3
S. J. Al-Hossain 4

1 Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh

2 ACASA Project, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka, Bangladesh

3 Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh

4 Section of Agricultural Mechanization, Department of Allied Sciences, Habiganj Agricultural University, Habiganj-3300, Bangladesh

10.22067/jam.2026.100376.1516
Abstract
Post-harvest losses of green chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) remain a significant problem for smallholder farmers in Bangladesh due to the absence of affordable cold storage infrastructure. In this study, we designed, constructed, and evaluated the performance of a zero-energy evaporative cooling chamber fabricated from locally available sand bricks and river-bed sand as the cooling medium. The structure (155 × 63 × 80 cm³) operated on the principle of evaporative cooling (EC) without any electrical input. Under no-load conditions, the chamber achieved a maximum temperature drop of 10°C at midday. During a 10-day green chilli storage trial, the average internal temperature was 21.1°C with an average relative humidity of 80.1%, compared to ambient conditions of 20–33°C and 45–81% relative humidity. Physiological weight loss inside the chamber reached only 12.4% after ten days, significantly lower than 35.4% observed under ambient conditions and comparable to the 8.5% recorded in a refrigerator at 3°C. Chilli firmness, assessed qualitatively through visual and photographic observation, was notably better maintained in EC storage than under ambient conditions throughout the 10-day period. The total construction cost was estimated at 6,800 Tk for the first year, with only minor recurring costs for annual roof maintenance and daily operating labour. The technology represents a promising, low-cost post-harvest storage option for smallholder farmers in tropical regions, though further evaluation across multiple seasons and locations is warranted.

Keywords

Firmness
Humidity
Loss reduction
Low-cost technology
Storage quality
Subjects

Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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Journal of Agricultural Machinery

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 October 2026

  • Receive Date 10 August 2026
  • Revise Date 21 September 2026
  • Accept Date 10 October 2026
  • First Publish Date 27 October 2026

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