Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

www.elsevier.com/locate/compag

Computerized monitoring and control for a

research controlled-atmosphere storage facility
Naro R. Markarian a, Clement Vigneault a,*, Yvan Gariepy a,
Timothy J. Rennie b
a
Horticultural Research and Development Center, 430 Boulevard Gouin, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec,
Canada J3B 3E6
b
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, 21 111
Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada H9X 3V9
Received 27 February 2002; received in revised form 24 September 2002; accepted 18 December 2002

Abstract

An automated computerized monitoring system for a controlled-atmosphere research

facility was developed and implemented. A proportional gain (Kc) that characterizes the
dynamics of the system was modeled. Based on a proportional and integral controller, the
custom-made control software corrects errors caused by physiological changes within stored
commodities. Control parameters are continuously adjusted to maintain desired gas
conditions in the chambers. Imbedded in user-friendly software, the computerized monitoring
system was tested on storage chambers with different volumes. Maximum average errors
obtained in any mini-chamber were 0.0035 and 0.0016% for the CO2 and O2 concentrations,
respectively, which demonstrates the ability of the controller to maintain the desired set points.
The system was reasonably stable with maximal S.D. of 0.051 and 0.077% for the CO2 and O2
concentrations, respectively. The software allows different gas set points, keeps record of all
operations, acquires data and can operate unattended.
Crown Copyright # 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Fruit and vegetable storage; Horticultural crop; PI controller; Automation; Mini-chambers

* Corresponding author. Tel.:
/1-450-346-4494x170; fax:
/1-450-346-7740.

E-mail address: vigneaultc@em.agr.ca (C. Vigneault).

0168-1699/03/$ - see front matter. Crown Copyright # 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights
reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0168-1699(03)00005-X
24 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

1. Introduction

Automation of controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage facilities provides many

advantages. It has become essential not only to control the storage process, but
also to ensure optimum product quality and efficiency (Mittal, 1997). In the early
1990s, a lab-scale CA storage facility for experimental research was developed to
control CO2 and O2 levels in small independent mini-chambers (MCs) (Vigneault et
al., 1991). This system was limited by its non-automated gas sampling and control
process, which required skilled operators to continually monitor the process and
perform manual valve adjustments. In addition, disturbances resulted in system
offset, which required much time to manually re-stabilize the process to its set point.
An automated system is essential to efficiently provide precise control over research
experiments that required accurate control of O2 and CO2 gas levels.
The objectives of this research were: (1) to develop an automated computerized
monitoring system for an experimental CA storage research facility that provides
adequate control regardless of the stored commodity type, physiological properties
and storage volume; (2) to develop control software that provides data acquisition
and control, real-time graphical display and data storage and that could be modified
to accommodate various research projects; (3) to model and validate an adequate
proportional gain (Kc) that characterizes the dynamics of the system; and (4) to test
the performance of the computerized monitoring system using different produce,
storage volumes and gas concentrations.

1.1. Literature review

To prolong the quality of stored produce, an adequate storage environment is

essential for maintaining life processes (Plissey, 1995). CA storage is used to extend
the storage life and market availability of many perishable products (Bishop, 1996;
Thompson, 1998). Storage of produce for extended periods requires a control system
to minimize unavoidable reduction in quality following harvest (Koca and
Hellickson, 1993). This can be achieved by reducing the temperature and O2 levels
while increasing the CO2 level (Lauro et al., 1987).
Computer-based controls provide the capability to monitor and adjust many
operations independently and simultaneously. Effective application of a controller is
critical in the design of an automated CA monitoring system. Due to the uncertain
biological nature of the stored produce, a good understanding of the dynamics of the
storage process will have a large impact on the design of an efficient controller.
Conventional control concepts are often unsuitable in agricultural systems (Stone,
1991). The difficulty in effectively controlling the environment of stored produce is
due to its dynamic behavior. Stored produce are living organisms that go through a
series of physiological changes during storage. These changes are affected by
produce age, temperature, O2 and CO2 concentrations and other factors that make it
difficult to predict or model the process. Therefore, a controller must respond to
errors caused by these factors. Proportional, integral and derivative (PID)
controllers are the most popular feedback controllers used for automated processes
 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37 25

in industry. Advanced control techniques include adaptive, fuzzy logic, knowledge-

based and artificial intelligent controllers. Advanced controllers are generally more
intelligent and can dynamically optimize the process. Morimoto and Hashimoto
(2000) proposed a new intelligent control technique for automation of storage
processes based on a speaking fruit approach. This technique takes into account the
physiological status of the produce in storage. The proposed controller determines
the optimal set point of the process variable based on produce response. A fuzzy
controller is then optimally tuned. However, this requires some knowledge or
measurement of the products physiological state.
Korthals et al. (1995) implemented a proportional integral (PI) algorithm (Eq. (1))
to control CO2 in a growth chamber based on a CO2 balance model.

dCc
Vc  gi  gp  vleak (Cc Ca ) (1)
dt

where Ca is the ambient CO2 volumetric concentration (% or litre of CO2

100 l1 of air); Cc, the CO2 volumetric concentration in the chamber (% or l of
CO2 100 l1 of air); gi is the CO2 injected (l s 1); gp ; the CO2 taken up by plants
(l s 1); t is time (s); Vc is the chamber volume (l); and vleak is the chamber infiltration
(l s 1).
Plant consumption was combined into the leakage rate and was computed as
170 l s 1. The amount of CO2 to be injected using the PI controller was computed
according to Eq. (2) (Korthals et al., 1995).

 t 
t
Qinj Kc emeasured
s
tic g
k0
emeasuredk (2)

where emeasured is the difference between desired and measured volumetric

concentration of CO2 (% or litre of CO2 100 l 1 of air); Kc, the proportional gain
of the controller (litre of CO2 (litre of CO2 100 l 1 of air) 1); Qinj, the amount of
CO2 to be injected (l); ts is the sampling rate (s); and tic is the integral control
constant (s).
A similar approach may be used to model the required air injection and CO2
scrubbing time in a CA chamber based on the respiration rate of the produce in
storage. However, the respiration rate in Eq. (1) is considered a constant value,
which implies that the produce respiration rate would have to be known or modeled.
Since produce respiration is not a constant and is very difficult to predict, modeling
would lead to very complex mathematics with poor results. Therefore, an alternative
approach must be established for the control of the MCs.
26 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Physical description of the facility

An automated CA experimental research storage facility was designed and

implemented (Goyette et al., 2002). The facility consists of three refrigerated rooms
and a control room. Supplies of air, CO2 and N2 to each MC are provided using
PVC tubes and on/off solenoid valves. Each refrigeration room has a capacity of 14
MCs, controlled independently. The MCs consist of either 110 l polyethylene rigid
plastic barrels (Vigneault et al., 1991) or variable volume, acrylic base chambers
(Goyette et al., 2002). Each chamber has a separate compartment (scrubber) holding
soda lime. The storage gas is circulated through this compartment when excess CO2
removal is desired. The controller determines the CO2 scrubbing time and the valves
are activated accordingly. The mass flow rates of air, CO2 and N2 into the MCs were
measured. Proper sizing of instrumentation and flow was ensured.

2.2. Hardware specifications

The monitoring system consists of three main components: PCs, data acquisition/
switch units (DAQs) and instrumentation (gas analyzers, valves, thermocouples).
Control of the MCs in each refrigeration room was designed to be independent, with
a separate PC and DAQ. Two gas analyzers (Siemens, Ultramat 23) are shared
among the three computerized systems. These analyzers enable the automatic
sampling of the gas in each MC.

2.3. Description of controller and components

Due to the large amount of dead time in the process, two PI controllers were used
for the control of CO2 and O2, respectively. In a general form, the proportional and
integral parts can be combined as presented in Eq. (3) (Hughes, 1988).
t
K
Cout Kc e
c
ti g e dt
m
0
(3)

where Cout is the controller output; e, the error, the difference between the set point
and the process variable; Kc is the proportional gain of the controller; m , the
constant setting for the control element when e/0; t is time; and ti is the integral
time.
The constant setting m has to meet the static or average load of the process. It
improves the performance at startup, without waiting for integral action. Switching
processes require on-line estimation of m (Sigrimis et al., 2000). The value or
function of Kc is dependent on the process variable, the facility and the
instrumentation used to regulate it. In a dynamic system, the function representing
Kc must be customized to encompass the dynamics of the system.
 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37 27

The actual digital implementation of the algorithm was adapted for the process.
For the CO2 control, Cout (s) represents the CO2 scrubbing time from the chamber,
whereas Cout (s) for O2 control represents the injection time of air into the chamber.
The integral time (ti) was set to 48 h (172,800 s), which implies that the system is
expected to re-stabilize within 48 h following a disturbance. Due to increased
aggressiveness of the process, a ti of B/48 h resulted in poor system stability. The
integral component of the controller generates an output based on the error history
that has accumulated in the controllers integrator. These include errors due to
physiological changes within the stored produce.

2.4. Preliminary investigations

Due to the multivariable nature of the process, the coupling effect of CO2 and O2
was investigated (Beaudry et al., 1999). Tests were performed using three empty MCs
to determine the behavior of chamber CO2 and O2 concentrations as a function of
scrubbing time. Tests demonstrated that the oxygen level increased negligibly during
the scrubbing process.

2.5. Determination of Kc

The proportional gains (Kc) for O2 and CO2 represent the gain that must be used
with the error to draw the control output close to the set point. For this specific
system, Kc_O2 (s l1) represents the time to effectively inject 1 volume unit of O2 into
the chamber. Kc_CO2 (s l1) represents the time to effectively scrub 1 volume unit of
CO2 from the chamber. The exponential behavior of the dilution process complicates
the determination of Kc.
Kc_O2 was determined using a model, which consists of a closed container with a
certain volume of stored produce, in which a gas with a certain concentration is
injected. A mass balance equation can then be derived as a first order linear
differential equation (Eq. (4)).
d(PV O2 ) PV O2
Cin Fin Fout (4)
dt V
where Cin is the concentration of the incoming gas (l l 1, i.e. 21% O2); Fin, the flow
rate of the incoming gas (l s 1); Fout, the flow rate of the outgoing gas (l s 1);
PV _O2 is the O2 process variable or amount of O2 in the MC (l); and V is the free air
volume (l).
This model contains several assumptions: (1) the gas in the chamber is uniformly
mixed, thus the outgoing gas has the same concentration as the gas in the container;
(2) the outgoing gas has the same flow rate as the incoming gas (i.e. Fout /Fin); (3)
the gas in the chamber is incompressible; (4) there is no infiltration due to leaks, or so
little that it would be negligible for short injection times; and (5) Cin and Fin are
constant.
28 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

With these assumptions, Eq. (4) can be solved into Eq. (5).

PV O2 (t)Cin V (1e(Fout t)=V )
PV O20 e(Fout t)=V (5)

where PV _O20 is the initial amount of O2 in the MC (l); and t is time (s).
The time to effectively inject 1 volume unit of O2 into the chamber is obtained by
simplifying Eq. (4) as shown in Eq. (6).

dt 1
Kc O2     (6)
d(PV O2 ) PV O2
Fout Cin 
V

Experimental testing was used to validate the proposed model. Three empty MCs
were set up. Nitrogen gas was used to flush the MCs to 0% O2 and CO2. The
duration of air injection and gas analysis was noted. The experiment was performed
for the range of oxygen used in CA storage (0 /8% O2).
Kc_CO2 determination was performed experimentally only. Three empty MCs
were set up. Pure CO2 was injected until the CO2 level in the MCs reached :/20%.
The scrubbers were turned on. The duration of scrubbing and gas analysis was
noted. Average CO2 concentrations in the MCs versus time were plotted as shown in
Fig. 1. Average scrubbing rate was computed using the time required to remove a
given amount of CO2. The scrubbing rate versus the amount of CO2 in the chamber
was then plotted (Fig. 2) and a regression equation was fit to the data (Eq. (7)).

Fig. 1. Average CO2 levels in the mini-chambers versus time from experimental results obtained for the
determination of the scrubbing rate of the scrubbers.
 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37 29

Fig. 2. The rate of scrubbing versus the concentration of CO2 in mini-chamber.

d(PV CO2 )
 0:1717(PV CO2 1:1412 ) (R2  0:9941) (7)
dt
where (d(PV _CO2)/dt ) is the rate of CO2 removal with respect to time (l s 1); and
PV _CO2 is the CO2 process variable or amount of CO2 in the MC (l).
The time to effectively scrub 1 volume unit of CO2 from the chamber is obtained
by inverting Eq. (7) as shown in Eq. (8).
dt 1
Kc CO2   (8)
d(PV CO2 ) a PV CO2 b
where a and b are the constants found in Eq. (7). Clearly, Eq. (6) and Eq. (8) do not
include a respiration rate variable and therefore can be used for any type of produce.

2.6. Control software

Control software was designed and implemented in a WindowsTM environment

using Hewlett-Packards graphical programming package, HP VEE (5.0). The
graphical interface consists of top and bottom menus in which information for each
MC is displayed, such as gas concentrations and injection time. The time of analysis
(Ta) is set by the operator. This variable dictates the time at which gas in the MCs
will be analyzed.

2.7. Control algorithm

Figs. 3 and 4 show the controller output computation and process control
routines, respectively. Once gas concentrations in each MC are acquired, the
30 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

Fig. 3. Flowchart representing the controller output computation routine.

N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37 31

Fig. 4. Flowchart representing the process control routine.

32 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

controller output computation routine (Fig. 3) computes the action required to

maintain gas concentrations in each MC at their set points. These two routines are
summarized in the following paragraphs.
A decision statement verifies the operational status of the MC. If so, then both
proportional constants for CO2 and O2 are first computed using the values obtained
for the prevailing gas concentrations (PV). Then, the process error, cumulative error,
proportional, integral and controller output are computed first for CO2 and then for
O2, using the same equations. The process control routine is then executed. It is in
this routine that actual instrument control takes place. The previous process
error and the previous cumulative error variables are re-assigned with the current
values. Data is stored in data files and the process is repeated for all operational
MCs.
As a security feature in the process control routine (Fig. 4), all the relays are
initially opened (relays are normally closed) to override any previous manual
settings. Time of control (TNC) is assigned the value of the next control time. The
injection valve number, the injection time and channel are determined and then
passed to a control loop that activates relays for all operational MCs. N2 is used to
flush the line after each injection to avoid any cross contamination. Once all
operational MCs have been injected with one type of gas, the process is repeated for
the others.

2.8. Control system testing procedures

The monitoring system was tested for two consecutive storage seasons (1999 /2000
and 2000/2001) for different types of produce: apples (Bissonnette et al., 2001),
broccoli (DeEll et al., 2001) and cauliflower (Demian et al., 2000). The 1999 tests
included only produce in the 110l polyethylene rigid plastic chambers. The full
facility was used to store different varieties of apple and squash at different
concentrations, temperatures and MC volumes during the 2000/2001 season, with
gas concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 4.5% O2 and from 1.0 to 8.5% CO2.

2.9. MC volume effect

Variance analysis was performed using a GLM procedure (SAS Institute, 1988) to
compare the average errors and stability over time for O2 and CO2. Data was
collected for a 60-day storage period with nine MCs consisting of three MCs of three
volumes (110, 285 and 500 l). Differences in mean average errors were tested using
Duncans multiple range test (SAS Institute, 1988). Conditions in both types of MCs,
such as the quantity of stored produce per unit volume, O2 pull-down period, air
circulation and gas control, were representative of commercial storage room
conditions.
 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37 33

Fig. 5. Comparison of results obtained from experiments performed to determine Kc_O2 and to results
obtained using the derived model for Kc_O2.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Experimental verification of the model used for Kc_O2

Percentage of O2 in the MCs obtained from the experimental tests versus time of
injection was plotted along with results from the model (Fig. 5). The experimental
data fits the model with an average error of /0.24%. Concentrations from the
experimental data (Fig. 5) that are lower than the predicted most likely occur from
our models assumption of perfect mixing, which may not be the case in reality. The
air entrance and outlet in the MCs are physically close together, which may result in
higher than average concentrations near the outlet. If necessary, this difference could
be decreased either by increasing the distance between the air inlet and outlet, or by
increasing the air circulation rate in the MCs.

3.2. Control system

Fig. 6 shows an example of the behavior of the controller while storing Spartan
apples for 60 days in a 110 l MC and for set points of 1.5% for both CO2 and O2. The
small variations encountered were likely due to the electrical calibration of the inputs
and reduced scrubber efficiencies over time. Occasional software failure during the
storage period also caused some variations in controller output. Such temporary
stoppages caused a decrease in O2 and an increase in CO2 due to produce respiration
(Fig. 6). In each case, the software was restarted to resume the control process. In
addition, some of the larger variations in Fig. 6(b) representing sudden O2 depletion
are most likely due to physiological changes, such as increased respiration by the
stored commodity. Once lower O2 readings were measured, the controller attempted
34 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

Fig. 6. Example of controller performance for a storage period of 60 days while storing Spartan apples: (a)
CO2 at setpoint of 1.5%; (b) O2 at setpoint of 1.5%.

to readjust the O2 concentration to the set point causing an over shoot and
eventually settling near the set point. This example demonstrates the ability of the
integral component of the PI controller to readjust the O2 concentration after a
sudden disturbance.

Table 1
Average of differences between the set points and process variables for a 60-day storage period (four
measurements per day) in three different volume MCs containing apples: (a) CO2 (% or litre of CO2 100
l 1 of air); (b) O2 (% or litre of O2 100 l 1 of air)

Rep Average errors (110 l) Average errors (285 l) Average errors (500 l)

(a) CO2 (% or l of CO2 100 l 1 of air)

1 /0.003476 (0.026180) /0.000162 (0.040402) 0.002913 (0.034858)
2 /0.001428 (0.050677) /0.000091 (0.034912) 0.000467 (0.016751)
3 /0.000822 (0.013345) /0.000035 (0.034911) 0.002634 (0.026919)
Means of average errors /0.001909B (0.030067) /0.000096AB (0.036741) 0.002005A (0.026176)
S.D. 0.001391A (0.018967) 0.000064A (0.003170) 0.001339A (0.009076)
(b) O2 (% or l of O2 100 l 1 of air)
1 /0.001582 (0.044329) 0.000026 (0.021034) /0.001426 (0.0771090)
2 /0.006445 (0.051326) 0.000002 (0.018917) /0.001022 (0.064448)
3 0.000391 (0.040406) 0.000001 (0.018917) /0.000489 (0.064268)
Means of average errors /0.002545A (0.045353) 0.000010A (0.019623) /0.000979A (0.068608)
S.D. 0.003518B (0.005532) 0.000014C (0.001222) 0.000470A (0.007362)

The number in parenthesis represents the S.D. (%). Data within the same row with the same superscript
are not significantly different at a B/0.05 according to the Duncan multiple range test.
 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37 35

3.3. MC volume effect

Table 1 shows the average errors for CO2 and O2 concentrations for a 60-day
apple storage period (four measurements per day) in three different volume MCs
(110, 285 and 500 l). Maximum average errors (absolute values) obtained in any
mini-chamber were 0.0035 (110 l) and 0.0016 (110 l) for the CO2 and O2
concentrations, respectively. These relatively low differences between the set points
and the process variables demonstrate the ability of the controller to maintain the
desired set points.
There was no significant difference between the means of average errors for the
three treatments for O2 concentrations (Table 1b) (F4,2155 /0.50; P /0.608).
However, a significant difference was found between the means of average errors
obtained for CO2 (Table 1a) for the 110 and 500 l MCs (F4,2155 /2.56; P /0.0078).
The average concentration of CO2 in the 110 l MCs were maintained at a value
0.002% lower than the set point and at a value 0.002% higher than the set point for
the 500 l MCs (Table 1a). This difference, although very small can be explained by
the fact that all MCs had the same type and capacity of CO2 scrubber and the
scrubbing time required to decrease the CO2 concentration by a given amount is
longer for a MC with larger volume. Hence, when very precise control of CO2 is
desired, a larger capacity scrubber should be used for larger MCs. Nonetheless, the
users (Demian et al., 2000; Bissonnette et al., 2001; DeEll et al., 2001) were satisfied
with the results obtained.
The S.D. results (Table 1) demonstrate that the system is reasonably stable with
maximal S.D. of 0.051 and 0.077 for the CO2 and O2 concentrations, respectively.
There was no significant difference among S.D. for CO2 (F4,4 /0.46; P /0.6613)
across different MC volumes. However, a significant difference was found in the
S.D. between the treatments for O2 (F4,4 /64.0; P /0.0009), wherein there was
significantly more variation in the 500 l MC, followed by the 110 l and then the 285 l
MCs. This might be partially due to relatively more mechanical problems for the 500
l MCs. Furthermore, their fan capacities were insufficient to properly circulate the
gas mixture, resulting in improper mixing and thus incorrect gas concentration
readings. Gas leaks, mainly from tubing connections and improper cover sealing of
the 110 l rigid MCs caused an increase in O2 and a decrease in CO2. The leaks were
eventually located and resolved. The controller stabilized the gas concentrations
subsequently.

4. Conclusions

An automated computerized monitoring system was developed based on a PI

controller. This system corrects for errors caused by physiological changes within
stored commodities by readjusting control parameters to maintain desired gas
concentrations in the MCs. Using both experimental and model-based results,
mathematical relationships were derived for both Kc_CO2 and Kc_O2 that are
independent of produce respiration rates. These functions allow control regardless of
36 N.R. Markarian et al. / Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 39 (2003) 23 /37

the produce type or their respiration rate. By implementing new routines in the
systems software, it can be used to investigate and analyze new control strategies for
CA storage.
In general, performance of the monitoring system was evaluated and judged
satisfactory by end users (researchers). The controller was able to maintain desired
set points with maximum average errors (absolute values) of 0.0035 and 0.0016% for
the CO2 and O2 concentrations, respectively. There was no significant difference in
average O2 errors across different MC volumes and only a slight difference in CO2
errors. The system was reasonably stable with maximum S.D. values of 0.0501 and
0.0701% for the CO2 and O2 concentrations, respectively. There was no significant
difference in CO2 S.D. across the MC volumes, but a significant difference among O2
deviations. The latter difference was due to the large number of mechanical problems
encountered during the storage season for the 500 and 110 l MCs, as opposed to the
285 l MC.
Improvements to a few aspects of MC design could increase system performance
and stability. For example, air inlets and outlets in the MCs could have greater
physical separation to allow for better mixing and thus more exact gas concentration
measurements. Also, fan capacity in the 500 l MCs could be increased to allow better
gas circulation. Finally, CO2 scrubber capacity could be better matched to MC size.
Such mechanical modifications would allow the control devices and software to
operate at their designed capabilities.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank S. Bissonnette for assistance with the experimental
testing and C. Beaudry for her input during the design of the control system.

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