Air plasma ethylene control to extend mango postharvest shelf life

Ethylene accumulation in enclosed storage environments is one of the main factors responsible for triggering ripening and senescence in climacteric fruits, significantly reducing postharvest life and market value. Although several technologies have been developed to remove this gas, many of them face limitations related to sustainability, low selectivity, or incompatibility with food systems.

To overcome these challenges, the study developed a novel atmosphere-regulation strategy based on air-plasma purification to continuously and non-contactly control ethylene concentrations during postharvest storage. A compact coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor was integrated into a closed-loop system, enabling selective oxidation of ethylene in the gas phase while completely avoiding direct interaction between plasma and fruit.

Under storage-relevant operating conditions, the system maintained ultra-low ethylene concentrations with removal efficiencies exceeding 98%. Optical emission diagnostics and kinetic modeling demonstrated that ethylene conversion occurred through a stable radical-mediated oxidation process dominated by O and OH species, promoting stepwise oxidation instead of non-selective fragmentation.

In addition, the oxidation depth could be regulated through discharge intensity and residence time, allowing independent control over both ethylene concentration and process selectivity.

Application of this technology during mango storage showed that plasma-purified atmospheres significantly reduced ambient ethylene accumulation, suppressed endogenous ethylene production and fruit respiration, delayed color development and softening, reduced weight loss and decay incidence, and ultimately extended postharvest shelf life.

The authors concluded that this technology represents a scalable, food-compatible, and non-contact strategy for continuous ethylene management while also providing new mechanistic insights into plasma-assisted atmosphere control as an alternative for extending the shelf life of climacteric fruits.

Source

Chen, M., Cheng, J.-H., Yang, X., Zeng, X.-A., & Keener, K. M. (s.f.). A novel ethylene-control strategy to extend mango shelf life via air plasma purified storage atmospheres.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996926010069