Arnau Verdaguer is director of products for HPNow. Verdaguer can be reached at [email protected].
Grupo Agrolíbano is one of the largest melon growers in the world, with over 6,000 hectares of crops by the Pacific Ocean in Honduras. The company exports melons for the North American, European and Asian markets, and their operation is highly focused on food safety and sanitation practices. They are also pioneers in incorporating sustainable practices in their growing and production processes in Central America.
In an effort to further strengthen bio-security practices and optimize water usage, Agrolíbano was looking for a long-term solution enabling sustainable and safe reuse of the water in the post-harvest wash of the fruits. To this end they turned to HPNow, which recommended implementing three HPGen systems for this operation. The HPGen systems generate Peroxide UltraPure, a water treatment agent, directly on-site. The water treatment agent is then injected into the recirculation water and keeps it free of bacteria, viruses and fungi. The systems secure supply of high-quality hydrogen peroxide, enabling the packing house to operate at full speed all year long.
Agrolíbano installed three HPGen A-Series systems in its packing house. The systems automatically fill buffer tanks with the water treatment agent, from which it is introduced in the recirculation baths used in the melon cleaning process, keeping the water clean and the produce safe.
The production center is installed in a dedicated room adjacent to the packing house, which has the required power and water connections. The system operates completely autonomously, without a need for manual intervention, and secures a supply of high quality hydrogen peroxide. The generation process only requires water and electricity to operate and can be free of emissions if electricity comes from renewable sources. Previously, Agrolíbano was using bulk oxidizers, which have a long, complex supply chain that was frequently disrupted, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that at times no oxidizer was available locally, which is an issue that has been completely resolved with the installation of the HPGen systems as they now generate oxidizer directly on-site, when and where it is needed.
How Does it Work?
HPGen provides on-site production of hydrogen peroxide in the form of Peroxide UltraPure, a peroxide-based, ultra-high-purity, safe and stable oxidizer, directly on-site. It requires only water, electricity and air to operate. The water treatment agent breaks down to pure water and oxygen following use.
Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidizer and well-known water treatment agent used across a wide range of applications in municipal water utilities and industries. At high concentrations it is, however, also a hazardous chemical, posing an explosion hazard. Its permitting, storage and handling can accordingly be challenging and costly, and represent occupational hazards.
HPGen enables fully-autonomous, safe and affordable on-site peroxide generation. By producing Peroxide UltraPure directly at the point-of-use at low and safe concentrations, it reduces chemical consumable costs, improves occupational safety, and reduces labor, chemical storage, handling and permitting costs, as well as dependence on chemical supply chains.
Sustainable Alternative
The global annual output of more than 6.5 million tons of hydrogen peroxide is produced in centralized chemical production plants, emitting greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emissions of over 3 million cars, and outputting up to 60 million tons/annum of toxic waste — amounting to 8 kg of toxic waste on average for every person on our planet.
Delivery of hydrogen peroxide from these centralized production plants to millions of distributed points of use requires transportation of a high-concentrate, highly-explosive solution, and a complex, hazardous, costly, and increasingly regulated supply chain. HPNow offers a comprehensive line of on-site hydrogen peroxide generation solutions, based on its proprietary direct electrochemical synthesis technology, and requiring only water, electricity and air to operate.
Clean, Safe & Sustainable
Peroxide UltraPure is a powerful oxidizing agent, capable of fighting a broad spectra of microorganisms. Yet, it is also a very safe and sustainable solution. It is generated at a safe concentration, never reaching hazardous levels. There are no residues from the use of the water treatment agent, as it becomes water and oxygen. Therefore, no toxic byproducts accumulate on the bath or the cleaned melons. Oxygen that is released from the reaction forms bubbles, which help mechanically clean the melons. Overall, water in the recirculation bath can be kept in a clean state for long periods, without requiring frequent refills with fresh water.
As part of the melon post-harvest process, water quality is closely monitored by Agrolíbano according to strict standards. This includes water analysis to ensure bacterial levels, including E. coli, are well below safety standards.
“Following installation of the HPGen production center, we have observed that bacterial levels have been maintained well below safety thresholds,” said Pedro Mejía, technical manager at Agrolíbano. “The HPGen systems represent a step forward in our food safety practices, as well as in our sustainability efforts.”
The focus Agrolíbano is placing on safe and sustainable water practices represents a broader industry trend, where water is considered more and more a precious resource which needs to be carefully used, and when possible recycled. Technology solutions contribute towards these efforts, making water reuse possible even in remote areas with difficult access, or when supply chains break down.
