[Case Study] Application of CVF-2000 Vacuum Precooler at Driscoll's Yunnan Base

[Case Study] Application of CVF-2000 Vacuum Precooler at Zhuomei Yunnan Base

I. Customer Background

The Yunnan customer is a world-leading berry brand. Its Yunnan base is located in a plateau area at an altitude of about 1900 m and mainly grows high-value berries such as blueberries and raspberries. After harvest, berry products have high respiration intensity and fragile skins. Traditional precooling methods have prominent problems such as slow cooling, high water loss rate, and short shelf life. The base has long sought a precooling solution that balances cooling efficiency and product quality. After multiple rounds of technical comparison and on-site testing, it finally introduced our company’s CVF-2000-4P vacuum precooler.

II. Equipment Configuration and Technical Parameters

Item	Parameter
Model	CVF-2000-4P
Processing capacity	4 pallets/batch, approx. 2000kg/batch
Compressor	Bitzer CSH7573-90Y-38P × 1 unit
Refrigerant	R404A
Vapor condenser	YXEV-42 (42m² self-manufactured vapor condenser)
Evaporative condenser	YFL-S-320 (self-manufactured evaporative condenser)
Vacuum pump	Busch RD0360A × 2 units
Control system	PLC fully automatic control, supports multi-stage evacuation curve settings
Altitude correction note: The Yunnan base is located at an altitude of about 1900 m, where atmospheric pressure is lower than standard sea-level conditions. The measured vacuum pump efficiency decreases by about 15%. For this operating condition, a margin was reserved during the system selection stage. The dual-pump parallel configuration ensures that the target vacuum level can still be stably achieved at high altitude.
Process adaptation for blueberries: The blueberry skin structure is relatively sensitive, and direct rapid pressure reduction can easily cause skin microcracking. To address this, the CVF-2000 control system specially designed a gradual evacuation program (Gradual Evacuation Mode), which reduces the pumping speed at the initial stage and switches to full-speed evacuation after the fruit surface temperature initially drops, effectively protecting fruit integrity.

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III. Actual Operating Data and Results

3.1 Cooling Efficiency

Indicator	Measured value
Initial temperature	25°C (field heat after harvest)
Target temperature	2°C
Cooling time	Approx. 30 minutes
Single-batch capacity	2000kg
Compared with traditional static cold storage precooling: Conventional cold storage precooling requires 6-8 hours to reduce berry core temperature to 2°C, while vacuum precooling requires only about 30 minutes, increasing efficiency by 12-16 times. For a large-scale base with a daily harvest of dozens of tons, this means the post-harvest processing chain can be greatly shortened, achieving seamless connection of “harvest-precooling-cold chain.”

3.2 Water Loss Rate Control

Precooling method	Water loss rate
Vacuum precooling (CVF-2000)	1.2% - 2.5%
Traditional static cold storage	3% - 5%
Although vacuum precooling involves some water loss as water vapor escapes with the pressure drop, the water loss rate is controlled within 2.5%, far better than the 3-5% of traditional cold storage. By rapidly passing through the high respiration intensity range through vacuum precooling, berries reduce intracellular water loss caused by respiration, and the actual marketable yield is significantly improved.

3.3 Energy Consumption Comparison

Precooling method	Unit energy consumption
Vacuum precooling (CVF-2000)	7-9 kWh/ton
Traditional static cold storage	24-30 kWh/ton
Based on a daily average processing of 20 tons of berries, the CVF-2000 consumes about 160 kWh per day, while traditional cold storage solutions require 480-600 kWh. The energy consumption of vacuum precooling is only below 30% of the traditional solution. Combined with the Yunnan base’s photovoltaic resource advantages, energy costs are further reduced.

3.4 South American Blueberry Benchmarking Reference

As a benchmark reference for the same category, a South American blueberry exporter uses our CVF-4500-6P equipment (6 pallets/batch, 4500kg/batch), equipped with Hanbell RC2-260B-Z compressor + Leybold SV300B vacuum pumps × 3 units, achieving 13°C→0°C in only 20-30 minutes, with the water loss rate also controlled within 2%. This case verifies the general adaptability and process transferability of vacuum precooling across different altitudes and different berry varieties.

IV. Operational Feedback and Evaluation

4.1 Operating Stability

The CVF-2000 at the Yunnan base site has been running continuously for more than 6 months, with cumulative processing of thousands of tons of berries. The parallel configuration of dual Busch RD0360A vacuum pumps ensures long-term reliable operation of the equipment under high-altitude conditions. The PLC control system has no abnormal shutdown records.

4.2 Quality Feedback

The base’s quality control department reports: blueberries and raspberries treated by vacuum precooling have a shelf life extended by 2-3 days compared with traditional cold storage, fruit firmness remains good, and the skin integrity rate is >98%. The introduction of the gradual evacuation program effectively solved the problem of blueberry skin microcracking caused by rapid pressure reduction. These process parameters have been locked into the production standard operating procedure.

4.3 Economic Evaluation

Conclusion: The application case of the CVF-2000 vacuum precooler at the Yunnan base shows that for high-altitude, high-value berry products, a vacuum precooling solution adapted with a gradual evacuation process can complete rapid cooling from 25°C to 2°C within 30 minutes, control the water loss rate at 1.2%-2.5%, consume only 30% of the energy of a traditional cold storage solution, and significantly extend shelf life. This solution has been verified through actual operation and is currently a reliable and efficient technical choice in the field of post-harvest preservation of berries.

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The data in this article comes from the 2025-2026 production and operation records of the Yunnan base and our company’s after-sales service tracking report.