Leveraging meat cold storage effect on a solar-powered freezing system in Mongolia

Abstract

Dzud disasters, which cause livestock mortality during winter, frequently occur in Mongolia. To address this challenge, a solar freezing system was developed for rural areas with unreliable electricity. This system allows Mongolians to store meat in frozen storage during the fall, when prices are low, and sell it in the spring when prices are higher. Although rural Mongolia generally has a stable power supply, frequent outages necessitate a freezing system capable of operating under such conditions. The proposed solar freezing system utilizes solar power and the cold storage effect to maintain meat temperatures below −18 °C, a significant improvement over existing solar-powered systems, which can only maintain temperatures above 0 °C. Mongolia's dry, highland climate makes it particularly well-suited for such applications. A meat storage unit with improved insulation was tested to minimize reliance on regular grid power. Additionally, a simulator was developed to analyze system performance outside the winter period when the experiment was conducted. The results confirmed that the solar freezing system could operate continuously during winter with minimal reliance on grid power, provided it was turned off at night. The cold storage effect of the meat, combined with enhanced insulation, effectively prevented temperature increases. The solar freezing system reduced initial investment and maintenance costs by eliminating the need for batteries. This system will be paid back in 8.2 years using the Net Present Value (NPV) analysis, assuming no interest is charged. Thus, a freezing system for long-term meat storage during the Mongolian winter was successfully developed. Furthermore, simulation results indicated that meat storage using low-cost late-night electricity during summer nights in Mongolia is also feasible.