Literature Review of Applications of ICT on Solar Cold Chain

Abstract

The Cold Chain (CC) is a system containing a range of processes like shipping ‘temperaturesensitive’ items by special kind of packaging along a supply chain, and strategic planning to ensurethe safety and integrity of items that are shipped. The items of CC are transported in many ways,such as refrigerated vehicles and railcars, cargo ships, reefers, and air freight. For many years, the‘Cold’ element of the system, that is, refrigerators, powered by gas or kerosene was consideredthe most appropriate option in areas without reliable energy sources like electricity. Nevertheless,numerous problems with these tools have made it both difficult and costly to maintaintemperatures within the safe range. In the 1980s, solar refrigerators powered by batteries wereintroduced as a solution to those problems. But the batteries they relied on required regularmaintenance, had a lifespan of only three to five years, and replacements of quality were costly and sometimes hard to get. A new solution has emerged in recent years, the design of a solar refrigerator, removing the need for costly and unreliable energy storage batteries used to powersolar refrigerators. This technology uses solar energy to freeze cold storage material directly andthen uses the energy stored in the frozen bank to keep the refrigerator cool at night and on cloudydays. The new ICT technology offers greater visibility and control over the entire CC networkoperated by the solar. Using data in real-time, ICT component Technology called the Internet ofThings (IoT) will allow quicker, more appropriate reactions as well as much more informeddecisions. This literature analysis is created by revising a good number of papers published inpeer-reviewed journals and online sources making use of secondary data obtained. The goal of thestudy is to explain the use of applications of ICT in the CC System and find research gaps.