oa A New Palladium-Based Ethylene Scavenger to Control Ethylene-Induced Ripening of Climacteric Fruit

A novel palladium-promoted zeolite material with a significant ethylene adsorption capacity at room temperature is described. It was characterised by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to show palladium particles dispersed over the support. Initial measurements of the ethylene adsorption capacity were conducted with a synthetic gas stream at a higher ethylene concentration than would normally be encountered in fruit/vegetable storage, in order to obtain an accelerated testing protocol. Further laboratory-based trials on fruit samples show that the palladium-promoted zeolite material can be effective as an ethylene scavenger to prolong the shelf-life of fresh fruits.