MIIX Virtua

Thailand boasts a rich variety of fruits cultivated within its agricultural sector, each region offering diverse selections, fostering intense competition in both domestic and international trade. Despite the high demand and value of fruits like mangoes, bananas, and papayas, extending their marketability poses challenges due to their susceptibility to rapid ripening. To address this issue, the researchers proposed the development of cardboard packaging derived from waste materials to retard banana ripening. Experimental results revealed that when potassium permanganate solution interacts with ethylene, it effectively delays fruit ripening, forming manganese precipitate (IV) oxide. External changes during ripening include chlorophyll decomposition, while internal changes involve starch converting to sugar. The study found that a highly concentrated potassium permanganate solution (0.8% mass/volume) produced significant manganese(IV) oxide precipitate, extending banana shelf life by 3-4 days beyond normal. Notably, the 0.8% concentration exhibited the best ripening delay with the lowest sugar content in bananas, followed by concentrations of 0.6% and 0.3%, which demonstrated lesser ripening delay effects.