More sun hours, rising temperature and an higher percentage of rejected import containers. Every year EWS Group sees the rising percentage of containers with an excessively high gas value when the summer period begins. What is the exact reason behind the rising temperature vs. rejected containers? Will there be more gas added to containers? And what exactly does heat do?
Evaporation
process
The answer to the
question – “will there be more gas added to containers during this
period?” – is no. About 90% of the rejected containers contain gases that
arise from the evaporation process from the goods inside. After production, the
goods are quickly placed in the container where the evaporation process
continues. When the containers are in a cold environment and / or in an
environment where there is less of sunlight, the temperature in the container
would be lower. In the other way around, the container gets much warmer inside.
Think about getting into a car that has been in the sun for several hours.
The
result of more sun hours
What is the impact of heat in containers? When the temperature in containers
will rise, the goods will evaporate more, which logically results in a higher
gas value in containers. Below you’ll see a selection from our database to show
the impact of more sun hours and warm temperatures.

Using
this information to your advantage
So, now you know the gas value will increase when the temperature rises. Due to
this reason, EWS uses Inland Terminals and the Drive-Through locations to
perform gas measurements. Throughout the Netherlands EWS has collaborations
with Inland Terminals and by having the gas measurements take place at one of
these locations, the container can be directly connected to a ventilation
system if the gas value is too high. This will prevent a unnecessary trip for
your carriers because the container still appears to contain too high gas value
on arrival. And don’t forget, you don’t have to cancel the unloading team as well.
Ventilation
without the desired result
However,
ventilation can sometimes take longer than expected during this period. After
disconnecting the ventilation, goods will evaporate in such a way that the gas
value in the container increases again. There is also a solution for this case:
EWS offers the possibility to unload the container at the customer’s location
or an EWS location where we will use all necessary personal protective
equipment. The container is a closed space with less air circulation. When the goods
are unloaded safely with a mixture of “fresh” air, a high gas value
is no longer measured. This means that the goods can still be delivered to the
customer on time and the container can be returned to the terminal on time.
If you have any questions or problems regarding your measurements and ventilation, do not hesitate to contact us. We are pleased to assist you in your logistics process to offer the best solutions.
EWS Group – Our solutions, your sustainability