Application of ultrasound in vinification processes

Abstract

The present invention refers to a method and an equipment for the extraction of compounds from grapes by means of ultrasound in vinification processes generated through a sonoplate coupled to the walls of the pipe/duct through which the crushed grapes flow. During this extraction the transfer of phenols responsible for color from the solid portion (skin) to the liquid portion after crushing the grapes takes place as a consequence of the phenomenon known as cavitation, which allows the breaking of the skin cells and makes the phenolic compounds responsible for the color available to the liquid medium to be integrated in said liquid medium enhancing wine color.

Claims

1. An ultrasound equipment for the extraction of compounds from crushed grapes in vinification processes comprising: a storage adapted to hold crushed grapes; an ultrasound equipment comprising at least one ultrasound module, the ultrasound module comprising: a conduit adapted to carry out a continuous flow of crushed grapes, the conduit comprising a hexagonal pipe with narrowed ends; at least one sonoplate coupled to one or more external surfaces of the conduit, the at least one sonoplate adapted to transmit ultrasound energy through one or more walls of the conduit to the crushed grapes in the conduit, without contact between the crushed grapes and the at least one sonoplate, the at least one sonoplate further adapted to produce first power between 100 and 5000 W; a closed circuit between the storage and the ultrasound equipment, the closed circuit adapted to carry crushed grapes between the storage and the ultrasound equipment; a pump adapted to cause a continuous flow of crushed grapes through the conduit with or without recirculation; and a generator adapted to provide second power to the at least one sonoplate; wherein: the at least one ultrasound module develops a power density between 0.15 W/cm.sup.3 and 200 W/cm.sup.3 and a total power comprised between 2 kW 10 kW; the at least one sonoplate operates in a frequency ranging between 15 and 35 kHz; and the generator is a variable power generator adapted to reduce the second power provided to the at least one sonoplate in response to an increase in a temperature.

2. The ultrasound equipment according to claim 1, wherein the length of each of the at least one ultrasound module is between 0.8 meters and 10 meters.

3. The ultrasound equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a control box configured to operate both in manual and automatic mode.

4. The ultrasound equipment according to claim 3, wherein the control box is selected from the group consisting of a control panel and a PLC computer.

5. The ultrasound equipment according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sonoplate is of a piezoceramic type or a magnetostrictive type.

6. The ultrasound equipment according to claim 1, wherein the crushed grapes continuously flow through the conduit at a working flow rate between 1,000 and 50,000 l/h.

7. The ultrasound equipment according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasound energy comprises ultrasonic waves having an amplitude between 1 and 100 μm.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) To complement the description being carried out and with the object of helping to a perfect understanding of the present invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, which by way of illustration and without limitation, represent the following:

(2) FIG. 1: Block diagram of a vinification process according to the invention

(3) FIG. 2: General scheme of an ultrasound equipment according to the invention

(4) FIG. 3: Sonoplate used in the method and equipment according to the invention.

(5) FIG. 4: Ultrasound module according to the invention.

(6) FIG. 5: Section of an ultrasound module according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(7) By way of example of embodiment, and by way of illustration and without limitation, a method, a module and an equipment for the extraction of compounds from grapes by means of ultrasound in vinification processes are described below.

(8) As seen in FIG. 1 a vinification process starts with the reception of the grapes and subsequent crushing thereof; the destemming can be performed simultaneously with the crushing.

(9) The crushed grapes pass to a tank or storage for the product under treatment. This tank allows in addition to said storage, the operation in recirculation of the paste. The paste passes from the tank to the treatment for color extraction by means of ultrasound (cavitation).

(10) Once the color extraction is finished, the paste treated with ultrasound is subjected to pressing for the separation between liquid and solid phases, where the liquid phase (must) is taken to fermentation and the solid phase (pomace) is obtained as a residue which can be used to obtain related products.

(11) FIG. 2 depicts a general scheme of ultrasound equipment according to the invention that begins by pumping the product under treatment from the tank or storage. Then, and optionally, the paste can pass through a shredder or go directly to the area of treatment with ultrasound, the flow being controlled by a flow meter and, also optionally, cooling the paste if necessary.

(12) The different parts of the ultrasound equipment can be controlled by a PLC type control process or similar.

(13) In an ultrasound module according to the invention, carried out by way of example, the plate type transducers or sonoplates 1 are of piezoceramic type. These are shown in FIG. 3. The sonoplates are connected to each other and to the generator, through terminals 2.

(14) The ceramics comprising the piezoceramic type transducer have the piezoelectric effect when its surfaces are deformed by applying electric current to it, producing the acoustic wave. However, magnetostrictive type transducers are characterized by being composed of ferromagnetic materials; if the magnetization of a material of this type is varied the corresponding mechanical deformation develops, and thereby the acoustic wave is produced. The composition of both types of transducers also varies, the most commonly used material being PZT (lead zirconate titanate), although it is not the only one, while the magnetostrictive transducers are composed mainly of Terfenol-D (Ter=Terbium, Fe=Iron, NOL=Naval Ordenance Laboratory, D=Dysprosium).

(15) These are positioned around a conduit formed by a hexagonal stainless steel pipe with a thickness of 1-8 mm comprising a narrowing at its ends.

(16) The plate type transducers are welded to the hexagonal stainless steel pipe, but they are not in direct contact with the raw material to be treated.

(17) Each ultrasound module 3 consists of at least one sonoplate 1, at least one generator responsible for receiving the electrical energy and transmitting it to the sonoplate where it is transformed into vibrating mechanical energy, which is transmitted to the crushed grapes, an hexagonal pipe narrowed at its ends, through which the crushed grapes (paste) moves and in which the sonoplates and a structure surrounding the pipe are coupled, acting as a protective and soundproof.

(18) As seen in FIG. 5, in this example of embodiment, the number of sonoplates 1 per module 3 is four on each side of the polygon, that is, twenty four sonoplates 1 per module 3.