Technological and Productive Optimation of Grape Cryo-Maceration Plant

This research program has been aimed to the technological and productive optimization of grapes cryo -maceration plant. The procedure consists in the injection of the liquid CO2 in the mashed grapes, during the potting phase, in the outlet section of the grape mashed pump. The thermal exchange it is performed in the whole grape mass, without additional mechanical treatments. Besides the oxygen dissolved in the must during the mashing process, it is sent away by the CO2 flow and therefore the mashed grape is sent to the tank with inactive environmental. The cooling of 1°C of 120 Kg of mashed grape need 0.8 Kg of CO2. Insofar the total consumption of CO2 depends on the final temperatures of the considered plant. With this study, it has been possible to obtain helpful indications to utilize for reducing at the minimum the CO2 consumption, with the same quality of the final product. By mean experimental tests performed on the grapes cryo-maceration plant the obtained data results have been examined and compared, considering different final temperatures of 12, 8, 6, 4 °C. The temperature and the pressures distribution on the considered plant have been evaluated, during the operative phase, to characterize the thermodynamic and structural load conditions in which the considered process happens. All this can be used in the feasibility study for using material innovative for some component of the considered plant These results have also been used to validate the numerical model of the considered process. All of this can also be used to determine, for the considered grape's type, the minimum temperature value, below which qualitative improvements of the final product are negligible. In such way, it is possible to obtain the optimization of the energy and CO2 consumption reducing the costs and the polluting factors.