Polyphenols and tannins recovery plants are industrial packed‑column systems designed to treat grape must and grape juice and selectively capture the polyphenolic fraction. The technology delivers a partially or fully decolorized outlet product with properties preserved except for colour and enables recovery of polyphenols/tannins as a valorisable stream.
Polyphenols and tannins recovery and production plants
Adsorbent resin plants for polyphenols and tannins recovery and production from grape must and grape juice
Process overview
The resin plant processes must and juice, where potassium and tartaric acid can form precipitates that impact product quality. This technology assists in removing unwanted coloration while maintaining other essential characteristics, thus ensuring marketability and consistency.
Engineering and automation
The plant operates in continuous service mode, cycling through phases of resin application and regeneration. A PLC-controlled system allows precise adjustment of parameters for each batch, promoting both efficiency and reliability.
Key advantages
Technical configuration
Grape must flows through one or more columns packed with food-grade adsorbent resin, selectively retaining polyphenolic compounds. The design allows for optimal flow rates and sufficient contact time, ensuring effective removal of undesirable fractions while maximizing resin life and performance.
The setup is mounted on a sturdy frame, using high-quality components to ensure reliability in operation. Automated valves facilitate precise flow control, enhancing both operational safety and product purity.
Sizing inputs
- Grape must/juice type and their turbidity levels.
- Initial polyphenols/tannins content and target specifications.
- Expected flow rates and operational volumes.
- Desired recovery and regeneration processes.
- Upstream filtration requirements and product constraints.
Determining these factors is crucial as they influence system design and operation efficiency for optimal recovery and product quality.
FAQ
Polyphenols are a broad family contributing to colour, aroma and taste; tannins are a class of polyphenols with a strong impact on structure and astringency, mainly found in grape seeds.
It treats must or grape juice to manage the polyphenolic fraction and recover polyphenols/tannins as a dedicated stream, enabling controlled decolorization when required.
To remove solids and colloids that would quickly compromise resin performance through fouling and plugging, improving uptime and repeatability.
Single-column systems suit compact lines and moderate targets; three columns in series increase capacity and stability, especially with variable matrices and higher throughput.
It is an additional column dedicated to colour management and recovery, helping obtain a more concentrated/cleaner colour stream for valorization.
Hydroalcoholic regeneration desorbs colour into an alcohol-water stream (often compatible with solvent recovery). Caustic regeneration desorbs colour under alkaline conditions. Choice depends on purity, safety and effluent constraints.
The system is designed to mainly affect the colour-related fraction, aiming to preserve other product characteristics; verification is done through product trials and analytics.
Yes. PLC-controlled recipes manage service, washing, regeneration and recovery sequences, supporting traceability and standardization.