Method for treating liquid beverages using electromagnetic fields

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for treating liquid beverages using an electromagnetic field containing both AC and DC components to achieve antioxidant effects, promote fat / lipid metabolism, reduce the toxic effects of alcohol, and improve the taste and flavor of the beverage. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for applying a pulsating DC-biased, time-varying-frequency electromagnetic wave to alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. This method can simultaneously produce different treatment effects on the beverages.

Description

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This non-provisional application claims priority to provisional application No. 63 / 116,976, filed on November 23, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention broadly relates to a system and method for treating non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages to simultaneously produce multiple beneficial treatment effects using a pulsed electromagnetic field comprising both AC and DC components. The beneficial treatment effects include antioxidant effects, enhanced fat / lipid metabolism, reduced alcohol toxicity, and improved taste and flavor. Background Art

[0004] With the increasing health awareness and affluence of most people, the demand for beverage quality is no longer limited to taste. The general public consumers want beverages that are good for health or at least harmless to their bodies without compromising the taste and quality of beverage enjoyment, especially for alcoholic beverages.

[0005] On average, adults consume more liquids than solid food each day. Typically, each person consumes about 2 liters of liquid per day, far more than the amount of solid food consumed. Liquids primarily come from beverages, typically including water, tea, coffee, juice, wine, and distilled spirits.

[0006] For the sake of good health, nutritionists and medical practitioners always encourage consumers to consume more foods or beverages containing antioxidants to neutralize the negative effects of free radicals produced during cellular metabolism and from external sources of pollution. The positive effects of antioxidants on health have been well documented and recognized in nutrition and medical practice. Therefore, many beverage manufacturers add artificial vitamin C or other antioxidant plant ingredients to beverages to claim antioxidant effects. However, despite the addition of vitamins and antioxidant ingredients, many beverages we consume daily still show oxidizing properties when tested using an oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) meter with an Ag / AgCl reference cell. There has been a long-standing demand for a method or device that can convert beverages from oxidizing to antioxidant properties, thereby providing health benefits to consumers without changing their beverage consumption habits.

[0007] Reducing body fat is another important parameter for maintaining good health. Health-conscious consumers appreciate foods or beverages that can help reduce body fat without the need for medication. Most office workers today work at desks and lead sedentary lifestyles that involve little physical exertion. Consequently, obesity is a growing problem in modern society and difficult to change. More accurately, the real health issue is reducing body fat / lipids, not just weight gain. Unless people change their lifestyles and engage in regular exercise to reduce their body fat, health problems caused by excess body fat will persist and continue to impose increasing health costs on society. To date, there are no drug-free beverages on the market that can help burn body fat / lipids through consumption. It would be desirable if a beverage could be treated to promote increased body fat metabolism during a sedentary state.

[0008] Beverages having the desirable health properties of antioxidant and lipid-lowering effects as described above are advantageously tasty, if not better than, untreated beverages. If the taste and aroma of treated beverages are reduced or impaired, they will dissuade or fail to attract consumers, and thus the purpose of improving consumer health will be defeated.

[0009] It is also advantageous that the same processing method and apparatus can be applied to both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, particularly distilled spirits having a high alcohol content.

[0010] Alcoholic beverages are generally considered unhealthy, although some studies have reported that moderate wine consumption may have positive health effects in some individuals. This is likely due to the antioxidant content in wine, rather than any positive health effects of alcohol. Nevertheless, while wine does contain antioxidants, the ORP values of all wines still show oxidative activity, albeit at a lower level than that of high-alcohol distilled spirits. It would be beneficial if wine and high-alcohol distilled spirits could be manipulated from oxidative to antioxidant properties.

[0011] Alcohol is physiologically known to cause liver damage. When alcohol enters the bloodstream through the intestinal wall, the first organ it reaches is the liver. Liver enzymes break down the alcohol into acetaldehyde, which is ultimately converted into non-toxic acetic acid. In this process, although the role of liver enzymes is to reduce the activation energy of the reaction that converts alcohol to acid, they still consume free energy to convert the alcohol into non-toxic acetic acid. In the absence of sufficient energy in the body, alcohol is not completely converted into acetic acid, but rather incompletely, resulting in excessive amounts of mildly toxic acetaldehyde. The accumulation of acetaldehyde may damage the liver, leading to alcoholic fatty liver disease or other liver health problems. If additional energy (such as in the form of additional bond vibration energy) can be stored in the beverage after processing, the treated beverage can promote and facilitate the conversion of alcohol to acid and reduce the accumulation of aldehydes, thereby causing less damage to the liver.

[0012] In addition to the need to improve the health effects of beverages, in order to attract alcoholic beverage consumers to healthier alcoholic beverages to minimize the negative health effects of alcohol, processed alcoholic beverages preferably have a better taste and flavor than unprocessed beverages, or at least no degradation in taste and flavor. This will attract and encourage people to drink healthier beverages that also have antioxidant and fat metabolism-promoting functions and are less harmful to the liver.

[0013] When it comes to alcoholic beverages, better quality often means reducing the astringency of wine and the throat burn of high-alcohol distilled spirits. Currently, this reduction is typically achieved through aging wine in oak barrels for several years or even decades. Under the controlled conditions of oak barrel aging, complex polymerization reactions occur between tannin monomers, wine proteins, alcohol, and polyphenol molecules, reducing astringency and throat burn. However, this polymerization process naturally takes many years, and if artificial processing could shorten this process to minutes or even seconds, it would be revolutionary for the wine industry.

[0014] Similarly, older distilled spirits (such as whiskey aged in oak barrels) are smoother or have less throat burning than newer whiskeys. Consumers greatly appreciate this smoothness and value it higher. A 25-year-old whiskey may be worth tens or hundreds of times more than a whiskey that is 12 years old or younger. However, producing this smooth effect typically requires decades or more of storage in oak barrels. The same applies to other types of distilled spirits. However, once the distilled spirit is removed from the barrel and bottled, the taste, throat burning sensation, or smoothness of the bottled high-alcohol content distilled spirit cannot be changed or further improved. In other words, high-alcohol beverages (such as whiskey) cannot be further aged once they are removed from the oak barrel. This is a recognized fact in the distillation industry. Therefore, it is envisioned that bottled whiskey or high-alcohol content distilled spirits can be allowed to further reduce the throat burning sensation to simulate the aging effect.

[0015] For low-alcohol beverages (such as wine or some Asian liquors), a throat burning sensation is usually not a problem. However, the astringency of new wine can create an undesirable harsh taste when drinking. Although some bottled new wines can be further aged in corked bottles, it takes several years for this astringency to reduce.

[0016] Astringency is also a typical problem for beverages made from plant leaves or fruits, such as tea, coffee, or herbal teas. To suppress this astringency, other flavors, such as sweeteners or acidifiers, are often added to non-alcoholic beverages to suppress the astringency. However, adding sugar or chemicals to beverages is unhealthy. It would be desirable to reduce the astringency of beverages while maintaining the same mouthfeel and flavor without the need for unhealthy inhibitors.

[0017] Many efforts have been made to address the above-mentioned needs and expectations for improving the quality of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. However, they can only achieve only one of the desirable properties, rather than all of them at once. In addition, they all require a long time to produce only one of the effects.

[0018] The ultrasonic treatment disclosed in US Pat. No. 7,220,439 B2 utilizes ultrasonic mechanical waves to accelerate the decomposition or increase the permeability of the cell walls of oak, grapes, or other ingredients, allowing the ingredients to bind more quickly. However, it has no effect on the antioxidant properties of beverages or on changing the ORP of beverages from oxidative to antioxidant properties. This treatment is primarily used to quickly extract ingredients from grapes, malt, oak, or beverages during the production of wine or whiskey, rather than after bottling. While the flavor may be improved due to better extraction, reducing the burning sensation or astringency is not the primary purpose of the treatment.

[0019] The pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment disclosed in CN 1256421C applies a high voltage in the kV range to increase the permeability of the cell walls of oak, grains, grapes, and other ingredients, thereby more quickly extracting components from beverage ingredients. The effect is similar to ultrasonic treatment, and the two methods are sometimes used in combination. The applied electric field can be a fixed-frequency pulsating method to improve extraction efficiency. However, it also lacks the function or ability to change the ORP of a beverage from oxidative to antioxidant.

[0020] The electromagnetic coil field treatment disclosed in CN 2305406 Y utilizes a high-frequency electromagnetic signal to generate a magnetic field transmitter via a transmitting column. In order for the transmitting column to transmit a signal, the frequency must be megahertz or higher. The circuit described in the patent does not generate a time-varying frequency signal. In this prior art, the beverage is subjected to a weak external AC fixed-frequency field treatment. Using this arrangement and according to the patent description, it can improve the taste of the beverage to a certain extent, but it takes several hours for the effect to become noticeable. This method also cannot convert the beverage from oxidizing to antioxidant properties. The patent also does not mention the reduction of burning sensation and astringency.

[0021] There are other technologies that teach the use of time-varying electromagnetic waves instead of the fixed frequency waves mentioned above, but these technologies still use induction coils (e.g., U.S. Patent Application No. US2017 / 02552439A1). They also cannot change the antioxidant properties or reduce the burning sensation in the throat, although they do improve the reduction of astringency to some extent.

[0022] Aeration, another existing method, utilizes air introduced through vortexing, stirring, or a venturi ejector. Air is entrained into the beverage based on the inverse relationship between flow pressure and flow velocity. This entrainment of air increases the rate of aroma release, resulting in a superior aroma olfactory experience compared to static beverages. The released aroma influences and confuses the taste bud sensory system, creating the illusion of improved taste. However, once aroma molecules are rapidly released during aeration, the aroma is significantly reduced shortly after aeration. During this process, the beverage's ORP may become more oxidative, and the burning sensation of high-alcohol beverages or the astringency of wine will not be reduced.

[0023] Direct current (DC) electrolysis is mainly and exclusively used to produce alkaline water. Alkaline water is produced on the cathode side of the separation membrane used for DC electrolysis of water. - concentration, will produce a high pH value. This causes the OH -The ions increase and shift the water's ORP toward antioxidant properties, however, this is accompanied by an alkaline pH. Alkaline water is undesirable for beverage flavor. Similarly, existing patent applications teach using very low DC voltages of less than 3 volts and milliamperes to generate oxidative free radicals on the anode side to produce flavor changes solely for wine. These applications make no mention of effects on high-alcohol distilled spirits or the ability to reduce astringency, burning sensation, or fat metabolism.

[0024] Direct addition of chemicals (such as bicarbonate) can produce a negative ORP shift, but it changes the pH of the beverage and also alters the flavor. It is not effective in reducing the burning sensation of high-alcohol beverages or reducing the astringency of wine. In general, chemical addition alters the chemistry and flavor of a beverage, which is undesirable.

[0025] The present invention provides a beverage processing system and method, which can produce desired beneficial effects on liquid beverages at one time regardless of the type of beverage, including but not limited to anti-oxidation, promoting fat burning metabolism, reducing the toxic effects of alcohol, and improving drinking taste and flavor. Summary of the Invention

[0026] The present invention has been developed to meet the above needs, and therefore the main object of the present invention is to provide a beverage processing system and method for providing multiple processing effects to beverages simultaneously in a single processing without compromising the taste and quality of the beverage (especially alcoholic beverage) enjoyed.

[0027] Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for providing multiple treatment effects to beverages simultaneously, which is more economical and convenient than the processes and systems in the prior art.

[0028] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for simultaneously providing multiple treatment effects to a beverage, which effects can be achieved at once.

[0029] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are met by providing a system for treating a liquid beverage using an electromagnetic field including alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) components, the system comprising:

[0030] an apparatus for generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave comprising a biased DC component,

[0031] The power supply used to power this equipment,

[0032] a processing chamber to house the processed liquid beverage,

[0033] one or more capacitive transmitter pairs arranged in a predetermined pattern and placed in direct contact with the processed liquid beverage, wherein every two adjacent capacitive transmitters are spaced apart by a predefined distance and are electrically coupled to the first and second output terminals of the device, respectively,

[0034] wherein the apparatus is configured to apply a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsed electromagnetic wave to the process liquid beverage to generate a pulsed capacitive field having a field strength between the capacitive transmitters, and

[0035] A time-varying frequency and pulsating AC wave current including a biased DC component is provided in the treated liquid beverage to produce a negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) shift in the treated liquid beverage, and the pH of the treated liquid beverage is kept substantially constant under the combined action of the field strength of the pulsating capacitive field and the biased DC component.

[0036] According to the present invention, a time-varying frequency and pulsating AC wave current and a DC component of the generated field can be provided to energize the treated beverage so as to induce one or more treatment effects in the treated liquid beverage. The treatment effects include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0037] 1) Reduce the burning sensation in the throat when handling liquid beverages,

[0038] 2) Reduce the astringency of processed liquid beverages,

[0039] 3) Increase body fat / lipid burning metabolism by consuming processed liquid beverages,

[0040] 4) reduce the harmful toxin effects of processing liquid beverages in the presence of alcoholic ingredients, and

[0041] 5) Promote the aging effect of processed liquid beverages in the presence of alcoholic ingredients.

[0042] In some cases, multiple emitter pairs can be included and positioned in a predetermined pattern within the treatment chamber and in direct contact with the treated liquid beverage, or multiple emitter pairs can be mounted in series so that the emitters are in direct contact with the treated liquid beverage. The emitters can be provided in the form of plates or rods, electrically coupled in parallel to the first and second outputs of the device generator, respectively. Preferably, the emitters extend substantially the entire length of the treatment chamber.

[0043] In some cases, multiple emitter pairs can be provided as intermediate discharge emitters, arranged in parallel rows. Each emitter can have a portion of its emitter surface covered with a conductive coating, with the coated emitter surfaces oriented in one direction and arranged between uncoated emitter surfaces. The benefits of intermediate discharge emitters are reduced power consumption and increased efficiency.

[0044] In one embodiment of the invention, two adjacent capacitive transmitters may be spaced apart by a short distance, which allows a capacitive effect to be generated between the transmitters. The distance may be less than 10 mm, preferably less than 6 mm.

[0045] In one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for generating a DC-biased time-varying-frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave may include an AC wave generator for generating an AC electromagnetic wave having a time-varying frequency at a desired sweep time, and a DC bias unit electrically coupled in series with the AC wave generator. The DC bias unit may be configured to generate a DC output that is transmitted to the AC wave generator for generating a DC-biased time-varying-frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a biased DC component.

[0046] In another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave may include an AC wave generator for generating an AC electromagnetic wave having a time-varying frequency at a desired scanning time, which is programmed to create an unbalanced time-varying frequency waveform, thereby generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a net DC component.

[0047] Advantageously, the system of the present invention may further comprise an ORP meter for real-time monitoring and measurement of the ORP of the processed liquid beverage, and a cooler for cooling the processed liquid beverage and / or a stirrer for homogenizing the processed liquid beverage.

[0048] In order to determine the energy supply level of the processed liquid beverage, the system according to the present invention may also include an FTIR spectrometer to scan multiple consecutive beverage samples taken from the processed liquid beverage to obtain multiple FTIR spectra, which are plotted and analyzed to obtain the maximum vertical change in peak height of the same absorbance peak to determine the energy supply level, preferably the non-thermal energy supply level of the processed liquid beverage.

[0049] Preferably, the device for generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave may be configured to generate a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave comprising a biased DC component, the electromagnetic wave having one or more of the following:

[0050] A waveform selected from square, sine, rectangular or triangle waves,

[0051] a frequency between approximately 100 Hz and 1,000,000 Hz, preferably between 500 and 10,000 Hz,

[0052] • The scanning frequency is between 1 Hz and 1000 Hz, preferably between 10 Hz and 100 Hz, and • The maximum peak voltage of the biased DC component is less than half the maximum AC peak voltage.

[0053] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for treating a liquid beverage using an electromagnetic field comprising alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) components, comprising the steps of:

[0054] generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a biased DC component, and

[0055] applying a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsed electromagnetic wave to the processed liquid beverage to provide a time-varying frequency and pulsed AC wave current including a biased DC component,

[0056] A time-varying frequency and pulsating AC wave current including a biased DC component is transmitted to one or more capacitive transmitter pairs arranged in a predetermined pattern and placed in direct contact with a liquid beverage to generate a pulsating capacitive field with a field strength between the capacitive transmitters, thereby producing a negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) shift in the treated liquid beverage, the pH of which is maintained substantially constant under the combined action of the field strength of the pulsating capacitive field and the biased DC component.

[0057] According to the present invention, the method may further comprise the step of measuring the conductivity of the liquid beverage to select an emitter suitable for the processing of the liquid beverage, and / or the step of determining the energy level (preferably the non-thermal energy level) for processing the liquid beverage as a feedback control of the beverage processing.

[0058] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the determining step includes:

[0059] Taking multiple sequential samples from the processed liquid beverage,

[0060] obtaining a plurality of FTIR spectra each representing a plurality of successive samples,

[0061] Plotting and analyzing multiple FTIR spectra for the same absorbance peak (e.g., OH bond absorbance peak) to collect peak height information for the same absorbance peak, and

[0062] Determine the maximum vertical change in peak height based on the lowest and highest peak heights of the same absorbance peak in multiple FTIR spectra.

[0063] The maximum vertical change in peak height reflects the energy level of processing liquid beverages.

[0064] In some cases, the methods of the present invention further comprise the step of monitoring and measuring the ORP of the processed liquid beverage in real time as a feedback control of the beverage processing.

[0065] Compared to the processes and systems available in the prior art, which are generally designed to solve a specific problem and are insufficient to solve multiple related problems, the system and method of the present invention are more flexible and can solve multiple problems to simultaneously achieve the desired beverage treatment effect, which significantly reduces the size of the system and the cost of treatment. According to the present invention, the use of a DC bias time-varying wave to generate a pulsating capacitive field is a unique way to produce an antioxidant effect (i.e., ORP shifts in the negative direction) in a liquid beverage without any significant pH change because the beverage is simultaneously affected by the capacitive field and the combined effects of the pulsating AC and DC components. After treating the beverage in this manner, a variety of treatment effects can be effectively achieved. Importantly, the beverage has REDOX (reduction / oxidation) energy that can be used for enzymatic REDOX reactions, and in particular, REDOX energy can accelerate the conversion of alcohol in alcoholic beverages to acetic acid.

[0066] The purpose, features, advantages and technical effects of the present invention will be further described in the following description of the concept and structure of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention in an exemplary manner and do not limit the present invention in any way. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout the various views.

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary arrangement of a beverage processing system constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the emitters are in a "closely spaced emitter pair" configuration.

[0069] Figure 2 is an alternative arrangement of emitters constructed in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, wherein the emitters are in a "mid-discharge emitter array" configuration.

[0070] Figure 3 is another alternative arrangement of transmitters constructed in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, wherein the transmitters are in a "largely spaced transmitter pair" configuration.

[0071] Figure 4A is an exemplary arrangement of an apparatus for generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a biased DC component according to the present invention.

[0072] Figure 4B is Figure 4A The waveform generated by the arrangement shown.

[0073] Figure 5A is another exemplary arrangement of an apparatus for generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a biased DC component according to the present invention.

[0074] Figure 5B and 5C They are respectively Figure 5A The arrangement shown generates both pure and DC biased waveforms.

[0075] Figure 6A and 6B Depicted are the vertical variations in the FTIR OH bond peak intensity for two different bulk water samples.

[0076] Figure 7A and 7B Depicted are the vertical changes in FTIR OH bond peak intensity between treated and untreated whisky samples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] While the present invention has been illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment, the system for treating a liquid beverage using an electromagnetic field including both AC and DC components may be produced in many different configurations, sizes, forms, and materials.

[0078] The term "liquid beverage" as used herein may refer to both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages in liquid form.

[0079] As used herein, the term "capacitive transmitter" may refer to an element capable of energizing a liquid beverage via a pulsating capacitive field generated across a pair of capacitive transmitters using superimposed time-varying frequency electromagnetic waves.

[0080] The term "instant" or "immediate" as used herein refers to the time it takes for a significant treatment effect to occur at one time, typically between 0.5 and 5 minutes for a liter of beverage. This time varies greatly depending on the composition of the beverage, including alcohol, tannin content, and ingredients.

[0081] As used herein, the term "negative ORP shift" may refer to a shift in the ORP of a liquid beverage to a more negative ORP reading after treatment with the present invention. For example, a gradual shift from +300 mV to 0 mV to -200 mV is a negative shift in ORP.

[0082] The present invention is capable of producing a variety of desired treatment effects simultaneously and immediately at one time, regardless of the type of beverage, as will be discussed below.

[0083] Even if the beverage is a very high quality aged alcoholic beverage without the burning sensation and astringency, of course its ORP still requires oxidation and it will not promote fat burning metabolism. Alcoholic beverages treated with the present invention will further make high quality alcoholic beverages healthier.

[0084] The same system of the present invention can be applied to treat different types of beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including water) and achieve various treatment effects simultaneously and immediately. This will reduce the operating and manufacturing costs of beverage processing.

[0085] It has been recognized for many years that the throat burning sensation of bottled distilled spirits such as whiskey cannot be further modified. The present invention represents a breakthrough that can further improve the taste of bottled distilled spirits such as whiskey, brandy, Chinese Moutai rice wine, etc. and reduce the burning sensation.

[0086] A unique feature of the present invention is the use of ORP as a feedback control parameter to produce the desired beverage quality. By optimizing beverage quality using ORP feedback control parameters and being able to process bottled distilled spirits and wines, one can instantly create their own distilled spirits, wines, or cocktails at home or in a food and beverage (F&B) establishment, without waiting for years or decades of natural aging or using large oak barrels for controlled environmental storage. This creates an innovative business solution for bars, restaurants, or F&B establishments.

[0087] The present invention also enables beverages to maintain a significantly longer shelf life compared to untreated beverages. This includes maintaining good antioxidant properties, burn, astringency, and flavor after treatment. Shelf life is an important consideration for home, commercial, and industrial applications.

[0088] For wine treated with the present invention, if not completely consumed, the remaining wine (stored in a bottle with a cork without vacuum, but kept in a refrigerator) will retain its good flavor for more than two months. This makes it very convenient for light wine beverages. If the same method is applied to untreated wine, the remaining wine may become sour and "spoiled" in just a few days.

[0089] The system of the present invention is a small size unit suitable for home use, which does not occupy a large space, or can be scaled up for use in commercial F&B stores or large-scale industrial applications.

[0090] Figures 1 to 5C The following description, and accordingly, relates to methods and systems for treating liquid beverages to produce the various treatment effects described above. Figures 6A to 7B The following description, and accordingly, relates to methods of detecting and determining the extent of non-thermal energy provided for processing a liquid beverage as feedback control of the beverage processing.

[0091] Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 A system 100 constructed according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the system 100 is a closed-loop circuit and includes an apparatus 110 for generating a DC-biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave. The apparatus 110 includes an alternating current (AC) wave generator 112 and a direct current (DC) bias unit 114, which is a constant DC power supply for providing a DC component to the AC wave generator 112.

[0092] The system 100 also includes a treatment chamber 120 for containing a liquid beverage 125 to be treated for the purpose of producing the various treatment effects described above. The treatment chamber 120 can be open or closed. A plurality of capacitive emitter pairs are connected in parallel to the apparatus 110 and immersed in the liquid beverage 125 contained in the treatment chamber 120. The emitters can be installed in line along the piping system that circulates the liquid beverage 125 and are in direct contact with the liquid beverage 125. Figure 1 As shown, the capacitive transmitter 122 of the transmitter pair is electrically coupled to the first output 113 of the device 110, and the capacitive transmitter 121 of the transmitter pair is electrically coupled to the second output 115 of the device 110. The transmitters 121, 122 are closely spaced to create an interaction therebetween such that the RLC (resistance, inductance, and capacitance) component of the overall circuit is dominated by the capacitive effect to generate a capacitive field having a field strength across the transmitters 121, 122 for processing the liquid beverage 125. The capacitive effect is essential for the negative ORP shift and / or other processing effects.

[0093] The processing chamber 120 can be made of non-ferrous materials, preferably non-metallic materials. If a metal cavity is used, the inner surface of the cavity must be electrically insulated to prevent the metal material from absorbing electromagnetic fields.

[0094] The emitters 121, 122 and their arrangement in the liquid beverage 125 are important for achieving beneficial treatment effects. The key is to generate a very high time-varying electromagnetic field gradient without affecting safe use by the operator or consumer. To address this issue, the emitters 121, 122 are preferably placed at a very small spacing of a few millimeters (mm) within a safe operating voltage of less than 60V, which is referred to as a "close-pitch emitter pair" configuration. The smaller the spacing, the shorter the beverage treatment time. However, if longer beverage treatment times are allowed, the spacing between two adjacent emitters can be increased, but ensure that the capacitive effect still exists. In addition, the emitters 121, 122 will be in direct contact with the treated liquid beverage 125 and preferably extend over the entire length of the treatment chamber 120. The liquid beverage flows along the spacing between the emitter pairs so as to be treated by the pulsed capacitive field.

[0095] Figure 2Another emitter arrangement, referred to as an "intermediate discharge emitter array" configuration, is shown. As shown, multiple emitter pairs are arranged as intermediate discharge emitters 221, 222, arranged parallel to one another in a row within a processing chamber 220. Each intermediate discharge emitter 221, 222 has a portion of its emitter surface covered with a conductive coating, with the coated emitter surface 223 oriented in one direction and arranged between uncoated emitter surfaces 224. The coated emitter surface 223 can occupy only half of the total emitter surface or any suitable length. In the intermediate discharge emitter array configuration, the intermediate discharge emitters 221, 222 are not wired together. Due to the lower energy required for discharge, the wave preferentially discharges only on the coated emitter surface 223. This intermediate discharge emitter array configuration allows for a multiplier increase in discharge and wave re-entry into the emitters, unlike closely spaced emitter pair configurations where the wave current can only discharge once between emitter pairs. For intermediate discharge emitters 221, 222, the same amount of wave current from the same emitter pair will enter and re-enter the emitter surface more times depending on the number of intermediate discharge emitters 221, 222. Therefore, to produce the same treatment effect, the amount of energy input is greatly reduced in this configuration.

[0096] The number of intermediate discharge emitters 221, 222 may be any number as long as the size of the process chamber 220 allows and does not hinder installation.

[0097] Typically, adjacent two emitters in the closely spaced emitter pair configuration and the intermediate discharge emitter array configuration are spaced apart by a distance D of less than 10 mm, preferably less than 6 mm, so that they generate a capacitive field suitable for processing beverages with a conductivity of less than 500 μS / cm.

[0098] For beverages with higher conductivity, a so-called "large-spaced emitter pair" configuration is used, in which adjacent emitters are spaced a relatively large distance apart, and the emitters are preferably designed with a reduced emitter surface area. An example of such an alternative to the small-spaced emitter pair configuration is Figure 3 , which shows a pair of emitter probes 321, 322 separated by a large distance D1 and housed in a processing chamber 320. Distance D1 is greater than 10 mm, preferably not less than 12 mm. As the emitter surface area decreases and the emitter spacing increases, the current between the emitters decreases, and combined with an appropriately sized constant current transformer, it can process beverages with a conductivity of up to 6000 μs / cm.

[0099] According to the present invention, the capacitive transmitter is made of a low-consumption material, such as gold, platinum-plated titanium, niobium material or any combination thereof. Other coating materials, such as iridium oxide, ruthenium oxide, titanium oxide, are also suitable for use as transmitter materials when they are placed in the processing chamber. Boron-doped diamond can be used to treat beverages containing high chlorides, including but not limited to coconut water, mineral water, salt-added beverages, etc. Due to the DC ion current generated in the beverage by the DC component of the time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic field, these types of beverages will produce hypochlorite or chlorine gas if platinum-plated or conductive metal oxide coated electrodes are used. For doped diamond electrodes, the chlorine formation overvoltage at the surface of the diamond electrode is very high. This prevents the production of chlorine or hypochlorite when processing chlorine-containing beverages.

[0100] Semi-consumable materials such as graphite, graphene, ferrosilicon, etc. can also be used as materials for emitters, as long as the slowly dissolving material is acceptable to the user and does not pose health concerns.

[0101] Fast-consuming materials such as magnesium, zinc, or other metals may be used in the present invention if the dissolved magnesium or zinc ions are intended for a specific consumption purpose.

[0102] The shape of the emitters 121, 122, 221, 222, 321, 322 can be various geometric forms in two or three dimensions to fit the available space in the device 110, including but not limited to grid forms, plates, rods, bars, concentric cylinders, coaxial tubes, single or multiple layers or repeated paired layers.

[0103] The relative surface area between the emitters of an emitter pair is adjustable to produce different effects on different types of beverages. For beverages that require more oxidation, a smaller surface area ratio of the two emitters is preferred, and vice versa.

[0104] The size of the emitter can be varied depending on the beverage load and the target treatment requirements for ORP, burn, and astringency reduction.

[0105] The AC wave generator 112 is electrically coupled to the power source and is configured to generate an AC electromagnetic wave having a time-varying frequency at a desired scanning time. Figure 1 and 4A As shown, AC wave generator 112 is electrically coupled in series with DC bias unit 114. DC bias unit 114 is configured to generate a DC output having a predefined DC bias voltage. The DC output is transmitted to AC wave generator 112 for generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a biased DC component. Generally, the DC bias voltage is lower than the time-varying pulsating wave voltage and can be variable or fixed. Therefore, the DC bias voltage is adjustable to accommodate different on-site processing requirements.

[0106] Preferably, the generated time-varying frequency electromagnetic waves used in the present invention may have a frequency in the range of 100 Hz to 1,000,000 Hz, and preferably in the range of 500 Hz to 10,000 Hz; a scanning frequency in the range of approximately 1 to 1000 Hz, and preferably in the range of 10 Hz to 100 Hz; and have a current root mean square output in the range of 0.5 amps to 300 amps for applications ranging from household to large-scale industrial applications. Figure 4B Shown by Figure 4A The waveform generated by the device 110. It will be appreciated that the waveform may be square, triangular, rectangular, sinusoidal or even random, but square is preferred.

[0107] The DC bias unit 114 can be selected from a switch mode DC power supply, a rechargeable DC battery, or an AC-DC rectifier power supply. When a rechargeable DC battery is used as the DC bias unit 114, a very pure DC output can be generated, and is particularly suitable for some applications that require a very pure DC source.

[0108] Figures 5A to 5C A possible alternative to the device 110 is shown. The illustrated device 210 includes an AC wave generator 212 for generating an AC electromagnetic wave having a time-varying frequency at a desired sweep time. In this embodiment, the AC wave generator 212 is programmed to create an unbalanced time-varying frequency waveform, thereby generating a DC-biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a net DC component. Figure 5B shows the pure AC electromagnetic wave form, while Figure 5C The waveform generated by device 210 is shown to include a net DC component.

[0109] Another alternative embodiment of apparatus 110 may include an AC wave generator and a DC electrolysis device, wherein the AC wave generator drives one or more induction coils to generate AC electromagnetic waves with a time-varying frequency at the desired scanning time. In this embodiment, the induction coils can be placed inside or outside the processing chamber, but the chamber must be non-metallic to prevent shielding of the electromagnetic field within the processing chamber.

[0110] Now go to Figure 1, the system 100 also includes a beverage reservoir 140 for feeding the liquid beverage 125 to the processing chamber 120 and an ORP meter 130, which is arranged to monitor and measure the ORP of the liquid beverage 125 in real time as ORP feedback in order to obtain the best and optimal treatment. The ORP meter is of the type of Ag / AgCl reference cell. Once the negative ORP excursion of the liquid beverage slows down and approaches the most negative ORP, it indicates that the optimal treatment has been achieved and the treatment should be stopped. Obviously, the exact optimal ORP reading will be different for different types of beverages, and even between different batches of the same type of beverage. The optimal taste also varies from person to person. Therefore, the user can first determine the optimal ORP reading by tasting their preferred treatment result, and then use the ORP reading for their subsequent treatment.

[0111] ORP feedback can be manually controlled, as the ORP reading of the ORP meter 130 is visible to the user. Alternatively, the user can set a desired ORP end value, and the system 100 can automatically stop processing when the predetermined ORP value is reached. In addition to ORP feedback, processing can also be timer-controlled to simplify use when processing large quantities of the same beverage. To better implement ORP feedback or timed control of processing, a circulation pump 160 is provided to circulate the liquid beverage 125 between the beverage reservoir 140 and the processing chamber 120 in the system 100 to better mix and circulate the beverage in the processing chamber 120.

[0112] A stirrer (e.g., a magnetic stirrer, not shown) can be provided in the processing chamber 120 and / or the beverage reservoir 140 to facilitate homogenization of the processed beverage 125. The magnetic stirrer works by rotating a small magnetic bar in the beverage when it is placed inside and subjected to a rotating magnetic field generated by an external rotating polarity induction coil arrangement. Other methods known in the art can be used to generate a rotating magnetic field by alternately exciting multiple induction coils. For example, it can be a fixed DC or AC current excitation. The effect of using a rotating magnetic field helps to better mix the beverage, and the rotating magnetic field also helps to create water molecule clusters. This can produce a slight negative antioxidant shift in the ORP, and the stirring effect also improves the flavor release in the beverage. Therefore, a magnetic stirrer is useful if incorporated into the processing system of the present invention.

[0113] A feature of the present invention is the determination of the energizing level of the processed liquid beverage.The energizing level of the processed liquid beverage provides an indication of whether the beverage has been adequately processed to the required energy level and can therefore be used as a feedback control of the beverage processing. Figure 6A and 6BThe basic principle of using samples of bulk water A and bulk water B to determine the energy content of the water, preferably the non-thermal energy content, is schematically illustrated.

[0114] Determination of the non-thermal energy level of bulk water A involves taking five consecutive samples from bulk water A and subsequently scanning each of these five samples to obtain their respective FTIR spectra. All of these FTIR spectra are then plotted and analyzed for their OH bond absorbance peaks to gather information about the OH bond absorbance peak heights. The vertical change Δh between the lowest and highest peak heights of the OH bond absorbance peaks of the five FTIR spectra is determined, and this parameter Δh represents the OH bond vibrational energy activity / dynamic state of the water. The same procedure is applied to bulk water B, and Figure 6B The vertical changes Δh of the lowest and highest peak heights of the OH bond absorbance peak are depicted in FIG.

[0115] It is clear that bulk water B has a larger vertical variation Δh than bulk water A, indicating that the OH bond vibration energy of bulk water B is higher than that of bulk water A. The greater the fluctuation between the lowest and highest peak heights, the more active the dynamic changes in the OH bond attraction and the interactions between water molecules in different parts of the water.

[0116] Figure 7A and 7B Depicted are FTIR spectra of whiskey before and after treatment by the system 100 of the present invention, obtained by following the assay procedure described above for bulk water.

[0117] Specifically, three 1 ml pipette drop samples were collected from untreated whiskey without any treatment or external factors (such as temperature) changes and scanned by FTIR spectrometer. Each of the three samples of untreated whiskey showed a different OH bond absorbance peak, such as Figure 7A As shown in the left figure of FIG. After the whiskey was treated with the pulsating field and DC component of the system 100 of the present invention, three samples of 1 ml pipette drops taken from the treated whiskey were collected and scanned by the FTIR spectrometer. Each of the three samples of treated whiskey also showed a different OH bond absorbance peak, as shown in FIG. Figure 7B As shown in the left figure. Again, determine Figure 7A and 7B The vertical change Δh in . Obviously, Figure 7B The vertical change Δh ratio Figure 7A The vertical change Δh in is much larger, indicating that the whiskey is indeed being significantly energized by the system 100 of the present invention.

[0118] In addition to the OH bond, other bond peaks may appear similarly but not as distinct as the OH bond peak because their bond vibrational energy states may not be as dynamic as the OH bond vibrations. However, the same principles and methods of plotting and analysis can still be applied to determine the energetics of other bond types, such as C=O, C-H, and C=H.

[0119] The method for determining the energy content of a beverage by mapping and analyzing OH bond excitation using FTIR spectroscopy can be used externally as a standalone unit or integrated into the overall processing system 100 of the present invention for feedback-controlled measurement of non-thermal molecular bond energy excitation. Alternatively, multiple FTIR spectrometers can be used to scan multiple samples simultaneously, and they can also be modified to accommodate automated sampling for online analytical measurements.

[0120] Refer again Figure 1 A cooler 150 is installed in the system 100 to address heat generation during the process, particularly in high conductivity situations, where the temperature of the liquid beverage 125 may increase and overheating may occur if the process is left unattended. An increase in the temperature of the beverage (particularly for wine) is undesirable, and the cooler 150 is provided to cool the liquid beverage 125 after processing. The cooler 150 can be installed so that it cools the beverage stored in the reservoir 140 or the beverage flowing in the piping system. Due to the limited space available in a domestic appliance, a compact thermoelectric cooler can be selected to cool the processed beverage.

[0121] Figure 1 System 100 is shown in which a liquid beverage 125 is processed in a flowing manner. Specifically, a pump 160 and associated piping are installed to circulate the liquid beverage 125 contained in a processing chamber 120. The liquid beverage 125 can also be processed under static conditions using the system of the present invention. In the static case, no pump or associated piping is required, and the static liquid beverage 125 is contained in the processing chamber 120 for processing. An ORP meter 130 is mounted on the processing chamber 120, which may be jacketed with a cooler, or other cooling system suitable for cooling the process cooler, if desired.

[0122] Processing parameters related to beverage conductivity

[0123] The present invention is capable of processing a wide variety of beverages, ranging from very low-conductivity vodka (10 μS / cm), to whiskey and brandy (30-60 μS / cm), to water / tea / coffee (in the hundreds of μS / cm range), to wine (2000-4000 μS / cm), and to very high-conductivity coconut water (6000 μS / cm). Due to this large range of conductivity, and due to the close proximity between the emitter surface and the DC component in the time-varying capacitive field, the current variation between emitters can vary by up to 600 times if the same processing chamber and emitter configuration is used. According to the present invention, beverage conductivity can be manually classified by beverage type, which is particularly suitable for home use, or by manually measuring conductivity readings. It can also be automatically classified using a conductivity sensor.

[0124] Typically, beverages with a conductivity of less than 500 μS / cm can be used with Figure 1 and 2 The treatment chambers are grouped together in a configuration of closely spaced emitter pairs designed for low conductivity beverages as shown. For beverages with conductivity above 500 μS / cm, they can be grouped together in a configuration according to Figure 3 The widely spaced emitter pair configuration is processed in a processing chamber.

[0125] However, even with conductivity within the range of 5 to 500 μS / cm, the current drawn can still vary significantly between different beverage types. The present invention addresses this problem by using a constant-current power supply that automatically adjusts its output voltage to maintain a constant current supplied to the AC wave generator. This constant current supply prevents the wave generator from melting even when the beverage's conductivity fluctuates, ensuring consistent processing. Furthermore, it's possible to use a larger constant-voltage power supply, as long as it can withstand the maximum current generated during the highest conductivity treatment.

[0126] Suitable power supplies for use with the present invention are preferably within the following ranges to effectively cover the processing functions.

[0127] If the conductivity of various beverages is limited to a fixed narrow range, a constant voltage power supply of less than 60V can be used, and this fixed supply voltage and the resulting current load will not overload the power supply and over-process the beverage.

[0128] Preferably, a constant current power supply is used to control the current output not to exceed a preset limit depending on the variation in conductivity of the beverage.

[0129] • The power supply can be of the pulse switching rectifier type using a silicon full-wave or half-wave bridge rectifier or an inductor winding transformer rectifier, or a simple DC supply from a dry or wet cell battery.

[0130] The power supply can be air-cooled or oil-cooled.

[0131] The present invention can be configured with multiple processing chambers used in combination with the multiple emitter configuration discussed above, and this combination can be provided in a system of the present invention to share the same and single device 110 for generating the DC bias pulse wave. This is particularly advantageous when it is necessary to process many different types of beverages with widely varying conductivity.

[0132] ORP feedback control

[0133] As mentioned above, ORP readings are used to confirm optimal treatment results for beverages, such as wine and high-alcohol distilled spirits according to the present invention. Optimal treatment results mean:

[0134] The ORP value of the beverage is close to the strongest antioxidant.

[0135] The burning sensation is reduced to near-optimal levels.

[0136] The flavor and aroma of the beverage are well developed, providing a fuller taste and aroma.

[0137] Treatment of the beverage with the present invention induces increased polymerization of water, alcohol, aldehyde, acetic acid, and ester molecules, resulting in more electron-donating aggregates and clustered molecules. These aggregates and clustered molecules, with reduced unpolymerized alcohol molecules, are a major contributor to reduced throat burning and astringency. These polymerization processes, particularly the rearrangement of water molecule clusters, produce more electron-donating clustered aggregates, resulting in a more negative or antioxidant ORP reading for the beverage.

[0138] Typically, during the initial stages of processing an alcoholic beverage, the beverage's ORP can quickly shift to negative ORP readings that are resistant to oxidation. However, if processing continues, the DC component continues to generate OH. - and H + Ions also produce oxidation byproducts, including acetic acid and esters. During this phase, sufficiently reactive high-bond vibrational energy polyphenols, tannins, and alcohols polymerize with the acid, otherwise excess acid will occur. Excessive acid can affect the rate of negative ORP excursion and slow it down. After reaching the most negative ORP potential, the ORP will begin to reverse and shift toward a positive oxidation ORP. Excessive acid production during this phase can alter the flavor of alcoholic beverages, making them either too bland or too sour, exhibiting the typical characteristics and flavors of over-aged wine or beverages overexposed to oxygen.

[0139] Taking into account the aforementioned processing behavior, the ORP meter 130 is configured to monitor ORP changes in real time. Once the beverage's negative ORP excursion slows and approaches the most negative ORP potential, this indicates that the optimal treatment of the present invention has been achieved and the process should be stopped. Obviously, the exact optimal ORP reading will vary for different types of beverages, and even between different batches of the same type of beverage. Optimal taste also varies from person to person. Therefore, users can first establish their preferred processing result by tasting the beverage and then use this ORP reading for their subsequent beverage processing without having to taste the beverage again.

[0140] As described above, ORP feedback can be manually controlled, as the ORP reading is visible to the user. Alternatively, the user can set a desired final ORP value, and the system 100 of the present invention can automatically stop the treatment process when the optimal ORP value is reached. In addition to ORP feedback, the treatment process can also be timer-controlled to simplify use when treating large quantities of the same beverage. Thus, ORP feedback allows for optimal and precise treatment of the beverage.

[0141] Determination of molecular vibrational energy of beverages by non-thermal excitation

[0142] Energy is known to exist in many forms, but all fall under the framework of Gibbs free energy. Enthalpy (thermal energy) and entropy (non-thermal energy) are two components of the Gibbs free energy concept. Thermal energy is the most common form and can be detected and measured using a thermometer, but this is not the case with non-thermal entropic energy. Entropy is a type of non-thermal energy characterized by excitations of molecular bonds. Entropic energy includes bond vibrations and rotational kinetic energy, including chemical species / concentration gradient energy. In the case of water or aqueous beverages, the OH bond vibration energy is a critical excitation, however, this excitation cannot be detected through heat or temperature measurements. The presence of entropy affects many aspects of chemical reactions, especially in many biochemical processes / reactions.

[0143] Many research and technical works use Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to detect the bond vibrational energy states of water and other substances, but they do not mention how to properly apply it to methods for determining the dynamic bond vibrational states of static bulk liquids, or when the bulk liquid is subjected to external excitation, such as the entropic treatment of the present invention.

[0144] Although conventional FTIR spectrometers can detect OH bond absorbance peaks, conventional teachings and methods using a single scan of the FTIR spectrum cannot determine whether the OH bond vibrational energy of a liquid sample has been energized or has reached its maximum energy level.

[0145] In some applications, especially for large-scale industrial applications of beverage processing, it is necessary and advantageous to detect whether the beverage has been adequately processed to the required energy level from an entropic perspective.

[0146] The systems and methods of the present invention advantageously detect and determine the energization level of water or beverages, which can be used as process feedback control or to determine whether the process has reached its desired treatment level. In particular, the present invention teaches the plotting and analysis of multiple FTIR spectra of samples obtained from the same beverage for the same absorbance peak to detect excited states of bond vibrational energy and, more importantly, to detect and measure the level of non-thermal excitation, as described above.

[0147] In prior art technical research papers and publications, a single sample is typically used and depicted in an FTIR absorbance or transmittance graph, with a single OH peak within the range of + / - 3300 to 3600 wavenumbers used for measurement purposes. Conventional teachings of single-line / single-peak representation of FTIR spectra typically display only one line per temperature as a theoretical or conceptual representation, and this fails to represent the actual OH bond vibrational energy state or reflect the sample's activity or dynamics. The beverage industry, or any prior art, does not teach any method for plotting vertical peak fluctuations in FTIR spectra. The prior art also does not mention using sequential scans of multiple samples taken from the same bulk liquid to detect non-thermal energy in water or beverages. Instead, conventional art teaches that the water OH peak can broaden due to changes in D2O / H2O concentration or, if subjected to an external input, produce a single OH peak response. However, prior to the present invention, there was no concept or teaching that the water OH bond peak itself is so unstable, even without external state / energy changes, that it cannot be represented by a single absorbance peak or a single FTIR scan.

[0148] The present invention proposes to map out the OH bond vibrational energy states of water or beverages in multiple FTIR spectra under static conditions or when excited by external energy. When multiple consecutive samples are taken from the same bulk water and scanned by FTIR spectra, the OH bond peak absorbance of the water or beverage sample will change even if it is kept under static conditions, which shows the unstable nature of entropy energy because the water OH bond peak absorbance value is unstable and fluctuates. This method depicts the trajectory of the OH peak intensity. When the FTIR scans more consecutive samples, more peaks will be detected and mapped. By plotting the trajectory of the peak intensity, a linear vertical line of the peak can usually be observed. Or in some different excitation methods, if the peak trail is in a more random order, the outline / boundary of the peak point can be mapped.

[0149] Vertical variations in absorbance peak height / intensity can reflect changes in the vibrational state of bond vibrational energy. To determine the vertical variation in absorbance peak height, at least two samples are required to locate the upper and lower limits of the absorbance peak height. More than two spectra are preferred, and more than five spectral peaks are more preferred for more accurate variation determination. After obtaining the first few peaks, if subsequent FTIR scan peaks fall within the upper and lower limits established by the first few samples, this indicates that the OH bond energy state of the water or beverage being determined fluctuates within the range defined by the upper and lower limits. More precisely, the water bond energy dynamics state should be represented by a range of absorbance peak intensity values, rather than a single peak intensity value. The greater the vertical variation in the absorbance peak, the greater the fluctuation in the water or beverage, and the higher the activity / excited state of the water or beverage. Typically, five or more spectral scans are sufficient to determine the upper and lower absorbance limits. However, more samples always provide more accurate results.

[0150] Turning now to FIG. 6 , if only one spectrum is obtained from each of bulk water samples A and B, an erroneous interpretation may be obtained that the entropic energy state of bulk water sample A is higher than that of bulk water B. However, according to the determination method of the present invention, it becomes clear that bulk water B has higher OH bond vibration energy than bulk water A and is in a more active / dynamic state than bulk water A due to the greater peak variation of bulk water B in the vertical direction.

[0151] It should also be understood that the absorbance peaks for bulk water B are higher than those for bulk water A, but this simply represents a higher absorbance of the IR wave and does not necessarily mean that bulk water B is in a more active / random vibrational state than bulk water A. Rather, the larger fluctuations defined by the heights of the highest and lowest absorbance peaks reflect the more dynamic changes in the OH bond attractions and interactions between water molecules occurring in different parts of the bulk water.

[0152] By measuring the amplitude variation of the OH bond absorbance peak, a baseline for untreated water can be established. The variation in the absorbance peak of untreated water demonstrates that the OH bond absorbance peak varies even without any energy input or change in the surrounding conditions. This differs from the conventional wisdom that a single OH bond absorbance peak represents the entire bulk water. Clearly, the more samples collected and tested (e.g., pipette drops), the better the range of OH bond absorbance peak fluctuations can be established.

[0153] The OH bond peak mapping and analysis method discussed above for determining the excitation level of bond vibrational energy can be applied to different types of liquid beverages, including ultrapure water, distilled water, tap water, groundwater, seawater, alcoholic beverages, and many other types of solutions and liquids. This method of determining the energy level of a liquid is particularly useful for the effective treatment of beverages according to the present invention.

[0154] It has been surprisingly discovered that the system and method of the present invention can simultaneously and immediately produce a variety of desired beneficial treatment effects on beverages at once, regardless of the type of beverage. Treatment effects include, but are not limited to, the following:

[0155] 1) generating a negative ORP in a treated liquid beverage whose pH remains substantially constant,

[0156] 2) Reduce the burning sensation in the throat when handling liquid beverages,

[0157] 3) Reduce the astringency of processed liquid beverages,

[0158] 4) Increase the body's fat burning metabolism by consuming processed liquid beverages;

[0159] 5) reduce the harmful toxin effects of processing liquid beverages in the presence of alcoholic ingredients, and

[0160] 6) Promote the aging effect of processed liquid beverages in the presence of alcoholic ingredients.

[0161] Producing a negative ORP shift

[0162] Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) is considered a parameter that indicates the ability of a chemical / biochemical system to oxidize (lose electrons) or reduce (gain electrons). Positive values indicate an oxidized state, while negative values indicate a reduced state.

[0163] To create a negative ORP shift in even low conductivity alcoholic beverages, the beverage is subjected to the combined effects of the pulsating capacitive field and the biased DC component applied by the system of the present invention.

[0164] First, the treated liquid beverage is exposed to a pulsating alternating AC time-varying electromagnetic field to vibrate the OH bonds of water, alcohol, polyphenols and / or other molecules containing OH bonds, hydrogen bonds or polar bonds. Under the correct combination of time-varying frequency range, duty cycle, applied voltage and current, this bond vibration is activated and can be detected by a large change in the fluctuation of the OH bond vibration absorbance peak in the FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrum. With high bond vibration, the clustered arrangement of water molecules, polyphenols, and alcohol molecules is rearranged, thereby accelerating the polymerization of such hydrogen bonds and polar bond compounds. Among other things, the free energy of the beverage is increased. Accordingly, the water molecule clusters are more sensitive to H + and OH - The hydration packing behavior of the ions is altered. For water and alcohol, this can be written as (H2O) n - , or (C2H5OH) n - , representing water clusters (H2O) n or alcohol clusters (C2H5OH)n , or ((H2O) n’ +(C2H5OH) n” ) n Clusters and negatively charged ((H2O) n’ +(C2H5OH) n” ) n The stronger electron donating tendency of the mixture of clusters, wherein n is any integer from 1 to 2, 3, 4, etc.

[0165] Secondly, in order to generate a negative ORP shift while polymerizing, a DC component is introduced into the AC time-varying electromagnetic ion wave current in a pulsating manner to generate a negative ORP shift. The rate of negative ORP shift is proportional to the increase in the DC component current, but the DC current does not exceed the AC current. In the present invention, no membrane or barrier is required between the emitter pair, so the balance amount of H + and OH - Ions are introduced into the water by means of a DC component current. As a result, the pH of the beverage does not change significantly, but more H + and OH - Ions can be introduced into the water so that, when a negative ORP excursion occurs in the beverage, the pH of the beverage remains substantially constant.

[0166] Under normal circumstances, if a DC component current of 1 ampere flows through the fluid per second, 6.24×10 18 This increases the OH - and H + The number of ions increases, accompanied by a rearrangement of water clusters. More electron-donating water or alcohol clusters are formed, and the ORP will gradually shift toward more negative readings, but the pH of the beverage will not change significantly.

[0167] However, if more OH - and H +If the capacitive field of the pulsating AC time-varying electromagnetic wave properties is generated in a balanced amount, but without the influence of the capacitive field that produces the electron cluster arrangement, there is no shift in ORP or pH. This is similar to the case of DC electrolysis without a membrane, where there is no change in pH or ORP. According to the present invention, the strength of the capacitive field of the pulsating AC time-varying electromagnetic wave properties is proportional to the DC component, thereby producing the desired negative ORP antioxidant properties for the beverage. Therefore, one feature of the present invention is that the antioxidant ORP shift only occurs when there is the correct combination of a DC biased time-varying electromagnetic wave generator, coupling of the generator with a capacitive transmitter to generate a capacitive field across the transmitter, and a DC bias. Another feature of the present invention is that the negative ORP shift caused by the treatment of the present invention occurs while the pH of the beverage to be treated remains essentially unchanged. This is desirable because changes in pH typically lead to changes in the chemical properties and taste of the beverage, which can be found in chemical addition methods of the prior art.

[0168] Although adding alkaline chemicals (such as NaOH) can directly increase the OH - The amount of electron donating ions can produce an electron donating antioxidant effect, but it can also affect the pH and bring undesirable effects to the beverage. This goes against the purpose of the present invention which does not require any chemical additive intervention.

[0169] More importantly, after being treated according to the present invention, the beverage is energized to have an increased energy content, and this energy content can be stored in the beverage for a period of time until it reaches the blood stream, as demonstrated in the simulation experiments below.

[0170] Reducing high alcohol content distillation liquor Burning sensation

[0171] The burning / tingling sensation of high-alcohol distilled liquor is due to vanilloid receptors (VR-1) on the throat membrane picking up single alcohol molecules and sending signals to the brain as "heat." When distilled liquor ages in barrels for extended periods, the alcohol monomers polymerize with other alcohols, polyphenols, aldehydes, and acetic acid to form larger alcohol aggregates. These larger aggregates don't react well with VR-1, so VR-1 picks up fewer signals, resulting in a reduced sensation or perception of "heat."

[0172] In the barrel, the chemical energy differences between the alcohol molecules, water, aldehydes, and acetic acid drive these molecules to polymerize. However, the differences in chemical energy are very small, so polymerization occurs slowly, requiring years or even decades of aging to produce the improved flavor and lower burn. However, once the distilled spirit is removed from the barrel and bottled, no new chemical energy is introduced from the materials in the barrel or from external sources, so the quality and properties of the beverage do not change further.

[0173] The present process is an improvement in this regard, further enabling the input of energy into the distilled spirit even after it has been bottled. As the bottled distilled spirit (e.g., whiskey) flows through the treatment chamber of the present system, it is subjected to a capacitive field generated by the AC component and the biased DC component, thereby energizing and vibrating the OH, hydrogen, and polar bond energies of the distilled spirit's constituent molecules. This provides the free energy required for the alcohol to polymerize and can be stored for a period of time, thus allowing polymerization to continue even after the distilled spirit has been bottled or is no longer in an aging environment.

[0174] The DC component and ionic current generated by the time-varying electromagnetic field also produce secondary effects at the emitter surface. This includes further oxidation of the alcohol into aldehydes, acetic acid, and even esters. These new compounds produced during further oxidation also provide the necessary compounds for further polymerization. This enables further aging effects in bottled whiskey and other high-alcohol-content distilled spirits.

[0175] Reduce the astringency of beverages

[0176] Astringency is another problem with beverages including wine, tea, coffee, or other herbal beverages. Reducing the astringency of beverages using existing technologies typically requires extended periods of time, such as by aging wine in oak barrels for years or decades to allow the complex polymerization of tannin monomers, wine proteins, alcohol, and polyphenol molecules.

[0177] Similar to reducing throat burning, beverages treated with the present invention allow for immediate polymerization processes, particularly the polymerization of tannins with proteins or other organic compounds in grapes. These polymerization processes, particularly the rearrangement of water clusters, produce more electron-donating cluster polymers, thereby reducing the astringency of the beverage in a very short period of time without the need for added inhibitors. For example, iced lemon tea uses less sugar, yet maintains its sweetness. The astringency of wine, particularly young and bottled wine, is significantly reduced within minutes after treatment with the present invention.

[0178] Increase body fat burning metabolism

[0179] To produce a fat-burning metabolic effect, a liquid beverage must have elevated free energy levels, which are stored in order for the body to initiate fat-burning metabolism. Glucose glycolysis, which generates energy with lower energy requirements, always occurs before fat or protein metabolism. Fat-burning metabolism is a more complex process requiring higher energy. This only occurs when glucose is consumed or when the body's free energy is elevated to a higher level to initiate fat burning, such as after a long, slow walk or jog. When the body is at rest, fat-burning metabolism typically does not occur, or if it does, it is minimal, which can lead to fat accumulation.

[0180] In the prior art, time-varying electromagnetic waves induced by an external induction coil that is not in direct contact with the beverage cannot increase the free energy level of the beverage, and the rate of increasing the vibration of the beverage is too slow to produce instant results.

[0181] Unlike the prior art, the present system does not employ any induction coils. Instead, it utilizes only a very tightly packaged pair of transmitters that are submerged and in direct contact with the beverage. By properly selecting the frequency range, duty cycle, and balance of the DC and AC components of the generated capacitive field, the vibration of the OH bonds can occur almost instantly. More importantly, the generated energy can be stored within the liquid beverage for a period of time before being fully dissipated into the surrounding environment, thereby achieving the fat-burning metabolic effects and other therapeutic benefits discussed herein.

[0182] The improvement of the fat burning metabolic effect of the liquid beverage treated by the present invention will be demonstrated in the following examples.

[0183] Reduce the harmful toxic effects of drinking

[0184] When alcohol passes through the intestinal wall and enters the bloodstream, it first travels to the liver. The liver recognizes the alcohol as a toxin and breaks it down in a two-step process.

[0185]

[0186] If the reaction is complete to acetic acid, it is harmless because acetic acid is non-toxic. However, if there is not enough dehydrogenase available, or the free energy supply for the reaction is insufficient to completely produce the acetic acid end product, the reaction may be incomplete. This incomplete conversion leads to the accumulation of acetaldehyde, which is harmful to the liver.

[0187] As described above, the treatment of the present invention increases the free energy of alcoholic beverages by increasing the vibrational energy of polar bonds which can be stored for a period of time. The treated beverages were also found to promote the conversion of acetaldehyde to acetic acid, as will be described in simulation experiments below.

[0188] The aging effect of alcoholic beverages

[0189] Today, alcoholic beverages cannot be aged once they are removed from the barrel and bottled because there is no new supply of chemical energy from the barrel material or external sources, and therefore no further changes in the quality and properties of the beverage occur. Under the combined action of the DC component and the ionic current in the water generated by the pulsating capacitive field, the vibrational and rotational internal energy of the water clusters and dissolved ions increases. After the DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave treatment of the present invention, the increased energy is stored in the beverage. This excited energy has a long-lasting residual effect that may last for up to several weeks, depending on the energy loss or dissipation in the system. This makes possible a further aging effect of bottled whiskey and other high-alcohol content distilled spirits, and thus improves the quality and properties of the alcoholic beverage after it is removed from the aging storage environment.

[0190] Experimental testing

[0191] Example 1. Simulation test of the antioxidant effect of treated water

[0192] The amount of gastric acid, HCl, secreted daily is approximately 1.5 liters, and the average pH of gastric acid is approximately 2.5. An adult consumes approximately 1.5 to 2 liters of water daily. Therefore, a simulation test mixed 200 mL of HCl at a pH of 2.21 with 200 mL of water treated with the system of the present invention and compared the mixture with untreated water.

[0193] After passing through the stomach, the acidic water is neutralized by NaHCO3 secreted by the duodenum to a pH of approximately 8. This is simulated by adding 55 ml of NaHCO3 to return the pH to 8.

[0194] The resulting ORP of the treated and untreated waters was then measured using an ORP meter to confirm whether they still had antioxidant effects before the water reached the intestines to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

[0195] The results are listed in Table 1.

[0196] Table 1

[0197]

[0198] The test results showed that the treated water remained in an anti-oxidative state at the end of the test, while the untreated water remained in an oxidative state throughout the test.

[0199] Example 2. Fat Burning Metabolic Effects of Treated Beverages

[0200] One way to determine whether a person is actively metabolizing carbohydrates or burning fat is to measure the CO2 content in exhaled breath. This can be done using a CO2 test in a hospital's metabolic measurement room. The basic principle is that when carbohydrates / glucose are burned, more CO2 is released per mole of oxygen inhaled, while when fat is burned, less CO2 is exhaled. A simplified diagram of glucose and fat oxidation is shown below.

[0201] When glucose is oxidized,

[0202] ·C6H 12 O6+6O2→6CO2+6H2O+energy

[0203] RQ (reaction quotient) = 6CO2 / 6O2 = 1.0

[0204] When fat is oxidized,

[0205] ·C 16 H 32 O2 + 23O2 → 16CO2 + 16H2O + energy

[0206] RQ = 16CO2 / 23O2 = 0.7

[0207] The result is therefore less CO2 produced per oxygen molecule consumed.

[0208] Since the amount of O2 inhaled in each breath is roughly constant, by measuring the CO2 in the exhaled gas, we can know whether it is glucose oxidation metabolism or fat oxidation metabolism.

[0209] In this example, a portable A metabolic CO2 sensor was used for testing and verification purposes. The measurements provided by the Lumen metabolic CO2 meter are scaled on a scale of 1 to 5. A reading shifting toward 1 indicates more fat-burning metabolism, while a shift toward 5 indicates more carbohydrate-burning metabolism. A detailed description of the Lumen sensor can be found at: https: / / www.lumen.me / how-it-works.

[0210] As shown in Table 2 below, test samples were collected from various subjects before and after consuming the designated beverages.

[0211] Typical sample test results are shown in Table 2.

[0212] Table 2. Promotes fat burning metabolism

[0213]

[0214] Before consuming the water and coffee treated by the system of the present invention, the body was in a sedentary state and the Lumen CO2 sensor read 5, indicating carbohydrate metabolism. After consuming the treated water or coffee, the Lumen CO2 sensor read 4 or 3, indicating that more fat burning metabolism occurred.

[0215] After consuming the untreated water and coffee, the Lumen CO2 reading remained at 5, indicating no change in metabolism and that the body was still metabolizing carbohydrates.

[0216] It can be seen that all tested samples showed the same trend results, which demonstrates the fat burning metabolic effect obtained by the treatment of the present invention.

[0217] Example 3. Simulation test for reducing liver toxicity of acetaldehyde.

[0218] To simulate the aforementioned conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde and then to acetic acid, dehydrogenase from vinegar mother was added to both untreated whiskey and whiskey treated using the system of the present invention. The simulation focused on determining the reaction conversion trends. The amount of vinegar mother enzyme used in this simulation was low to simulate a dehydrogenase-deficient condition.

[0219] Whisky is a common high alcohol content. A bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label was used as a sample to better reflect actual drinking conditions.

[0220] The test results are listed in Table 3 below.

[0221] Table 3

[0222]

[0223] The test results are shown below:

[0224] a) Acetaldehyde levels (ppm) increased from 174 ppm in whisky without dehydrogenase added to 185 ppm in the same whisky after dehydrogenase addition, simulating what would occur in the liver when drinking untreated whisky. This increase in acetaldehyde suggests that toxic acetaldehyde is accumulating in the absence of dehydrogenase when the whisky is untreated.

[0225] b) When the same amount of dehydrogenase was added to the treated whiskey, the toxic acetaldehyde was reduced from 174 ppm to 150 ppm. This result indicates that the toxic acetaldehyde in the treated whiskey was reduced in the liver.

[0226] c) The difference in acetaldehyde between the untreated and treated whiskeys was 35 ppm (185-150 ppm). This 35 ppm reduction in acetaldehyde strongly demonstrates that the treatment effect of the present invention helps increase the free energy required to accelerate the liver's alcohol-to-acetic acid conversion reaction, resulting in a reduction in the negative toxic effects of alcoholic beverages on health. Thus, the present invention provides a system and method for treating non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages using an electromagnetic field comprising both AC and DC components that is simple, relatively inexpensive, and more environmentally friendly than prior art methods, and that is capable of effectively providing a variety of beneficial treatment effects all at once. These treatment effects include the following.

[0227] 1) Converting oxidative alcoholic beverages into antioxidants for a healthier alcoholic beverage is unique, especially converting high alcohol content distilled spirits into antioxidants is new to the industry.

[0228] 2) The ability to retain the antioxidant properties of the beverage until it enters the blood stream after consumption.

[0229] 3) The ability to boost fat burning metabolism without drugs or chemical additives is not known in any prior art

[0230] 4) Reduce the ability of acetaldehyde to accumulate harmfully in the liver by accelerating the complete conversion of alcohol to acetic acid rather than stopping the reaction at an incomplete intermediate alcohol to acetaldehyde.

[0231] 5) Simultaneously improving the quality of beverages with various beneficial treatment effects in one treatment, which has never been achieved before.

[0232] 6) Ability to further reduce burning sensation and improve beverage quality in bottled high-alcohol content distilled spirits. This breaks the industry norm.

[0233] 7) The instant processing time that produces all desired effects in minutes is unique. Normal processing time, especially for alcoholic beverages, takes years.

[0234] 8) This instant processing enables immediate processing time requirements for home, commercial F&B stores, and industrial users. The same single system of the present invention can be configured to process a wide variety of beverages, from low-conductivity vodka and whiskey to water, tea, and coffee, to high-conductivity wine, juice, and coconut water. Conductivity can range from 10 μS / cm to 6000 μS / cm.

[0235] 9) The antioxidant ORP of the treated alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages can be preserved for a long shelf life, while the reduction of astringency and burning sensation is permanent.

[0236] Unless the context dictates otherwise, preferences and options for a given aspect, feature or parameter of the invention should be considered disclosed in conjunction with any and all preferences and options for all other aspects, features and parameters of the invention.

[0237] Although the embodiments described herein are intended to serve as exemplary systems and methods, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. Without departing from the scope of the present invention, those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations and modifications with the aid of their common sense, which, however, should fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for treating a liquid beverage using an electromagnetic field, wherein the electromagnetic field comprises an alternating current (AC) and a direct current (DC) component, the method comprising the following steps: generating a DC biased time-varying frequency pulsating electromagnetic wave including a biased DC component, and applying the DC biased time-varying frequency pulsed electromagnetic wave to the processed liquid beverage in a static or flowing state to provide a time-varying frequency and pulsed AC wave current including the biased DC component, The time-varying frequency and pulsating AC wave current including the biased DC component is transmitted to one or more capacitive transmitter pairs arranged in a predetermined pattern and placed in direct contact with the liquid beverage so as to generate a pulsating capacitive field having a field strength between the capacitive transmitters, thereby producing a negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) shift in the treated liquid beverage, and the pH of the treated liquid beverage is maintained constant under the combined action of the field strength of the pulsating capacitive field and the biased DC component.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of measuring the conductivity of the liquid beverage to select an emitter suitable for processing the liquid beverage is included.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also included is the step of determining the degree of energization of said processed liquid beverage as a feedback control of beverage processing.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The determining step comprises: taking a plurality of successive samples from said processed liquid beverage, obtaining a plurality of FTIR spectra respectively representing the plurality of successive samples, Plotting and analyzing the plurality of FTIR spectra for the same absorbance peak to collect information on the peak height of the same absorbance peak, and Determine the maximum vertical change in peak height based on the lowest and highest peak heights of the same absorbance peak, The maximum vertical change in the peak height reflects the energy level of the processed liquid beverage.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The OH bond absorbance peaks were plotted and analyzed.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The time-varying frequency and pulsating AC wave current and the DC component of the generated field are provided to energize the treatment beverage such that one or more treatment effects are induced in the treatment liquid beverage.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The processing effects include one or more of the following: 1) reducing the throat burning sensation of the treated liquid beverage, 2) reducing the astringency of the treated liquid beverage, 3) increasing body fat / lipid burning metabolism by consuming said treated liquid beverage, 4) reducing the harmful toxin effects of the treated liquid beverage in the presence of alcoholic ingredients, and 5) Promoting the aging effect of the treated liquid beverage in the presence of an alcohol component.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that Also included is the step of monitoring and measuring the ORP of the treated liquid beverage in real time.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The distance between each two adjacent capacitive transmitters is less than 10 mm.

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