Crushed Grape Cooling via Recirculated Juice Heat Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for cooling and inerting crushed vegetable materials, such as grapes, during the wine-making process are inefficient, leading to product degradation due to temperature-related issues and incomplete cooling, especially in the central mass of the press, resulting in oxidative and organoleptic degradation.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a separating machine to separate juice from the crushed material, cooling the juice externally, and reintroducing it to the crushed material within the press or transfer pump, using a tube-bundle heat exchanger for efficient cooling and inerting with gases like nitrogen or CO2, which can be recirculated to enhance cooling capacity and reduce refrigeration load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If tube-to-tube heat exchangers are used to cool crushed grapes, then the peripheral part of the material is cooled, but the internal part remains hot and frictional pressure losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary cooling fluid (water or wine) that is circulated through the pressing system to transfer heat from the crushed grapes. This mediator approach allows cooling without direct contact between the grapes and complex heat exchanger tubes, reducing friction and pressure losses while effectively removing heat from both peripheral and internal portions of the material.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs hydraulic circulation of cooling fluid through channels in the pressing plates and membranes. This hydraulic system enables efficient heat transfer throughout the crushed material mass without requiring long tube-to-tube heat exchangers, thereby reducing frictional pressure losses while maintaining effective cooling.
2Temperature
If cooling pockets are applied to the press drum, then cooling is provided, but the central part of the mass is not affected and the system is complex to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid circulation system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it cools the crushed material, removes fermentation heat, and can be integrated with the existing pressing mechanism. The same hydraulic circuit that operates the pressing membranes also distributes the cooling fluid through the press structure, eliminating the need for separate complex cooling pockets and rotary joints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the cooling function from complex integrated cooling pockets and separates it into a独立的 fluid circulation system. This allows the cooling mechanism to be implemented through simple channels in the pressing plates, reducing mechanical complexity while maintaining cooling effectiveness throughout the material mass.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If inert gas is injected into the press, then the empty part is inerted, but the mass itself is not sufficiently affected and additional injectors are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows the crushed material itself to serve as the medium for inerting. As the cooling fluid circulates through the press, it naturally displaces air from the interstices of the crushed material matrix. The material's own structure and fluid flow patterns enable the inerting function without requiring additional injector devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the cooling and inerting functions into a single fluid circulation system. The same cooling water or wine that removes heat also displaces oxygen and inertes the material. This combination eliminates the need for separate gas injection systems while achieving both cooling and protective atmospherics throughout the entire mass.
4Temperature
If long tube-to-tube heat exchangers are used, then cooling capacity is increased, but the system becomes very long and requires enormous thrust pressures
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from linear tube-to-tube heat exchange to a distributed three-dimensional cooling network. Cooling channels are integrated into the pressing plates and membranes, allowing heat removal throughout the volume of the pressed material rather than along a single long tube. This dimensional change provides high cooling capacity with compact equipment length.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are nested within the structure of the pressing plates and membranes themselves. The heat exchanger functionality is embedded in the pressing mechanism, with cooling passages integrated into the same components that apply pressure. This nesting eliminates the need for separate long heat exchanger units while maintaining effective cooling.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method is described for processing a crushed vegetable material, e.g. crushed grapes, comprising the steps of: obtaining the crushed material and send it to a separating machine (10) to separate the juice from the crushed material; separating a liquid part from the crushed material; cooling the liquid part in an environment (30) outside the separating machine; introducing and/or mixing the cooled liquid part in/with the crushed material inside the separating machine (10) or in a part of loading pipe (32) for the separating machine.