PLA Maturation Container Reduces Ethanol Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional wooden barrels used for spirit maturation are expensive, inconsistent, and result in significant ethanol loss due to oxygen permeability, making them inefficient and costly for long-term storage.
Innovation Solution
A maturation container with walls made from or incorporating a layer of polylactic acid (PLA) material, which provides suitable oxygen permeability while being substantially impermeable to ethanol, reducing evaporative loss and offering more control over maturation properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wooden barrels are used for spirit maturation, then oxygen permeation occurs which is required for maturation, but significant ethanol loss occurs through the barrel walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining wood with a polymer coating layer to create a maturation container that maintains the desirable oxygen permeation properties of wood while adding a barrier layer to reduce ethanol loss. The composite structure integrates the functional benefits of both materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a thin polymer film or coating applied to the interior surface of the wooden barrel. This flexible film acts as a selective barrier that allows oxygen to pass through while blocking ethanol molecules, thereby reducing evaporative loss while maintaining maturation functionality.
2Reliability
If wooden barrels are used for spirit maturation, then traditional maturation function is provided, but cost and inconsistency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the physical and chemical parameters of the barrel by applying a polymer coating with specific permeability characteristics. This changes the barrier properties of the container wall, allowing control over oxygen and ethanol transmission rates, thereby achieving consistent performance and reduced loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an improved version of the traditional wooden barrel by adding a polymer layer that copies and enhances the desirable maturation function while eliminating the drawbacks of ethanol loss and inconsistency. The coated barrel replicates and improves upon traditional barrel performance.
3Loss of substance
If plastic materials are used for maturation container, then ethanol loss is reduced, but oxygen permeability is insufficient for maturation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a polymer coating with specific localized properties on the interior surface of the barrel. The coating is designed to have selective permeability - allowing oxygen to pass through while blocking ethanol - thereby providing different permeation characteristics for different molecules at the same location.
4Loss of substance
If olefin film is applied to wooden barrel, then evaporative loss is reduced, but moisture accumulation causes degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the permeability parameters of the coating by selecting polymer materials with appropriate oxygen and moisture transmission rates. The coating is designed to allow moisture to pass through while blocking ethanol, preventing the moisture accumulation problem that occurs with olefin films.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The PLA container achieves a 25% reduction in ethanol loss compared to traditional wooden barrels, allowing for accelerated maturation and improved taste in a shorter timeframe, while being cost-effective and consistent in performance.
Implementation Method 1
a 3 to 5% total liquid loss can be expected in the first year followed by about 3% loss in subsequent years. The loss is a combination of water and ethanol
Implementation Method 2
PLA material that is now understood according to the invention to have suitable oxygen permeation properties while being substantially impermeable to ethanol
Data Source
AI summary
A maturation container and method of maturing spirits that incorporates a polymeric material (10) into a wall of the container. The material (10) is preferably Polylactic Acid (PLA) which has known oxygen permeation properties suited to maturation but is substantially impermeable to ethanol. Use of such a material is proposed to supplement or replace traditional wooden barrel methods of storage.