Alcohol Composition Rehabilitation Through Selective Vacuum Congener Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to consistently produce high-quality alcoholic beverages due to the presence of unwanted congeners, which cause hangover symptoms and harsh flavors, and are difficult to remove without also removing desirable components like ethanol.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes a pressure-controllable environment to selectively remove unwanted congeners, such as ethyl acetate, from alcoholic compositions by establishing a partial vacuum, allowing for the preferential evolution of these compounds while maintaining ethanol and desirable flavor molecules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If distillation is used to remove unwanted congeners, then congener removal is achieved, but ethanol and desirable congeners are also removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pressure parameter from standard atmospheric pressure to reduced pressure (vacuum conditions). This parameter change alters the boiling points of congeners relative to ethanol, enabling selective removal of congeners at lower temperatures where ethanol remains stable and does not evaporate significantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transition (evaporation) of congeners under vacuum conditions. By reducing pressure, congeners with higher boiling points than ethanol can be selectively vaporized and removed while ethanol remains in liquid phase, achieving separation without losing ethanol.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If barrel aging is used to improve taste, then congener absorption occurs, but the process is extraordinarily time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical process of barrel aging (which takes decades) with a vacuum-based separation process. This substitution transforms a time-intensive passive absorption process into an active, controlled separation process that achieves congener removal in minutes or hours.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent rushes through the congener removal process by using vacuum evaporation instead of slow barrel aging. The process skips the decades-long aging period by directly evaporating and removing congeners under reduced pressure, achieving the same flavor improvement goal in a fraction of the time.
3Manufacturing precision
If standard pressure distillation is used, then separation is achieved, but boiling points of congeners are very close to ethanol making removal difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pressure parameter from standard atmospheric pressure to reduced pressure. This parameter change creates larger relative differences in the effective boiling points of congeners compared to ethanol, simplifying the separation process and reducing device complexity while improving manufacturing precision.
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 method effectively reduces unwanted congeners to improve organoleptic properties, balancing flavor and aroma, resulting in a smoother and more refined drinking experience without altering the ethanol content.
Implementation Method 1
allowing for the preferential evolution of these compounds while maintaining ethanol and desirable flavor molecules
Implementation Method 2
by establishing a partial vacuum
Data Source
AI summary
A method for removing one or more congeners from an alcoholic composition, including placing a quantity of an alcoholic composition in a pressure-controllable environment, decreasing the pressure of the pressure-controllable environment, removing one or more unwanted congeners from the alcoholic composition to yield a purified alcoholic composition, and removing the purified alcoholic composition from the pressure-controllable environment.