Wine stabilization technology

Highly efficient electrodialysis for winemakers to remove tartrates from wine

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Removing wine tartrates using MEGA ED meets EU regulations for organic (BIO) food production.

Advantages of using MEGA electrodialysis for wine stabilization

Find out how to prevent tartrate crystals in wine

Additive-free technology

Minimal wine losses < 1%

Suitable for organic wine production

MEGA offers new electrodialysis (ED) technology, which can fully meet the requirements for organic production while successfully removing the tartrates, potassium, etc. content from the raw wine and therefore lowering the tartaric instability of the wine.

A significant benefit of MEGA ED is the zero interaction with other compounds of the wine, which play an important role in its organoleptic properties.

MEGA ED technology can be adapted to each wine and is fully automatic.

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Electrodialysis as a solution for wine stabilization

Why stabilize wine

Wine is one of the most popular drinks in the world. Consumers today expect all wines to be bright and clear. Sometimes, small crystalline deposits may occur in wine. These crystals are natural byproducts of wine also known as wine diamonds, wine crystals, or cream of tartar.

Potassium hydrogen tartrate (KHT) and calcium tartrate (CaT) are tartrate salts that might be found in wine and become less soluble due to the presence of ethanol and during subsequent storage of bottled products at low temperatures.

Precipitation of tartrates is the main source of instability in bottled wine. Crystals (precipitated insoluble tartrate salts) are completely harmless but have a rather unpleasant appearance to the consumer. The formation of these crystals results in the formation of deposits at the bottom vat and sometimes in the bottled wine.

How to prevent tartrates in wine

Tartrate stabilization is a process that removes components that contribute to the crystallization of potassium hydrogen tartrate and calcium tartrate which is an undesirable outcome for wine quality.

Electrodialysis (ED) is the right solution for winemakers to eliminate the future formation of tartrate crystals. ED is an electrically driven method of removing dissolved ionic compounds.

MEGA's electrodialysis (ED) offers new opportunities for wineries to maximize their production, increase profits and significantly reduce waste.

Boost your wine business with MEGA ED

Why use MEGA electrodialysis for wine purification

Why use MEGA electrodialysis for wine tartrate stabilization

MEGA electrodialysis makes the wine stabilization process more effective, including the “organic” purity of the commodity product while reducing operating costs. Our innovative electrodialysis technology is developed for both small and large wineries.

MEGA's ED can also operate in a protective atmosphere (nitrogen) to avoid oxidation and colour changes. The electrodialysis does not affect the amount of alcohol.

Unlike methods based on the addition of CMC or metatartaric acid, which can only stabilize wines for a limited period, typically 2 years, at which point the risk of KHT precipitation increases again, MEGA ED stabilizes KHT permanently.

MEGA provides winemakers with an automated process technology with a high reaction rate that enables an automatic demineralization process to reach the exact desired/set conductivity. The wine is stable immediately and completely.

Benefits of Electrodialysis in wine stabilization

Effective removal of TA in wine.
Permanent stability of potassium tartrate.
Reduction of unit operation steps (technology complexity).
Additive-free technology - fully organic products.
Insignificant wine losses (< 1%).
Water consumption for concentrate make-up water - 5% of wine feed.
Continuous process, controlled by conductivity drop.

MEGA EWSU unit for tartrate stabilization

An industrial scale unit for the wine demineralization using electrodialysis.

A compact autonomous processing unit with a control system for operating and controlling process parameters.

Hygienic characteristics of the unit meet food industry standards.

Tailor-made solution with optional capacity modification by supplying the unit with ED20/100 or ED20/200 stacks.

Operating in one-pass mode. The achievable rate of demineralization is up to 30 % according to customers' needs.

The device can be used in both stationary and mobile versions.

Approximate dimensions

P15 1×EDR20/100, P15 2×EDR20/100: 3.1 m × 1 m × 2.2 m (length × width × height)

How does it work

1. Step - Measurement of the potassium tartrate stability in wine to determine the required degree of demineralization for the correct use of ED for wine stabilization.

2. Step - The use of ED. Electrodialysis in a configuration for tartrate salts processing is an electro-membrane separation process that uses ion-selective membranes and electric potential difference as the driving force for salt ions transportation.

3. Step (optional) - The use of reverse osmosis can follow to recover up to 90% of the water used during the wine stabilization process.

Potassium bitartrate - make profit from liquid waste disposal

The possibility of connecting the RO after the ED unit makes it possible to recover between 50 and 90% of the water used to stabilize the wine. The purified water is reused in the stabilizing process.

The RO unit can be modularly connected to the EWSU, with the whole system running automatically.

The retentate (concentrate) coming from RO can be dried to obtain potassium/calcium bitartrate, which may have a wide range of applications for use in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and chemical industries.