Innovative thermal control of fermentations through the use of phase change materials: A focus on wine fermentation

The study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using Phase Change Materials (PCM) for temperature management during grape must fermentation, providing insights into potential energy-saving strategies in winemaking processes. The setup and procedure of fermentation tests at lab-scale with and with...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Piernicola Masella, Giulia Angeloni, Ferdinando Corti, Agnese Spadi, Francesco Garbati Pegna, Lorenzo Guerrini, Alessandro Parenti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Food Research
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502224002981
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Summary:The study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using Phase Change Materials (PCM) for temperature management during grape must fermentation, providing insights into potential energy-saving strategies in winemaking processes. The setup and procedure of fermentation tests at lab-scale with and without encapsulated PCM immersed in grape must are described. A global energy equation accounting for heat generated by fermentation and heat exchange by vessel walls was applied. fermentation with PCM shows a slower temperature increase compared to the control. While the control hits 30 °C in about 50 h, the PCM fermentation approaches this over 30 h later, peaking at 29.5 °C on average. This results in an average fermentation temperature of 24 °C with PCM versus 27 °C for the control, indicating PCM's effectiveness in absorbing fermentation heat and maintaining temperatures below the 30 °C target. Potential applications in winemaking for improved temperature management are proposed.
ISSN:2772-5022