Application of Ion Exchange Techniques to Industrial Process of Metal Ions Removal From Wine

Abstract

In this article, the application of selective ion exchange resins to the industrial metals removal of wine has been studied as an alternative to the "blue clarification" technique. In this sense, under the perspective of using this technology in the metals removal of sherry wines, a set of experiments at laboratory and pilot plant scale have been carried out. The study shows the behavior of several alkaline ions, metal ions and other parameters (pH, colour, protein index, etc.) during the process. Moreover, using the general theoretical model for continuous multistage processes, this study contemplates also the engineering design and the economic balance of the industrial process based on ion exchange columns. The experimental results demonstrates that ion exchange techniques are more effective and economic than "blue clarification" for metals removal of sherry wines. The proposed practice does not produce alterations in the qualities of the products; it achieves stability enough and also permits an important decrease of the contents of heavy metals.