Production of Mango and Passion Fruit Mix Spirit in a Distillation Column

Abstract

Cachaca is the most consumed distilled beverage among Brazilians and the third in world consumption. In order to innovate and expand the spirits chain, new technologies have been developed. This work aimed to evaluate the development process of a distilled beverage from the mixture of mango and passion fruit pulps, using a batch distillation column. The column has a collection system with seven fractionation modules, jacketed, with fillings, vacuum thermal insulation and temperature monitoring. For the production, the wort was prepared from the same proportions of the fruit pulps and led to the fermentation, where the kinetic monitoring was carried out until the wine is produced. Thereafter, the wine was distilled in two serial batches of 4.5 L of drink, in a controlled process in order to obtain a quality brandy through the proper separation of the head, heart (commercial) and tail fractions. The fractions were characterized and the heart, marketed product, compared to parameters determined by the Brazilian legislation for the composition of fruit spirits. It was noticed that the distillate complies the legislation, being its consumption released without risks to health. It is noteworthy that the spirit obtained from the fruit mixture proved to be a diversified product within the alcoholic beverages sector, and there were no similar studies to compare the results.