Winery barrels devaluate each year due to tartrate deposits, that reduce the working life of barrels. In addition, thousands of barrels and large volumnes of red wine are infected with Brettanomyces every year, causing considerable losses.

The High Power Ultrasound (HPU) barrel cleaning technology is an innovative alternative to regenerate and disinfect your barrels, without damaging them. Its efficiency has been accredited by scientific studies carried out in Australia, New Zealand and California during 2008-2010.

With no additives or chemicals, only water. Energy saving procedure.

Australian researchers related to UltraTecno-Cavitus awarded prestigious honour for best 2011 oenology paper about Ultrasonic barrel cleaning

The use of High Power Ultrasound (HPU) to clean wine barrels offers
THREE main advantages as compared to conventional technologies:

1 It destroys viable Brettanomyces cells, acetic acid bacteria and other spoilage microorganisms, even up to 8 mm inside the wood

2 Superior removal of tartrate without damaging the barrels’ surface.

3 It preserves the barrels’ toasted coat, being the only system that protects the toasted oak aromas during cleaning (mainly furfural).

1. Reduction of viable cells of Brettanomyces

Below the surface (2-4 mm) of oak staves 1 and 3 years old through the system of Cavitus BWDD compared to 60C HPHW (100 psi at 60C).

2. Superior removal of tartrate.

3. It preserves the barrels’ toasted coat

7 out of 10 aromatic compounds are found on the toasted coating, which is eroded or destroyed during high pressure hot water system, shaving or sandblasting. Since the High Power Ultrasounds (HPU) technique preserves the barrel’s toasted coat, wine contained in HPU-treated barrels shows better organoleptic properties than wine contained in barrels treated with convenntional techniques

In industrial processes, foam has traditionally been controlled through mechanic devices, decreasing tank temperature or adding chemicals. Nonetheless, this procedures have limitations:

• - Decreased performance.
• - Quality problems.
• - Losses of product.
• - Microbial contamination.
• - Production delays or stops.
• - Obstruction of channels and valves.
• - Flooding of air filters.
• - Operational problems with controlling devices.

High Power Ultrasounds can be used to disperse foam. Static ultrasound waves generated in air generate nodes and anti-nodes. Nodes attract matter (and therefore also foam bubbles). Due to the resulting compression forces, foam bubbles implode.

No chemicals, temperature reduction additives or mechanic devices required.

Applications in filling lines

On canning lines, the air-borne ultrasonic radiation is focused on the working area where the foam excess is quickly destroyed to avoid liquid losses.

In typical operations, 2000 containers/minute can be processed, using two focused transducers in parallel to cover the top container surface area with high-intensity sound pressure levels and low power is required.

Viscosity reduction

Spray Dryers used for food drying or vaporization of chemicals have huge energy consumption rates. Therefore, it is essential to guarantee processing of the highest possible solid % during operation..

Viscosity usually determines the maximum concentration of solids that can be fed into a dryer, since when certain upper limits are exceeded, we have:

• Automation problems
• Dirt problems in the evaporator (if used)
• Flows in membrane processes (if used)

Our equipments for temporary reduction of viscosity are used to process a higher percentage of solid substances with the same energy costs. This results in significant savings or productivity increases (for example, 22% in tests with soy protein).

The viscosity reduction effect lasts between 30 and 80 minutes, enough time to process the product.

New Applications of High Power

The High Power Ultrasound has become a viable alternative to many conventional processes of the food industry (blending, grinding, mixing, pasteurization, solid / liquid separation).

Also been shown able to improve the efficiency of traditional processes such as filtering, extraction, crystallization, fermentation, applied as a technology added to the conventional process.

The use of the HPU is normally driven by the rapid payback they get, but sometimes its use is also justified for unique capabilities that only they can be obtained.

Every business application development requires a process in which be parameterized the variables involved in the process (energy, intensity, flow, pressure, temperature, viscosity and solids concentration) until the operating point of the high power equipment get the desired effect.

These are some applications of High Power Ultrasound that now UltraTecno and Cavitus are working to develop viable commercial applications in a near future:

• Extraction
• Pasteurization
• Homogenization
• Emulsification
• Demulsification
• Enzyme activation
• Enzyme deactivation
• Crystallization
• Alteration of the viscosity
• Filtration / screening / dehydration
• Degassing
• Fermentation

• Cleanup
• Destruction
• Decontamination
• Drying at low temperature
• Defoamers
• Treatment of residual sludge
• Solid / liquid separation
• Reduction of particle size
• extrusion
• Functional foods