Diatomite releases silica during spirit filtration.
The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether diatomite is an inert filter aid during spirit filtration. Surely, any compound with a negative effect on the spirit composition or the consumer's health could be dissolved. In this study different diatomites were treated with 36% vol. ethanol/water mixtures and the amounts and structures of the extracted compounds were determined. Furthermore, Brandy de Jerez was diatomite- and membrane-filtered at different temperatures and the silicon content was analysed. It was found that up to 0.36% by weight of diatomite dissolved in the aqueous ethanol and amorphous silica, in the form of hollow spherical microparticles, was the most abundant component. Silicon concentrations in Brandy de Jerez increased by up to 163.0% after contact with diatomite and these changes were more marked for calcined diatomite. In contrast, reductions of more than 30% in silicon concentrations were achieved after membrane filtration at low temperatures.
Department of Chemical Engineering and Food Technology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, PB 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain. Electronic address: juangomez.benitez@uca.es.
J
J
Gómez
Department of Chemical Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, PB 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain.
M L A
ML
Gil
Department of Physics of Condensed Matter, Faculty of Sciences, University of Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, PB 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain.
N
N
de la Rosa-Fox
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University of Pablo de Olavide Building 22, 3rd floor, Road to Utrera, km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
M
M
Alguacil
D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry; D007692:Diatomaceous Earth; D005374:Filtration; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D007692:Diatomaceous Earth; C033787:diatomite; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D002118:Calcium
Brandy de Jerez; Calcium; Diatomite; Filter Aid; Filtration; Silica; Silicon; Spirit