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Published on: September 29, 2023
Formation of siliceous sediments in brandy after diatomite filtration
J Gómez1, M L A Gil2, N de la Rosa-Fox3
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Food Technology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Cadiz, Campus Río San Pedro, PB 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain.
Abstract:
Brandy is quite a stable spirit but sometimes light sediment appears. This sediment was separated and analysed by IR and SEM-EDX. It was revealed that the sediment is composed mostly of silica and residual organic matter. Silica was present as an amorphous phase and as microparticles. In an attempt to reproduce the formation of the sediment, a diatomite extract was prepared with an ethanol/water mixture (36% vol.) and a calcined diatomite similar to that used in brandy filtration. This extract was added to unfiltered brandy in different amounts. After 1 month, the Si concentration decreased in all samples and sediments with similar compositions and features to those found in the unstable brandy appeared. The amounts of sediment obtained were directly related to the decrease in Si concentration in solution. Consequently, it can be concluded that siliceous sediment in brandy originates from Si released during diatomite filtration.
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