Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Uses for the By-Products of Wine Production


The industry of Viticulture and Enology creates a large amount of waste and by-products. It includes the stems of pruned vines, grape pomace, wine sediment and wastewater. Unfortunately, only a small portion of these materials are used for practical purposes.

Pomace is the solid part  which remains after crushing or pressing grapes or some other fruit. The wine precipitate mainly consists of yeasts and tartrate (tartaric acid salt). It’s also possible to extract grape seeds from the pomace, of which the most common production is precious oil. This oil is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and is a strong antioxidant. In addition to being edible, it also has great potential in cosmetics.

Furthermore, grape pomace and precipitate can be distilled in order to obtain a strong alcoholic beverages such as various spirits. Also, tartaric acid (used in nutrition and pharmacy) can be isolated from pomace and sediment, as well as various dyes and pigments. The precipitate can be added to animal feed or a mixture for compost production. Another popular potential use of grape pomace these days is burning or processing in order to obtain usable bioenergy and biogas.

The combined use of different methods enables maximum utilization of these by-products and minimum waste, but intelligent use of them brings several benefits.

The industry of Viticulture and Enology creates a large amount of waste and by-products. It includes the stems of pruned vines, grape pomace, wine sediment and wastewater. Unfortunately, only a small portion of these materials are used for practical purposes.

Pomace is the solid part  which remains after crushing or pressing grapes or some other fruit. The wine precipitate mainly consists of yeasts and tartrate (tartaric acid salt). It’s also possible to extract grape seeds from the pomace, of which the most common production is precious oil. This oil is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and is a strong antioxidant. In addition to being edible, it also has great potential in cosmetics.

Furthermore, grape pomace and precipitate can be distilled in order to obtain a strong alcoholic beverages such as various spirits. Also, tartaric acid (used in nutrition and pharmacy) can be isolated from pomace and sediment, as well as various dyes and pigments. The precipitate can be added to animal feed or a mixture for compost production. Another popular potential use of grape pomace these days is burning or processing in order to obtain usable bioenergy and biogas.

The combined use of different methods enables maximum utilization of these by-products and minimum waste, but intelligent use of them brings several benefits.

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