SIMULATION OF THE DISTILLATION TO CONCENTRATE WINE AROMAS

The evaluation of separation performance in multicomponent systems needs, in general, the use of simulation processes to evaluate any influence of the system variables in order to choose the best operation conditions. This work describes the setup of a distillation simulation applied to concentrate aromas from wine. Both, its complex composition and its non ideal nature, should be considered when establishing the restrictions of the mathematical model in order to improve the reliability of the simulation process. The simulated results starting from a representative series of aromatic components were analyzed and compared with those obtained in an experimental plant. The mathematical model proposed yielded small deviations (< 10%) in relation to real data, it can then be considered suitable for carrying out the simulation. But large deviations between simulated and experimental data appeared when the non ideal behaviour of the system, was considered.