DISTILLATION AND RECTIFICATION
The fermented product has an extremely complex composition. Distillation is the operation that separates the desired substances to obtain a distillate with the desired purity and organoleptic features.
We at MDT design and supply a wide range of distillation systems:
- Discontinuous stills, for the production of whisky (bourbon, scotch, Irish or hybrid methods), gin, rum, vodka, grappa, brandy, etc.;
- Continuous systems with single or multiple columns;
- Multiple effect plants;
- Vacuum systems;
- Stills for steam distillation, also under vacuum, for the production of essential oils;
- Columns for solvent recovery;
- Columns for washing CO2 from fermentation;
Our plants can produce from a few hundred liters per day for craft distilleries and pilot plants up to more than one million liters per day for large producers of anhydrous alcohol.
The distillation pan technologies, as well as the cap and valve design on the pan, are our own.
The use of copper in the construction of the equipment allows us to optimize distillate quality by catalyzing the removal of sulfur compounds (H2S, DMS, etc). All our stills and plants are completely customizable according to customer requirements - in terms of organoleptic quality, purity, energy efficiency, and production flexibility.
CONCENTRATION
Based on its long history of process solutions and decades of worldwide experience in plant installation, we at MDT can provide technologies tailored to meet a wide variety of operational requirements.
MDT's offerings include:
- Single-Effect Plants;
- Multi-effect plants;
- Thermocompression plants;
- Mechanical Steam Recompression Plants.
To reduce operating costs, maximize plant efficiency, and meet project requirements based on the raw material handling, we at MDT provide comprehensive process optimization by applying evaporation technologies and using the appropriate equipment:
- Falling film evaporators;
- Forced circulation evaporators;
- Plate evaporators.
How we use raw materials
Cereals
The production of distillates from cereals requires different types of treatment of the raw material, depending mostly on the desired outcome. Using malted barley, it is possible to convert starch into fermentable sugars without real "cooking", thanks to its low gelatinization temperature, using a mash/lauter tun. On the contrary, with other cereals such as wheat, rye, corn, it is preferable to do the cooking before adding enzymes (endogenous or exogenous).Plants for the production of cereal distillates are usually selected according to the discipline of the distillate in question. For example, for the production of bourbon, there are different options of continuous columns and discontinuous stills, whereas for the production of Scotch and Irish whisky it is possible to have different forms and combinations of pot stills for single, double, and triple distillation.
In the case of production of good taste alcohol or vodka, our IDRO model plants are ideal for alcohol of superior organoleptic quality, with highly competitive energy consumption.
Grapes
The production of distillates comes from various derivatives of grape and wine processing. From the distillation of wine, we can obtain brandy, pisco, cognac, while from the distillation of pomace we can obtain grappa. It is also possible to distill dregs, either as they are or mixed with wine, to improve the overall efficiency of the distillery and to obtain brandy.A wide range of equipment is available for the distillation of grape by-products, according to the raw material but also to the desired distillate: desalters for pomace and dregs, continuous and discontinuous stills, also of the "Charentais" or "Armagnacais" type, with rectifying column or with deflemmers.
Sugar Cane
The cultivation of sugar cane is now associated with the production of alcohol in many ways. It is possible to distill alcohol for industrial use or fuel from the direct fermentation of cane juice; otherwise, where the distillery is paired with a sugar mill, residual molasses can be fermented. These two alternatives have specific peculiarities that require special precautions in the design and construction of distillation equipment (e.g. corrosion, precipitation of salts, solids content, and other factors).From sugar cane are then produced distillates such as rum, agricultural rum, and cachaca. A wide range of continuous and discontinuous stills is available as well as continuous columns for the production of distillates.