The Characterization of the Alcoholic Fermentation Process in Wine Production Based on Acoustic Emission Analysis

Abstract

The present experimental study assessed the viability of utilizing an acoustic emission signal as a monitoring instrument to predict the chemical characteristics of wine throughout the alcoholic fermentation process. The purpose of this study is to acquire the acoustic emission signals generated by CO₂ bubbles to calculate the must density and monitor the kinetics of the alcoholic fermentation process. The kinetics of the process were evaluated in real time using a hydrophone immersed in the liquid within the fermentation tank. The measurements were conducted in multiple fermentation tanks at a winery engaged in the production of wines bearing the Rioja Denomination of Origin (D.O.) designation. Acoustic signals were acquired throughout the entirety of the fermentation process, via a sampling period of five minutes, and stored for subsequent processing. To validate the results, the measurements obtained manually in the laboratory by the winemaker were collected during this stage. Signal processing was conducted to extract descriptors from the acoustic signal and evaluate their correlation with the experimental data acquired during the process. The results of the analyses confirm that there is a high linear correlation between the density data obtained from the acoustic analysis and the density data obtained at the laboratory level, with determination coefficients exceeding 95%. The acoustic emission signal is a valuable decision-making tool for technicians and winemakers due to its sensitivity when describing variations in kinetics and density during the alcoholic fermentation process.