Winemakers are artists who have harnessed the science of fermentation to turn humble grape juice into the nectar of the gods. Vinification, the art of winemaking, has been around for millennia. Vintners soon realized that temperature dramatically affects the quality of the finished wine. They built elaborate wine cellars or used natural caves to create a uniform chilled environment to control the fermentation temperature. 

Temperature control is critical to the winemaking process from when the must (juice) exits the press through fermentation, aging, and bottling. A wine that ferments at too high a temperature can taste cooked, and the yeast may die prematurely. 

This article will cover wine fermentation and explore flexible cooling jackets for accurate temperature control and cooling jacket for fermenters. 

What Is the Correct Temperature to Ferment Wine?

There are four areas of winemaking where refrigeration is critical to the process:

1. Must Cooling – Limits phenolic oxidation and premature fermentation
2. Juice Clarification – Aids the settling of suspended solids
3. Fermentation – Controls the fermentation rate
4. Cold Stabilization – Removes tartrate crystals to prevent precipitation after bottling

Wine temperature in fermentation is critical for producing quality wine. The temperature inside the fermentation tank influences the activity of enzymes, which are already present in the grape. Enzymes affect the wine’s aroma, influence the breakdown of the sugar in the grape mash, and the metabolic processes of the living microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, and fungi. By controlling the temperature, the vintner controls the biological processes and the wine’s flavor. 

Red wines need higher fermentation temperatures of around 70°F (21°C) and up to as high as 85°F (29.4°C). The higher temperatures extract more color and tannins. 

White wines require a cooler fermentation temperature to preserve the fruity flavor and the white color. Reliable temperature control from 45°F (7.2°C) to 60°F (15.5°C) produces consistently quality wine.

There are two types of fermentation for wine, alcoholic and malolactic. Alcoholic fermentation uses yeast and bacteria to convert sugar into alcohol. Malolactic fermentation reduces the wine’s acidity by converting the malic acid of the fruit into lactic acid. Vintners use this process for red wines aged in oak barrels.

Wine Stabilization 

Cold stabilization is a process after fermentation and just before bottling. Chilling helps precipitate suspended particles in the wine so that they will filter out. Because wine contains alcohol, the freezing point is lower than water. For example, the freezing point of wine with a 10% ethanol by volume solution is approximately 25°F. At 12%, it is 23°F and at 14% is 21°F.

Avoiding Temperature Fluctuations

Maintaining a stable temperature of the wine during the various phases of its fermentation and processing is critical to ensuring that the final wine quality is acceptable. Cooling systems such as flexible cooling jackets are an integral component of wine production. 

Without cooling systems, temperature fluctuation can destroy the entire harvest. Wine tank cooling jackets improve the wine by allowing it to ferment at the correct temperature.

How Do Wineries Control Wine Fermentation Temperature?

Large-scale wineries will use stainless steel fermentation tanks with built-in cooling jackets. An external tank cooling jacket provides uniform temperature by circulating a cooling liquid around the tank’s surface like a radiator. External cooling eliminates the possibility of contamination from the cooling fluid.

Winery glycol chillers connect to the jacket, exchanging heat using a mixture of glycol and water similar to your car’s radiator. These glycol jackets regulate the internal temperature of the tank during fermentation or the stabilization process. 

Jacketed tanks are costly. The best option for small-batch, artisanal, or home wineries is to apply a Fluxwrap wine tank cooling jacket. It can attach to a glycol chiller, converting it into a removable glycol jacket.

What Is a Fluxwrap Fermenter Cooling Jacket?

Unlike a stainless steel system welded to a wine fermentation tank, Fluxwrap is flexible and portable. It can heat or cool vessels as small as 5-gallons up to 275-gallon, full-sized totes. Fluxwrap maintains the internal temperature of wine fermentation tanks using a proprietary multi-channel fluid path like an industrial-sized chiller. The cooling fluid has maximum flow and heat exchange with minimal pressure.

Flux wrap solves critical heating and cooling issues for winemakers in a quick, four-step procedure.

Step 1 – The flexible tank cooling jacket wraps around the fermentation tank and secures at the elastic neoprene ends. 

Step 2 – Attach the two hoses to the portable chiller.

Step 3 – Install the insulation wrap over the Fluxwrap. The insulation increases temperature control and reduces condensation. 

Step 4 – Turn on the chiller and set it to the desired temperature.

Flux wrap conforms to any surface maintaining contact with the tank for superior thermal conductivity. It installs and removes in minutes for different tanks.

Solve Winery Fermentation Chilling Issues

One major issue all winemakers face is when fermentation becomes sluggish or stops altogether. This can happen when there is a thermal shock or significant temperature fluctuation. Unlike internal tank cooling systems, an external wine tank cooling jacket provides uniform cooling without exposing the wine inside the tank to contamination by microorganisms and possible oxidation.

Let us help you determine the correct fermentation cooling jacket solution for your operation. Call our experts at (866) 826-2993 or email us at [email protected].

“Space… the final frontier.” Every Star Trek fan knows the starting monologue to the show and the movies. However, the “final frontier” of the near-earth orbit has become a satellite parking lot, crowded with over 6,540 satellites of all sizes. And that’s just the beginning.

SpaceX’s Starlink project plans to add 7,518 more satellites. They hold the record of sending up 143 satellites in one flight in January 2021. Each satellite weighs 590 pounds and costs $250,000.

Building a satellite can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Launching one can cost from $20 million to $200 million depending on the satellite’s size, the country, and the launch vehicle.

Due to the enormous investment and potential safety hazards if they fail, NASA requires that satellite builders test each part and component in space-like conditions. That’s where a space environment simulator or simulation chamber with thermal vacuum testing comes into play.

What Is Satellite Testing?

Since the U.S. space program began, satellite and component testing in a thermal vacuum chamber has been mandatory to comply with various regulatory standards in the aerospace and defense industries. Thermal vacuum testing mitigates the risk and prepares the satellite for the extreme environment and temperatures encountered in orbit.

We take satellites for granted, but without them, we are almost helpless. Cellphones, the internet, GPS navigation are just some of the ways they have improved our lives. 

Every nut, bolt, motherboard, hard drive, and finished satellite must pass rigorous testing in space-like environments before they can receive a “Go for Launch.” There are four testing conditions every component must pass:

1. Vibration, Shock, and Acoustic levels of launch conditions
2. Electro-radiation
3. Pressure variations down to a total vacuum
4. Thermal variations from ambient ground level to space conditions

The governments and industries who pay for these satellites want reassurance that everything will still work after a violent launch and the harsh space environment. Once in orbit, there is no retrieving or repairing a satellite.

Manufacturers and subcontractors rely on various facilities around the country that have space simulation chambers to test their equipment.

Space Simulation Testing

Space simulation chambers are the answer to satellite and durability testing. They recreate space-like conditions here on Earth. So, how strong is the vacuum of space?

Scientists consider the boundary of space to be 100km from Earth, where the pressure is 2.7 x 10^-03 mbar. Most satellites orbit between 200 and 2,000 km from the surface, called Low Earth Orbit or LEO. For example, the International Space Station’s orbit is 400 km, where the vacuum is 10^-07 mbar.

A space simulation chamber can create the same vacuum down to 10^-07 mbar. Using ultra-low temperature process cooling equipment, these thermal vacuum chambers can also recreate the lowest temperatures a satellite will experience. 

The different vacuum pumps required to create such a high vacuum work at high temperatures. Keeping the various processes cool during testing is the job of the process chillers. Process chillers for any application are essential to maintaining the pumps operating at total capacity.Some vacuum chambers can be relatively small, fitting in only a few components. The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center’s space simulation chamber, Chamber A, has a 45-foot diameter floor that can hold up to 50,000 pounds. It can hold an entire satellite and rotate 180°.

Pressure Vessels for Parts or People

A pressure vessel is any container that resists high internal or external temperatures and pressures. Two vessels that come to mind are a scuba tank and a passenger jet cabin. Both keep the pressure contained. A vacuum chamber is a pressure vessel that keeps pressure out while it has a vacuum inside.

Space simulation chambers must withstand pressure from the atmosphere and maintain a vacuum of 10^-07 mbar to mimic the space environment. Inside the chamber, researchers can simulate atmospheric conditions from ground level to space and back. Every part must pass these tests before being used in a satellite. Vacuum chamber technology lets manufacturers know if their parts can withstand the rigors of space travel.

Some of the testing parameters inside a vacuum chamber include:

• Humidity (RH)
• Low Temperature
• High Temperature
• Various Pressure Levels
• Atmospheric Altitude
• Radiation
• Vibration

Another benefit of vacuum chambers is the process of degassing. Degassing is a process that uses a vacuum to remove trapped gas molecules from parts and materials like resin, silicone, rubber, and other flexible compounds. 

There are pressure vessels for human occupancy (PVHO) built to hold one or more people. They can test space suits and life support systems in a controlled environment.

Pressure vessels that can control and alter the temperature along with the pressure are called thermal vacuum chambers.

Thermal Vacuum Chambers

The vacuum of space is not the only physical problem satellites face. Temperatures can fluctuate by 500 degrees. External surface temperatures of the International Space Station reach 250 degrees F (121° C) on the sunny side and -250 degrees F (-157° C) on the shady side. 

All satellite materials must withstand the same thermal conditions. Something called a thermal shroud recreates those temperature extremes inside the thermal vacuum chamber. 

What is a Thermal Shroud?

The thermal shroud is a plate that allows heating or cooling of the items in the chamber under a vacuum. Supercooled fluids circulate through the thermal shrouds recreating the low temperature of space. Testers apply an array of xenon lamps to simulate the sun’s heat radiation.

The PID (proportional–integral–derivative) temperature controller regulates the set temperatures during testing. One side of the shroud will be black, and the other will be highly polished and reflective. A thermal shroud transforms a plain vacuum chamber into a thermal vacuum chamber. Researchers can test components for thermal durability under the vacuum of space. 

Process Cooling Keeps Vacuum Pumps Running

There is a tremendous heat transfer in vacuum pumping, thermal loads, and high vacuum chambers. Without proper pressure vessel cooling or process cooling, the materials and systems can overheat, causing damage. Custom chillers and cryogenic pumps keep the process cool and avoid heat damage.

One process cooling solution is a portable application called Fluxwrap Fluid Channel Blankets. Like a blanket, they can wrap around uneven surfaces such as tanks or drums. A circulating cooling system keeps the process at a constant temperature.

The Critical Importance of Satellite Testing

The space simulation test is mandatory for anything that will launch into space. Without testing inside thermal vacuum chambers, launching satellites would be impossible.

A NASA report revealed that between 2000 to 2016, of all small satellites launched, 41.3% failed or partially failed. That’s almost one out of every two small satellite missions ending in either a total or a partial mission failure.

Space simulation testing is not guaranteed, but it will substantially reduce the likelihood of inferior parts and components making their way into space. At the very least, testing can uncover design flaws that would otherwise go unnoticed until it’s too late. North Slope Chillers offers several levels of portable, compact, and powerful recirculated process cooling equipment down to -112°F. These units are easy to install, remove, and relocate. For specifications, please contact us today at (866) 826-2993 or email us at  [email protected].

What Are Closed-Loop Chillers?

Closed-loop chillers are used to exchange heat from industrial or commercial applications by running coolant through a closed-loop system. These chillers use various kinds of coolant, including water, glycol and oil-based coolants. 

Many processes today rely on chiller systems that are closed-loop. For example, data servers run by large tech companies rely on air conditioning and water chillers to draw away heat generated by powerful electronic equipment. Both the air conditioner and water chillers are closed-loop systems due to the fact that they recycle the air and water used to extract heat. The air conditioner reuses the air, while the water chiller reuses its cooling water.

How Do Closed-Loop Chiller Systems Work?

A closed-loop chiller system reuses coolant instead of releasing it as waste. These systems prevent water and coolant from receiving direct air contact with anything outside the chiller system itself. This is a key difference between closed-loop and open-loop chillers, where the chiller is hooked up to a cooling tower that allows direct air-to-water surface contact. Without access to air, closed-loop chillers prevent airborne contaminants from infiltrating the cooling system.

Benefits of a Closed-loop Chiller System

There are many benefits for using a closed-loop chiller, chief among them being saving money and reducing waste. 

Uses Less Water/Coolant

Water and coolant are resources that your processes gobble up. Due to the necessity of these materials in your cooling plan, expenses from coolant purchases can quickly multiply. Save on costs by reusing your water and coolant in a closed-loop system. 

Takes Up Less Space

No one has unlimited space within their facility. Closed-loop chillers have the benefit of only taking up a small amount of space due to the lack of coolant feed and waste lines.

Uses Less Energy

Less pumps mean less equipment to power. Save on electricity costs and reduce the power load your facility requires by using closed-loop chillers in your cooling plan. 

Precise Temperature Maintenance

By reusing water and coolant within the chiller system, temperature fluctuations are easily mitigated. Additionally, less power is used in bringing temperatures back to required levels, saving money on that end as well. 

Saves Operational and Waste Costs

Reusing water and coolant also reduces costs associated with disposing of waste coolant. In some areas, taxes are imposed on businesses that generate waste. Avoid these expenses by using a closed-loop chiller system. 

Adherence to Waste Regulations

Waste regulations are more commonplace than ever. The costs and manpower associated with adhering to these regulations can quickly lower your profit margins. By using a closed-loop chiller, nearly all waste is eliminated as well as the need to follow waste disposal regulations.

Low Maintenance

Closed-loop chillers require little day-to-day maintenance. On occasion they should be inspected for corrosion or deposit buildup within the chiller, but otherwise they run continually on their own. 

Drawbacks

Closed-loop chillers are not the perfect, end-all solution to cooling. Though there are many benefits to using them in your process cooling systems, it’s essential to consider where these chillers have their drawbacks.

Corrosion

Corrosion can be a problem due to buildup of material inside of the system. Such corrosion can result from things like glycol breakdown, mineral scaling and unfiltered deposits.

Preventative Maintenance

Potentially expensive treatment plans to ensure mineral or organic deposits don’t impact chiller efficiency. Part of your cooling plan needs to take into account when and how you intend to rid your equipment of deposits. 

Are Closed-loop Chillers Right For Me?

For many, the benefits of using a closed-loop chiller system far outweigh the drawbacks. Adhering to environmental waste regulations, reducing business waste taxes and lowering operational costs are reason enough to consider using a closed-loop chiller system. 

Most organizations, from small manufacturers to global corporations, are able to use closed-loop chillers within their facilities. They are extremely adaptable and can be fitted to replace existing chiller systems. 

Far more important is what type of coolant you select for your closed-loop chiller system. Certain coolants in closed circuit systems have the potential to cause buildup within the system. Water, though commonly considered cleaner than coolants, can carry minerals that cause buildup in closed-loop water chillers depending on where your water is sourced. However, so long as you ensure that you have proper treatment plans in place, buildup shouldn’t be a worry. 

Chiller Systems from North Slope Chillers

Your cooling plan for your facility is an important part of daily operations, ensuring proper temperature levels are adhered to and processes are kept from overheating. That’s why North Slope Chillers creates top-of-the-line, portable industrial chillers and Flux Wraps that meet your specific chilling needs. 

Our products are made in the USA and built to last. We know how valuable your materials and equipment are and provide chilling that will extend the life of the valuables you need to protect. Reach out to our technical engineers to discuss closed-loop chiller options for your organization’s cooling plan.

Very Cool Tech

Semiconductors are used in just about every computing device we use today. But how do semiconductors work? In order to understand semiconductor devices, we first need to review what a semiconductor is at the atomic level.

download our catalog

What is a Semiconductor?

First, let’s start with electrons. Electrons live in orbits or shells that surround an atom’s nucleus. The electrons that live in the outermost orbit, or valance shell, are called valance electrons. A valance shell can hold a maximum of 8 electrons. These electrons can break free and move from 1 atom to another, which creates electrical energy. Electrons can be directed to move or flow in a guided direction, creating a flow of electrical current.

Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors

When an atom has 1, 2, or 3 valance electrons, it is known as a conductor. These atoms are highly conductive, and it is easy to move their electrons and create electrical energy. When an atom has 6, 7, or 8 valance electrons, it is known as an insulator. It is difficult to break their electrons away, which makes them highly insulative against electrical energy.

Semiconductors are atoms that have 4 or 5 valance electrons. As they occupy the middle of the spectrum between conductors and insulators, you can see that they are capable of both conduction and insulation against electrical energy.

Elemental and Compound Semiconductors

There are some elements on the periodic table that are semiconductors all by themselves, such as: silicon, germanium, tin, selenium, and tellurium. There are however other elements that become semiconductive when combined with other elements. These compound semiconductors include: gallium arsenide (gallium and arsenic), mercury indium telluride (mercury, indium, and tellurium), aluminum gallium arsenide (aluminum, gallium, and arsenic), and more.

Doping

Semiconductors can be made more conductive through the process of doping. Doping is accomplished by adding a small amount (typically 1 part per million) of atomic impurity. There are many elements that are used to dope a semiconductor, but the basic process is the same. When these impurities are added to a host of semiconducting atoms, either a free donor electron is released (creating a negative charge), or an electron hole is created (creating a positive charge).

What is a Semiconductor Device?

Now that we understand what a semiconductor is on the atomic level, we can take a look at how a basic semiconductor device (like a diode) works. These devices are composed of thin slices of semiconducting material: 1 side is a p-type (positive) semiconductor, the other side is an n type (negative) semiconductor. The space in between these 2 semiconductors is called a P-N Junction. A small electric pulse (like from a battery) excites the junction between these semiconductors and a current is created.

Semiconductor Applications

Semiconductor devices have an infinite number of applications in today’s digital world. Every microprocessor, transistor, resistor, diode laser, and circuit based device is made possible by semi-conductors. These devices vary in complexity based upon how it is used, and what electrical current is required for the application.

Semiconductor Cooling Methods

Truth be told, all electrical currents create some form of heat. As heat builds up within the semiconductor device, it will begin to break down and irreversibly malfunction if waste heat is not removed. Most semiconductors use some form of heat sink that collects the waste heat in 1 location for easier removal. From this point, there are multiple methods of cooling a semiconductor device.

Air Cooling

Some semiconductor devices generate such a small amount of heat, that simple layout adjustments allow natural air flow to remove waste heat. Strategically placed vents facilitate this air flow without the use of fans or forced air. 

Other devices need greater air flow velocity in order to remove enough heat to keep a semiconductor device functioning. Forced air has a much greater cooling effect than natural air cooling. 

Liquid Cooling

Liquids are an even more efficient method of transferring heat than air. Liquid chillers typically use a mixture of water and glycol to create a heat transferring medium. These fluids are pumped continuously to and from the chiller and the semiconductor device as it is running.

Immersion Cooling

This cooling method involves completely submerging semiconducting devices into tanks filled with dielectric liquid or oil. Dielectric fluids are specialized non-conductive liquids through which no electric current can pass. They can electronically insulate even high voltage equipment and prevent arcing. When this fluid is chilled, it also acts as a liquid coolant for the devices as they continue to operate. 

Spray Cooling

The method of spray cooling uses the cycle of evaporation and condensation to remove waste heat. Microjets spray inert fluids at the base of the semiconductor. Heat then transfers into the fluids, causing them to start a cycle of evaporation and condensation.

North Slope Chillers Semiconductor Cooling Solutions

North Slope Chillers’ industrial cooling solutions will cool down your operation without interrupting the layout of your current system. North Slope Chillers provides several levels of industrial water chiller systems, fluid chillers and proprietary chilling accessories to provide precise temperature control that is compact, yet efficient. Easy to install, remove, and relocate, you will be happy to have a fluid chiller unit that is painless and easy to use. Contact us to find the right semiconductor cooling solution for your needs at (866) 826-2993 or [email protected]