Modeling of heat transfer in tanks during wine-making fermentation

Temperature is one of the main factors that affect the fermentation kinetics during wine-making. We developed a thermal model to evaluate the power required to control this temperature. The model includes the changes in physico-chemical properties of the must during fermentation and the refrigeration losses to ambient from the outer surface of the tank. We used the model to run simulations and to estimate the power required to cool an industrial tank. The results were discussed considering the impact of variables such as the air speed and the air temperature. We finally validated the thermal model at the pilot scale.