The mechanism of precipitation of calcium L(+)-tartrate in a model wine solution

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Abstract

The spontaneous precipitation of calcium tartrate has been studied using a model wine solution. Studies on solutions containing 130 mg calcium 1−1, 2 g tartaric acid 1−1 and 11% (v/v) ethanol in the pH range 3.1–3.5 have shown that the onset, rate and extent of precipitation depend on the initial pH of the model solution. By modification of the model to give solutions of different supersaturations, it has been established that, at supersaturations typical of wine, precipitation is induced by heterogeneous nucleation. Use of a calcium-ion-selective electrode to follow the precipitation process showed that there is a significant proportion of bound calcium in the model prior to and at the end of precipitation. The fraction of bound calcium, however, decreases during the precipitation process and it has been demonstrated that this is a consequence of the change in pH which occurs during precipitation. Solubility studies in the presence of excess tartrate indicate that the bound species is soluble calcium tartrate. On the basis of the nucleation studies and from a recognition of the existence of soluble calcium tartrate, a mechanism for the spontaneous precipitation process has been established.

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