1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a process for reducing the alcohol content and/or the sugar content of a beverage, and more particularly to such a process that can be carried out on a small scale, for example by a consumer.
2. Description of the Related Art
For some time it has been recognized that many consumers enjoy the taste experience of drinking alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine, but for health or other reasons prefer to reduce their alcohol intake. Non-alcoholic beer and wine products are on the market intended to cater to this segment of the consumer population.
Likewise, many consumers like the taste of soft drinks, but want to reduce their sugar intake. For decades this segment of the consumer population is being served with low-sugar and sugar-free soft drinks, Manufacturers attempt to match the taste of the sugar-containing compositions by using artificial sweeteners. However, the taste profile of artificial sweeteners is different from that of sugar, and is disliked by a large portion of the public. In addition, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame cause allergic reactions in a significant portion of the population.
More recently health concerns have been raised about sugars that are naturally present in fruit juices.
Several methods have been proposed for reducing the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages, such as wine. One approach is the use of reverse osmosis, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,381. Reverse osmosis requires significant capital investment. In addition the operation of a reverse osmosis process is energy intensive, and therefore costly. In reverse osmosis both water and alcohol are removed from the wine, leaving a flavor concentrate. The wine is reconstituted, in non-alcoholic form, through the addition of demineralized water. This circuitous route further adds to the cost of operating the process.
Another approach relies on removal of the alcohol component by distillation. Atmospheric distillation requires temperatures in excess of 78.5° C., the boiling point of ethanol. Such high temperatures are detrimental to the flavor components of the beverage. Moreover, water and ethanol form an azeotropic mixture, making it impossible to reduce the alcohol content of a beverage to less than 4% by using distillation.
To avoid the high temperatures required for atmospheric distillation several inventors have proposed distillation at reduced pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,381 discloses a process in which wine is diluted with water, and then stripped under high vacuum to remove alcohol. The stripped product is blended with concentrated fruit juice flavorants.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,141 discloses a process comprising vacuum film distillation.
EP 0 062 799 A1 discloses a process in which the aroma components of wine are extracted with an organic solvent, such as diethylether, leaving a water/alcohol mixture. This mixture is subjected to distillation to separate the water from the alcohol. The organic solvent is removed from the extract by evaporation. The extracted flavorants are mixed with the water to produce a non-alcoholic wine product. Any residual organic solvent would have a strong and undesirable flavor impact on the resulting beverage.
WO 2011/088809 discloses a process wherein an alcoholic beverage is partially frozen at a temperature below −4° C., resulting in ice crystals and a liquid alcoholic phase. The ice crystals are separated from the liquid phase by filtration. It is unclear whether flavor components are removed with the liquid alcoholic phase.
The above-described prior art processes are unsuitable for operation on a small scale at a consumer's home.
CN 102658095 (A) discloses a co-polymer of butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate and, optionally, hydroxyethyl acrylate. The polymer is disclosed to selectively adsorb alcohol from an alcohol aqueous solution. The document does not disclose the acrylate monomer content of the polymer. Unreacted monomer present in the polymer would impart an undesirable taste to the beverage, and would lead to health concerns as acrylate monomers are considered carcinogenic.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,631 discloses a process for removing alcohol from beer. The process comprises contacting beer with a hydrophobic zeolite, whereby alcohol and aroma components are adsorbed to the zeolite. The adsorbed products are desorbed, and the desorbed phase is split into an alcohol phase and an aroma phase. The aroma phase is mixed with the dealcoholized beer. The zeolites suitable for this process have Si:Al molecular ratio higher than 12.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,009 B1 discloses a process for removing alcohol from an alcoholic beverage. The process comprises passing the alcoholic beverage through a molecular sieve bed that selective adsorbs ethyl alcohol. The molecular sieve material is essentially alumina free, so as to be hydrophobic. Examples include silicalite, ZSM-5, and zeolite Y from which alumina has been removed.
The use of de-aluminated zeolites has several disadvantages. De-alumination adds to the cost of the zeolite material, and reduces its adsorbent capacity.
The present invention addresses these problems by providing an improved process for selectively adsorbing alcohol and/or sugar from a beverage.