Prensa de bandes

English translation: membrane press, hydraulic basket press

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Catalan term or phrase:Prensa de bandes
English translation:membrane press, hydraulic basket press
Entered by: Berni Armstrong

15:10 Sep 3, 2003
Catalan to English translations [PRO]
Wine / Oenology / Viticulture / wine making
Catalan term or phrase: Prensa de bandes
Hi all,

this is a type of industrial wine press that rather than pressing from the top, as many do, presses from the side.

Anyone know what they're called?
Berni Armstrong
Spain
Local time: 00:41
hydraulic basket press / vertical press
Explanation:
I think this may be it.

HTH

Sheila


There are several types of wine press - most still visibly derived from the traditional basket and screw spindle design.

Modern presses are increasingly mechanised and automated, one particular group being based on the use of pneumatic pressure.

A large bag lying centrally through the cylinder of the press is filled with air and so squeezes the grapes between its expanding self and the sides of the drum.

Irrespective of the capacity of the press - varying from a half to ten tons - the pressing cycle lasts about two hours at the end of which all the juice has been extracted.


Either white or red grapes are fed into a crusher-stemmer (or égrappoir) which tears off the stalks and pumps the broken grapes into a pneumatic press. The press revolves and an airbag inside is inflated, pressing the grapes against the cage.

The skins are traditionally pressed in a hydraulic basket press 13 by a descending plate 14 which forces the juice out through slatted sides. Layers of matting help the juice to run out. This press wine (vin de presse), deeply coloured and tannic, is not usually mixed with the free-run wine. The marc left in the press is either used as fertilizer or distilled to make cheap brandy.


http://www.napafermentation.com/pages/presses/verticalpresse...




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2003-09-03 15:26:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

On second thoughts, maybe that was not the type you were looking for. The membrane tank press is an industrial variety. Have a wee look at the photos in this website, Berni:




Membrane tank press


http://www.vintekaus.com.au/vt5000.htm

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2003-09-03 15:29:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here is the ultimate wine press website!

http://www.vwm-online.com/Magazine/Archive/1998/Vol24_No1/Pr...


Press types and some of their characteristics:

Rack & Frame:   A porous cloth laid out on a square frame is filled with must by hand. The \"cheese\" is formed by folding up the cloth, like a diaper. The press load is continued by removing the frame, putting down a rack (a rectangular piece of lattice, similar to that around your hot tub) and building another cheese on top, until there is no more room. The pressing is done by a downward moving piston. A very cheap, and very slow process that yields clean, low phenolic content juice. A typical unit can handle 400- 500 pounds per filling, yielding about 120 gallons per ton, with very clean, low solids juice. While some easier-to-load versions have been developed, this system is still generally used for pressing apples. The rack and cheese press lacks an important capability for grape pressing, that of moving and rearranging the squeezed mass, or \"breaking up the cake\", to increase the juice yield.

Vertical and Horizontal Basket Presses

The classic icon of winemaking, with a moving piston that compresses the must against the bottom and the basket slats. (Why aren\'t the bottom and the top also constructed of slats to allow juice to be expressed?) Basket presses can produce clean, low solids juice, but also lack that important redistribution ability, that of breaking up the cake. Many variations exist with the same basic theme:

Manual mechanical:   A hand powered mechanical advantage system that moves the piston down a central screw.

Manual Hydraulic-Mechanical:   This system has aspects of the hand system, augmented by a hydraulic assist when the mechanical forces required are greater than a normal worker can supply. This arrangement logically upgrades to an electric hydraulic system.

The Twin Vertical Basket Electro-hydraulic press:    For more money is often overlooked as a real competitor for small winery interest. While one movable basket is being pressed, the second can be emptied and refilled. A very economical system for smaller wineries. The through--put is in the 1 to 3 ton per load range, the prices are good and the juice quality is excellent.

Vertical Bladder Basket Press:   May be operated in either a pneumatic or hydraulic mode. Similar in output to a vertical piston press, the bladder system allows better juice yields, easier and faster emptying, with essentially the same juice quality. The bladder may be inflated with either water or air. The bomb-like nature of an air pressurized device has always bothered me. An oil-canned wine tank (what winery has not had one?) can be popped back out with no danger, using very little water pressure. For the same reasons, there is much less danger inflating a wooden-slat press bladder with water. There is a time trade off, but that may work in favor of better pressing efficiency, forced by the slower water fill.

Horizontal Double-platen:   In the 1970\'s, Vaslin presses, horizontal baskets with a moving piston coming in from each end, were in vogue. With some wear, it often became necessary to incorporate stems, while pressing whites, to act as impediments to leakage past the pistons.(Otherwise the winemaker could be surprised at how much grape material could be stuck to a distant wall in a matter of seconds.) The scraping of the stems did not show up as a significant increase in phenolics. These presses were equipped with chains that coiled or folded into the pressed cake. As a result, on the release portion of the press cycle, the mass of pressed grape was shaken and pummeled by the rotation of the press. Further, on returning the platens to the end of the press, the straightening of the chains unavoidably, or conveniently, broke up the cake.

Horizontal Bladder   Also in the 1970\'s, the Willmes bladder press came into favor, with a full-wrap slotted stainless steel screen replacing the wooden basket containment/juice separation system. The bladder, a thick rubber tube about a foot and a half in diameter, runs down the center and is sealed to the ends of the press, compressed air is then pumped in to inflate it. Grapes are loaded in through hatches to surround the bladder. With operating pressures ranging from 3 psi to 60psi, the phenolic load in the tail of the pressing cycle can be very high. In the 1970\'s, separation of free run from various levels of press run was derigeur. Free run was considered to be anything that was expressed at or below one atmosphere (14.7 psi). The efficacy of these presses, how well they really work, is highly dependent on having both a good source of pressurized air and either a knowledgeable, alert operator, or some good automation.

Today, modern control programs that can run lower pressures and perform frequent break-ups of the press cake, can improve the yield while holding down the phenolic load. Several manufacturers produce good knock offs - of this system. With well trained, attentive operators, high quality juice extraction is, if not easy, at least regular. Many small wineries use only the lower end of the pressing range, and never worry about separating \"free run\" from \"press\" fractions.

Continuous Presses

Continuous Augers:   Historically very controversial, and often felt to imply lack of concern for quality. Properly used, continuous auger presses can be effective in de-juicing whites before pressing, or in pressing reds. In some small wineries these presses have been very successful in handling reds. Some units have convenient ways to separate press fractions of increasing phenolic loading. In my opinion, this separation should be used, and made a part of the quality control effort, rather than regarded as proof of problems.

Continuous Belts:   In the experimental stage since the early 1970\'s. The advantage of the continuous belt concept is just that. It is continuous and the dwell time in any part of the machine is short. The dis-advantage is just that: the dwell time in the pressing part of the travel is usually too short. These machines are in use for some other fruits, but are still mostly experimental for grapes. 

Tank and Membrane Presses:  The \"Now Generation\"

Tank Press:   The term \"Tank Press\" means that the unit can be closed to the air for skin contact, cold-soaking, or overnight holding.

Membrane Press:   The term \"membrane press\" means that the pressing action is accomplished by a rubberized or elasticized cloth, the membrane, that conforms to one side of the tank when loading. The membrane is then pushed by air pressure to force the fruit against the opposite side of the press body. In a tank press, channels behind grape and seed-proof screens then conduct the expressed juice to one end of the machine where the juice emerges to be collected in a sump. The tubes from which the juice exits may be capped for holding fruit and juice together, if that is desired. A \"membrane press\" may be either the tank type described above, or, in place of the channels, one whole side may be a slotted screen that drains directly to a juice pan.

Membrane Bladder Press:   If the full circumference of the press has a slotted screen, that leaves no attachment location for the membrane and it must be installed in the configuration of a bladder. Hence the term, membrane bladder press. The small deflated size of the membrane bladder and the fact that it does not need to stretch to fill the volume of the press, has lead to more efficient press designs.

All these membrane variations have in common some excellent features.

* The break up of the pressed cake is gentle, and can be repeated as often as desired.
* Most of these units are easy to dump in preparation for the next load.
* With the proper footing below the press, clean up is easy. The clean-up man can stand up in the inverted press opening and quickly hose down all the grape contact parts. (He will very quickly learn to keep his water-proof leggings outside his boots.)
* For not many dollars compared to the price of the press, (five to ten percent of the press price) an axial feed assembly can be obtained. This permits rotation of the press while loading it. Axial feed allows better must distribution, some real free run de-juicing and as a result, significant increases in press capacity. It is much like having a press that is 10 to 20% larger.
* Often the air for the low pressure pressing, 0 to 0.2 atmospheres, is supplied by a self-contained blower. An external compressor may be required for additional pressures.


While slow pressing usually produces better yields, there is slow, and there is too slow. An undersized external compressor can be a waste of time and, therefore, money. Often the bottleneck in pressing is not the press but the air supply. The obvious choices are: first, a bigger air compressor, and second, a compressed air reservoir tank, so that a too-small compressor can catch up, and build a compressed air reserve. Unfortunately, neither is inexpensive.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2003-09-03 15:45:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops! I forgot to add - from the above information the ***tanks and membrane presses*** would appear to be the ones you are after - they squeeze the grapes against the sides in any case.

HTH
Selected response from:

Sheila Hardie
Spain
Local time: 00:41
Grading comment
I gave these two options to the client - but NOTE TO GLOSSARY USERS- neither of these could be definitive.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3hydraulic basket press / vertical press
Sheila Hardie


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
hydraulic basket press / vertical press


Explanation:
I think this may be it.

HTH

Sheila


There are several types of wine press - most still visibly derived from the traditional basket and screw spindle design.

Modern presses are increasingly mechanised and automated, one particular group being based on the use of pneumatic pressure.

A large bag lying centrally through the cylinder of the press is filled with air and so squeezes the grapes between its expanding self and the sides of the drum.

Irrespective of the capacity of the press - varying from a half to ten tons - the pressing cycle lasts about two hours at the end of which all the juice has been extracted.


Either white or red grapes are fed into a crusher-stemmer (or égrappoir) which tears off the stalks and pumps the broken grapes into a pneumatic press. The press revolves and an airbag inside is inflated, pressing the grapes against the cage.

The skins are traditionally pressed in a hydraulic basket press 13 by a descending plate 14 which forces the juice out through slatted sides. Layers of matting help the juice to run out. This press wine (vin de presse), deeply coloured and tannic, is not usually mixed with the free-run wine. The marc left in the press is either used as fertilizer or distilled to make cheap brandy.


http://www.napafermentation.com/pages/presses/verticalpresse...




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2003-09-03 15:26:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

On second thoughts, maybe that was not the type you were looking for. The membrane tank press is an industrial variety. Have a wee look at the photos in this website, Berni:




Membrane tank press


http://www.vintekaus.com.au/vt5000.htm

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2003-09-03 15:29:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here is the ultimate wine press website!

http://www.vwm-online.com/Magazine/Archive/1998/Vol24_No1/Pr...


Press types and some of their characteristics:

Rack & Frame:   A porous cloth laid out on a square frame is filled with must by hand. The \"cheese\" is formed by folding up the cloth, like a diaper. The press load is continued by removing the frame, putting down a rack (a rectangular piece of lattice, similar to that around your hot tub) and building another cheese on top, until there is no more room. The pressing is done by a downward moving piston. A very cheap, and very slow process that yields clean, low phenolic content juice. A typical unit can handle 400- 500 pounds per filling, yielding about 120 gallons per ton, with very clean, low solids juice. While some easier-to-load versions have been developed, this system is still generally used for pressing apples. The rack and cheese press lacks an important capability for grape pressing, that of moving and rearranging the squeezed mass, or \"breaking up the cake\", to increase the juice yield.

Vertical and Horizontal Basket Presses

The classic icon of winemaking, with a moving piston that compresses the must against the bottom and the basket slats. (Why aren\'t the bottom and the top also constructed of slats to allow juice to be expressed?) Basket presses can produce clean, low solids juice, but also lack that important redistribution ability, that of breaking up the cake. Many variations exist with the same basic theme:

Manual mechanical:   A hand powered mechanical advantage system that moves the piston down a central screw.

Manual Hydraulic-Mechanical:   This system has aspects of the hand system, augmented by a hydraulic assist when the mechanical forces required are greater than a normal worker can supply. This arrangement logically upgrades to an electric hydraulic system.

The Twin Vertical Basket Electro-hydraulic press:    For more money is often overlooked as a real competitor for small winery interest. While one movable basket is being pressed, the second can be emptied and refilled. A very economical system for smaller wineries. The through--put is in the 1 to 3 ton per load range, the prices are good and the juice quality is excellent.

Vertical Bladder Basket Press:   May be operated in either a pneumatic or hydraulic mode. Similar in output to a vertical piston press, the bladder system allows better juice yields, easier and faster emptying, with essentially the same juice quality. The bladder may be inflated with either water or air. The bomb-like nature of an air pressurized device has always bothered me. An oil-canned wine tank (what winery has not had one?) can be popped back out with no danger, using very little water pressure. For the same reasons, there is much less danger inflating a wooden-slat press bladder with water. There is a time trade off, but that may work in favor of better pressing efficiency, forced by the slower water fill.

Horizontal Double-platen:   In the 1970\'s, Vaslin presses, horizontal baskets with a moving piston coming in from each end, were in vogue. With some wear, it often became necessary to incorporate stems, while pressing whites, to act as impediments to leakage past the pistons.(Otherwise the winemaker could be surprised at how much grape material could be stuck to a distant wall in a matter of seconds.) The scraping of the stems did not show up as a significant increase in phenolics. These presses were equipped with chains that coiled or folded into the pressed cake. As a result, on the release portion of the press cycle, the mass of pressed grape was shaken and pummeled by the rotation of the press. Further, on returning the platens to the end of the press, the straightening of the chains unavoidably, or conveniently, broke up the cake.

Horizontal Bladder   Also in the 1970\'s, the Willmes bladder press came into favor, with a full-wrap slotted stainless steel screen replacing the wooden basket containment/juice separation system. The bladder, a thick rubber tube about a foot and a half in diameter, runs down the center and is sealed to the ends of the press, compressed air is then pumped in to inflate it. Grapes are loaded in through hatches to surround the bladder. With operating pressures ranging from 3 psi to 60psi, the phenolic load in the tail of the pressing cycle can be very high. In the 1970\'s, separation of free run from various levels of press run was derigeur. Free run was considered to be anything that was expressed at or below one atmosphere (14.7 psi). The efficacy of these presses, how well they really work, is highly dependent on having both a good source of pressurized air and either a knowledgeable, alert operator, or some good automation.

Today, modern control programs that can run lower pressures and perform frequent break-ups of the press cake, can improve the yield while holding down the phenolic load. Several manufacturers produce good knock offs - of this system. With well trained, attentive operators, high quality juice extraction is, if not easy, at least regular. Many small wineries use only the lower end of the pressing range, and never worry about separating \"free run\" from \"press\" fractions.

Continuous Presses

Continuous Augers:   Historically very controversial, and often felt to imply lack of concern for quality. Properly used, continuous auger presses can be effective in de-juicing whites before pressing, or in pressing reds. In some small wineries these presses have been very successful in handling reds. Some units have convenient ways to separate press fractions of increasing phenolic loading. In my opinion, this separation should be used, and made a part of the quality control effort, rather than regarded as proof of problems.

Continuous Belts:   In the experimental stage since the early 1970\'s. The advantage of the continuous belt concept is just that. It is continuous and the dwell time in any part of the machine is short. The dis-advantage is just that: the dwell time in the pressing part of the travel is usually too short. These machines are in use for some other fruits, but are still mostly experimental for grapes. 

Tank and Membrane Presses:  The \"Now Generation\"

Tank Press:   The term \"Tank Press\" means that the unit can be closed to the air for skin contact, cold-soaking, or overnight holding.

Membrane Press:   The term \"membrane press\" means that the pressing action is accomplished by a rubberized or elasticized cloth, the membrane, that conforms to one side of the tank when loading. The membrane is then pushed by air pressure to force the fruit against the opposite side of the press body. In a tank press, channels behind grape and seed-proof screens then conduct the expressed juice to one end of the machine where the juice emerges to be collected in a sump. The tubes from which the juice exits may be capped for holding fruit and juice together, if that is desired. A \"membrane press\" may be either the tank type described above, or, in place of the channels, one whole side may be a slotted screen that drains directly to a juice pan.

Membrane Bladder Press:   If the full circumference of the press has a slotted screen, that leaves no attachment location for the membrane and it must be installed in the configuration of a bladder. Hence the term, membrane bladder press. The small deflated size of the membrane bladder and the fact that it does not need to stretch to fill the volume of the press, has lead to more efficient press designs.

All these membrane variations have in common some excellent features.

* The break up of the pressed cake is gentle, and can be repeated as often as desired.
* Most of these units are easy to dump in preparation for the next load.
* With the proper footing below the press, clean up is easy. The clean-up man can stand up in the inverted press opening and quickly hose down all the grape contact parts. (He will very quickly learn to keep his water-proof leggings outside his boots.)
* For not many dollars compared to the price of the press, (five to ten percent of the press price) an axial feed assembly can be obtained. This permits rotation of the press while loading it. Axial feed allows better must distribution, some real free run de-juicing and as a result, significant increases in press capacity. It is much like having a press that is 10 to 20% larger.
* Often the air for the low pressure pressing, 0 to 0.2 atmospheres, is supplied by a self-contained blower. An external compressor may be required for additional pressures.


While slow pressing usually produces better yields, there is slow, and there is too slow. An undersized external compressor can be a waste of time and, therefore, money. Often the bottleneck in pressing is not the press but the air supply. The obvious choices are: first, a bigger air compressor, and second, a compressed air reservoir tank, so that a too-small compressor can catch up, and build a compressed air reserve. Unfortunately, neither is inexpensive.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2003-09-03 15:45:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops! I forgot to add - from the above information the ***tanks and membrane presses*** would appear to be the ones you are after - they squeeze the grapes against the sides in any case.

HTH


    Reference: http://www.wroxetervineyard.co.uk/production.shtml
    Reference: http://www.eresonant.com/pages/history/history-winemaking2.h...
Sheila Hardie
Spain
Local time: 00:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
I gave these two options to the client - but NOTE TO GLOSSARY USERS- neither of these could be definitive.
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