Water sorption kinetics of three stopper materials

Three different materials are mainly used as stoppers for sealing wine bottles. Two organic materials (natural cork and agglomerated cork) and one synthetic material (polyethylene) are compared in this study. The sensitivity of neutron imaging techniques for hydrogen is very useful to follow the water transfers through these materials. Moreover, we can evaluate their structure by microtomograhy. Here, natural cork absorbs water by capillarity through the cavities, the agglomerated cork hydration is slower because the water diffuses through the particles in the border of the stoppers and the polyethylene stopper is completely sealing.
Transversal slices (XY) from neutron microtomographies of three different stoppers (left: natural cork, center: polyethylene stopper and right: agglomerated cork) on the ICON beamline
Transversal slices (XY) from neutron microtomographies of three different stoppers (left: natural cork, center: polyethylene stopper and right: agglomerated cork) on the ICON beamline
Valentin Alcantara
Institut national supérieur des sciences agronomiques de l'alimentation et de l'environnement
21079 Dijon, France
Valentin Alcantara
The cork viewed from the inside
Lagorce-Tachon A, Karbowiak T, Loupiac C, Gaudry A, Ott F, Alba-Simionesco C, Gougeon R D., Alcantara V, Mannes D, Kaestner A, Lehmann E, Bellat JP
Journal of Food Engineering, 149, 214-221 (2015)
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2014.10.023