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Amorim reveals breakthrough technologies to eradicate detectable TCA

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#cork #corkstoppers #winecork #naturalcork
Published
02/01/2021 by

Amorim, the world's leading producer of cork products, announced the launch of Naturity and Xpür, technologies designed to remove detectable TCA from natural corks and to create a new segment of micro-agglomerated stoppers, respectively.

Research for the patent-pending Naturity technology began in 2016 with the NOVA School of Science and Technology, and is based on the principles of thermal desorption through a proprietary, non-sequential use of pressure, temperature, purified water and time. No artificial elements are used in the process, which facilitates the extraction of 150+ volatile compounds, including TCA. Launching in USA and worldwide, Naturity expands non-detectable TCA performance in the natural cork product segment, while further strengthening the operational deliverables of NDTech, the advanced screening service that individually analyzes and removes any natural cork with more than 0.5 nanograms per liter (ng/L) of TCA*.

Extensive bottling trials with various wineries have yielded exemplary results in measuring the treatment's impact on cork performance, with additional third-party validation trials to be conducted as soon as possible with the Geisenheim Institute in Germany and the Campden & Chorleywood labs in the UK.

Another development announced today is Amorim's Xpür technology, developed to expand the non-detectable TCA performance for micro-agglomerated stoppers. Xpür improves upon the conventional supercritical CO2 application developed several decades ago, reengineering and upgrading the concept with 21st-century technology. Amorim's new, innovative take on the system uses only 25% of the energy and just 10% of the CO2 previously required.

Furthermore, Xpür achieves results of TCA reduction levels to 0.3 ng/L in treated micro-agglomerated stoppers, while leaving the physical-mechanical properties of cork intact. As a result, Amorim's range of micro-agglomerated corks features the highest possible percentage of cork and do not require additional chemical solutions to maintain cork's natural properties, namely the all-important compressibility and expansion rates.

Xpür will be employed in the treatment of technical stoppers Neutrocork Premium and QORK – the latter employing an innovative binding agent made using 100% polyols from vegetable origin, and which is expected to reduce the amount of single-use plastic stoppers in the world by several million units.

Commenting on this important landmark, António Amorim, Chairman and CEO, noted that: "These technologies come as a result of robust financial investments, time, and dedication to R&D from our team. Despite the obstacles of 2020, we were able to fulfill the promise we made to have non-detectable TCA performance for all the cork stopper segments by the end of the year. This is our commitment to our 30,000 customers around the world – to guarantee the quality and consistency of their products and ensure that consumers' preference for cork will only grow stronger."

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