[Styrene migration into wine contained in polyester resin tanks].

The use of polyester resins in wine tanks manufacture or coating has widely spread during the past five years; this type of material has been and is still the source of organoleptic damage due to non polymerized sytrene migration into urine. Sytrene is a solvant often used in resin polymerization: it act as a reticulation agent of insaturated linear polyester. Polymerization at room temperature is allowed gy additives but has to be completed in warm air or in steam. An excess of styrene is often used for a polymerisation as complete as possible and remains on a free form. Then it migrates from the tank walls into the wine. For a better understanding of the styrene migration mechanism studies were performed on two levels: from small containers (4 l) kept in the laboratory and from tanks (30 hl) set up in an I.N.R.A. wine estate in all conditions usually realized in practice. Influence of time, temperature and alcohol content were studied. Styrene migration was interpreted as a diffusion phenomenom and styrene diffusion coefficients were calculated for several temperatures. Knowledge of these coefficients and of styrene content of the tank walls allow the prediction of a tank behaviour in time. Other substances that styrene were detected in wine and in tank walls, they are impurities either from resins like ethylbenzene, or from the catalyst like mesityl oxide. The lattest has never been mentioned in the litterature. From the results obtained it is possible to give some advices to manufacturers and users of polyester resin tanks, about the quality of raw materials, resins and additives along with the conditions carried and for their use and about the control of monomer styrene content in the walls of just manufactured tank.