Industrial Stainless steel Aging Storage Mixing Tank

Introduction

The maturation tank is used for long-term storage of wine ，vinegar and other liquid etc after fermentation. It stabilizes wine texture, removes impurities by natural sedimentation, reduces oxidation with floating lid and inert gas protection, and improves flavor through low-temperature aging before bottling.

Especially the cooling and aging process in ice cream production refers to rapidly cooling the sterilized and homogenized ice cream liquid to 2-4°C (rapid cooling can avoid bacterial regeneration), maintaining it at a low temperature for a certain period of time, and performing physical aging. , the purpose is to fully swell, hydrate, increase the viscosity of materials such as protein, fat coagulation and stabilizers, improve the organizational state of ice cream, thereby improving the texture and taste of ice cream. This process needs to be completed in an aging tank with the assistance of ice water (usually 2°C), which lasts from 1.5 hours to several hours, usually calculated as 4 hours (the aging time is usually related to the product formula requirements, feed temperature, Cooling time and other factors are related).

Through aging, the viscosity and stability of the ice cream liquid can be further improved, preventing free water from precipitation or floating fat in the liquid, and shortening the freezing time. Aging can fully swell and hydrate materials such as protein, fat condensate and stabilizers, and increase the viscosity, which is beneficial to increasing the puffing rate during freezing expansion and improving the structural state of ice cream.

Core Structure & Features

Inner tank: Made of 304/316L stainless steel, in direct contact with materials.

Jacket layer (core for heating & cooling): A sealed interlayer outside the inner tank. Heat transfer oil or hot water can be circulated for heating, and switched to cold water or frozen glycol for cooling. It transfers heat through the tank wall to raise or lower the temperature of materials inside the tank. An insulation layer is generally added on the outermost layer to reduce heat loss.

Top stirring system: Motor + reducer + agitator impeller (anchor type / paddle type, etc.; anchor type is commonly used for high-viscosity materials), with adjustable speed to ensure uniform temperature inside the tank and prevent sedimentation.

Accessories: Temperature sensor, manhole, sight glass, inlet/outlet ports, pressure gauge. Vacuum port and CIP cleaning port are optional.

What is the aging/maturation process?

Aging (maturation): After material reaction and stirring, the materials are kept standing or stirred at low speed under set constant temperature for a period of time. This allows molecules to stabilize gradually, relieves internal stress, enables uniform particle sedimentation and air bubble release, and improves viscosity, color and stability. Example: Food processing, resins, adhesives, coatings, emulsions and inks must undergo constant-temperature aging after batching to achieve stable product performance.

Function

Four-in-one Functions Mixing & blending: Feeding, dispersion and blending. Heating & cooling temperature control: Heating for reaction → constant-temperature aging → cooling down. Maturation & aging: Constant temperature holding to complete the aging process. Intermediate storage: Materials can be temporarily stored directly after aging without tank transfer.

Applicable Industries

 Fine chemicals, resins, coatings, inks, adhesives, daily chemicals, biological additives, food ingredients, etc.

Simplified Working Flow 

Materials are fed into the inner tank → Heat medium circulates in the jacket for temperature rise, stirring and reaction → Adjust to aging temperature, carry out constant-temperature aging by low-speed stirring or static holding → Switch to cold medium in the jacket for cooling → Insulated storage, waiting for discharge in the next process.

Size and Scale