neptunium - 19-12-2011 at 17:37
i prepare my 95% ethanol solution like most people by buying cheap vodka by the gallon and distille it 2 or 3 times...
i also mix it with baking soda to try to get rid of the odor of liquor.
sometimes some NaHCO3 disolves in the ethanol solution and when i redistille it a slight red coloration appears in the boiller but never in the final
product...
does anyone have had a similar experience ?
if so, where does the color comes from ?
I use a regular brand of baking soda and recrystalise it in distilled water ( not always though)
could some impurities be left behind ?
or is it a coloration test to detect tax fraud in homemade liquor?
Bot0nist - 19-12-2011 at 17:55
Sorry, I don't have an answer, but don't you have access to everclear or goldengrain, etc. Much nicer and cheaper starting point for anhydrous ethanol
IMO. Will denatured ethanol not work for your purposes? It's dirt cheap in my neck of the woods compared to taxed spirits.
neptunium - 19-12-2011 at 18:26
does everclear contain NH4F?...i dont want the methanol and other stuff from denatured alcohol...i used it with sulfuric acid to make ether , or
mixed it with KOH ...or get ethyl bromide etc...i get methanol from windshield wiper fluid..
Sedit - 19-12-2011 at 18:33
Base catalyzed Aldol condensation products perhaps?
I get my Ethanol from a Ethylene Glycol/Ethanol mixture as its easy to distill and dry enough so I don't have issues like this. Why not just dry it
with MgSO4, filter and distill?
Bot0nist - 19-12-2011 at 18:53
NH<sub>4</sub>F? I know it's used to sterilize equipment in breweries, but I highly doubt it is in distilled spirits in any appreciable
amounts of at all. Also, I wasn't implying that you would not have to distill the everclear prior to use in the process of further drying it. I was
only saying that if your using drinkable spirits for solvent acquisition, that a higher proof liquor would make a more logical starting point than
vodka.
neptunium - 20-12-2011 at 07:55
sorry i was thinking of a solvent that do contain NH4F...not a liquor 
i could dry it over CaCl2 or MgSO4 you're right although the remaining water isnt an issue... I do like the ethanol / glycol idea...what brand are you
using Sedit? ..if you dont mind me asking?
Bot0nist - 20-12-2011 at 07:58
Calcium chloride is not a suitable drying agent for alcohols. Copper sulfate or magnesium sulfate should work though.
neptunium - 21-12-2011 at 08:36
cool...thanks