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Author: Subject: Ethanol Still
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[*] posted on 11-3-2007 at 09:09


Judging from what was mentioned earlier, some copper id needed in there for the taste.
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[*] posted on 11-3-2007 at 10:59


To destroy some sulfur-containing organics that otherwise bugger up the flavor. These are yeast waste products. Copper is of no significance if one is starting with potable ethanol such as vodka, and just concentrating it. I used to strip grape spirits out of (cheap) brandy to make absinthe. Did it in glass only using Rotavaps, fast and easy. I only needed 70-80% so simple distillation (a la Buchi) was fine. I also distilled the absinthe the same way. It's made rather like gin, from herbs and alcohol and water, nothing else.

But, I can't drink any more so I quit making the stuff. Damned diabetes!
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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 01:40


I`ve been doing it the Other way around, I started with some Gin, and am currently extracting the alc from it here: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/yt2095/experiments/still.jpg
it`s not amazingly fast, and was set up in a matter of minutes, but no-one here drinks gin, and I can use the raw alc, saves wasting it :)




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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 01:53


Those essential oils in gin will mostly steam-distill over with the water portion of your distillate and so will be quite hard to remove by distillation. AC would do better as a pretreatment, either batchwise with powdered AC like Norit or fixed-bed (column) with GAC like Darco. Don't concentrate the stuff first, you want to treat it at 40-50%, then fractionate it afterwards.
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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 02:18


to be honest with you I`m not all that fussed if a little bit of the oils come over as long as it potable, I only want it for my capsaicin extract.
oddly enough there isn`t even a smell trace that would say it ever came from gin anyway, so I`m quite pleased thus far.

I have to ask though, what is powdered AC?

I was going to add a little bicarb and dehydrated MgSO4 and re-distill it anyway, but if this "ac" is any better and I have some, I`ll give that a shot instead :)




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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 02:39


AC = Activated Charcoal
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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 02:40


Fantastic Thanks! and I have plenty of that :)



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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 02:46


That's the way that home distillers and professional vodka distillers get congeners out and end up with neutral spirits (vodka). Slow passage through a tall column of the right sort of granulated activated carbon. Always at not more than 50% abv (alcohol by volume) i.e., 100 proof. THEN you can rev it back up to 95% and dry it if need be.
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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 02:54


I have Israeli NBC gas mask filters, and when they`re used up, I pop them open and dump the contents on a baking tray and heat them up in the oven for a few hours to reactive them, then store in a jar.
these will be ideal I expect.
I don`t need a massive amount of EtOH, just as long as it`s potable, unlike the pure EtOH I have that has some MEK in it :(

this ultimately will be a Food product, so a little care NOW, will pay dividends in the long run :)




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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 03:18


The GAC used in gas mask filters is optimized for that purpose and is quite different from GAC used for polishing ethanol.

Check out Norit's web site and get the tech data sheet for the appropriate grade. I used to buy this stuff by multiple 25 Kg sacks and Norit were happy to give me 1 Kg samples of lots of grades to test for free. GAC is not expensive as a rule. Not from the OEM. If you buy it from a repack operation like Aldrich then you pay a lot. (Aldrich makes a lot of chemicals but I am sure they don't make activated carbon.)
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[*] posted on 15-3-2007 at 03:28


too late now, it`s done and for some reason looks even more clear than before, and it looked Crystal then!?

I`m committed now, so I`ll go with this. I can see what you about the oils though, in the distillation flask that I washed with plain water, now has a region where it looks almost oily, the rest of the glass is wetted except for this region where it`s Patchy at best, I think a hot soapy water soak with a little NaOH is in order.

I was wondering if there was a Chemical way to denature these oils and/or lock them up?
NaOH and the likes is a little harsh and may affect the alc also. how about a group 2 hydroxide like Calcium or Magnesium? perhaps lock the oils up as a stearate?




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