Distillation Results

[Sensei]

 

After many days of distillation I finally finished distilling 4 kg of sugar + 16 L water + yeast + feed + raisins set up (started 19 January).

And presenting you detailed results of each stage.

Including amount of energy needed for running hot plate, time (both from watt meter) and water for cooling and costs.

 

Setting this up cost around $5.08 (price of sugar + yeast + feed + raisins).

So, total $5.08 + $4.77 = $9.85 needed to produce 1786 mL of ethanol ($5.515/L).

 

Percentages of ethanol are so good after 1st stage because it's distillation in water bath (so there is needed to cook 800 mL + 2-3 L of bath).

Without water bath typical results were average 50%.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Sensei

[studiot]

A word of warning to anyone trying this.

 

Ethanol cannot be directly distilled to 100% from water.

The so called 'absolute alcohol' you find in the lab has has some other substances (poisons) added to perform the final separation.

These substances are later removed as far as practicable, but traces remain.

 

Every now and again we read of someone using a bottle of lab alcohol to beef up a punch and the guests falling ill, even dying.

 

Do not play with lab ethanol.

[Sensei]

Such "lab ethanol", "industrial ethanol" is often made using some chemical reaction in factory, not by yeast and distillation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_ethanol

Fractions of reactants used to make it are still in product.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Sensei