How Copper Stills Were Sealed – Once assembled, Clawhammer copper stills will actually be comprised of 2 pieces: the boiler assembly and the column assembly (see the picture below). These two parts are NOT permanently attached. This allows the still to be taken apart to allow for filling, cleaning, and easy storage.
However, the upper and lower assemblies must be sealed together before the still can be used. Before we get started, a reminder: Distilling alcohol is illegal without a federal fuel alcohol or distilled spirit plant permit as well as relevant state permits. Our distillation equipment is designed for legal uses only and the information in this article is for educational purposes only.
Please read our complete legal summary for more information on the legalities of distillation. Because this still is designed to be a replica of vintage copper distillers, we are going to show you how the “old-timers” sealed their stills. However, please note, if a still has not been sealed properly, vapor could escape from the joint.
- If being used to distill alcohol, alcohol vapor could escape from the joint.
- A leaky still should never be used, especially in a confined space.
- Alcohol vapor is explosive at high concentrations.
- So, always seal the still properly and never distill indoors unless proper code requirements for ventilation and fire suppression have been met.
Rye flour paste is the traditional method used by master distillers of the old days to seal seams on copper s tills. Below is the recipe and procedure that was used. Note, we do not recommend any particular method for sealing a still. The sealing method is the users discretion.
Contents
- 1 What do moonshiners put in the end of the pipe?
- 2 What liquid is left after distillation?
- 3 What is the solid left behind after distillation?
- 4 What does distilling not remove?
- 5 What gets left behind during each distillation of alcohol?
What’s left in the still after distilling?
In the first part of our series on Scottish pot stills we dealt comprehensively with their geometrical shape and their production, This article deals with operating the stills. Of course different distilleries operate their stills differently. Some heat fast and then distil slowly, others heat and distil fast. Glenfiddich – Still House The following chart shows the principal setup of a Scottish Malt Whisky distillery with two pot stills. Distilleries with three pot stills and triple distillation are extended by one step correspondingly. Many large distilleries have four, six or more pot stills, which aren’t operated in series but in parallel.
- The connection of the pot stills can be even more complex, if for example the first distillate from several wash stills or from several production cycles is led into a single spirit still,
- A ratio of 3:2 or 4:3 of wash stills to spirit stills is also common.
- You can also triple distil with two pot stills by distilling the final product of the second distillation again in the emptied spirit still,
The chart shows a simple distillery with a wash still and a spirit still, Functional Chart of a Pot Still Distillery The principle of distillation was already known to the ancient Egyptians. Different evaporation points allow for the separation of substances by heating. The substances that evaporate first at low temperatures may be collected and separated from the rest.
But the Egyptians used distillation only for producing perfume. Only in the middle ages Celtic monks discovered the production of Whisky – the water of life, Through alcoholic fermentation the wash ( beer ) contains approximately 8% to 10% alcohol (ethanol = ethyl alcohol). The alcoholic strength is determined by the yeast used and the duration of the fermentation,
When heating the wash, the substances with a lower boiling point than water evaporate with rising temperatures. The wash can’t be heated further than up to the evaporation point of the lowest-boiling substance. All heat energy is absorbed by the substance that changes its aggregate state (from liquid to vaporous), and the liquid can’t be heated further. Royal Lochnagar – Wash Still The wash still has a simple task: It is used for the first distillation of the wash, or in plain English: the beer, The capacity of the stills and the wash backs is usually coordinated.4000 US. Gal. (15,000 L) to 8000 US. Gal.
30,000 L) are most common. When hot steam is led into the heating cylinders, the wash still starts to heat the wash, Through the heat movement (convection) inside the still the wash is turned. The wash rises along the warm areas of the cylinders and sinks back along the cooler areas. After some 30 minutes it gets interesting: Above the heating cylinders the liquid starts to boil, and light substances (predominantly flavour -carrying esters) rise into the air above the liquid level.
The constant supply of gaseous substances leads to a slight overpressure in the still, and the gases rise into the neck of the still. But they don’t get far. The wall of the still is still too cold, and the evaporated substances condense at the wall. As time goes by more and more droplets accumulate at the wall and form bigger drops that flow back into the pot. Macallan – Inspection Window of a Wash Still That’s why wash stills have small windows in the neck, through which the bubbling wash can be watched. For if the boiling temperature of the wash is too high, liquid can get into the condenser via the lyne arm,
- This wouldn’t be so bad if the wash didn’t contain solid parts of the barley grains, which clog the thin pipes of the condensers.
- Therefore the stillman must be watchful.
- Distilleries that don’t have the time for watching the boiling put soap into the wash, which destroys the surface tension of the wash and prevents it from boiling over.
Since the soap liquefies at 122-140°F (50-60°C) and only boils at temperatures far exceeding 212°F (100°C), no soap molecules can get into the distillate. The first distillation in the wash stills takes approximately 4 to 7 hours. The wash still has a temperature of approximately 173°F (78°C), the evaporation point of ethanol. Mannochmore Low Wines & Spirit Receiver However, the low wines receiver doesn’t contain only alcohol but also all substances with a lower boiling point than alcohol, as well as some substances with a higher boiling point. They have been torn out of the molecule groups by the bubbling liquid and have been pulled into the low wines receiver together with the light alcohol molecules.
- Among these molecules is also plenty of water, which forms an azeotrope with the alcohol.
- After the first distillation the low wines typically have an alcohol content of 20% to 25%.
- After distillation the pot ale (also called spent wash ) remains in the wash still,
- It has a residual alcohol content of approximately 1%.
However, not only alcohol but also valuable proteins and minerals from the barley grains remain in the pot ale, That’s why after emptying the still the pot ale is concentrated through evaporation and sold as high-quality animal feed. Glenfarclas – Concentration System for Pot Ale Since the large pot stills only have a wall thickness of a few millimetres (ca.3/16″) they are very sensitive to overpressure and negative pressure. The worst-case scenario is therefore the collapse of a still caused by negative pressure.
- When the distillation has been stopped, the pot ale is drained and the pot still cools down, negative pressure is created inside.
- If it becomes too high the pot still implodes with a loud bang.
- Since this happened more than once in the past, every pot still now has an automated pressure relief valve that keeps the pressure balance with the environment.
For filling and draining the stills, there’s another vent valve, which is usually operated simultaneously with the pumps. Fettercairn – Automated Pressure Relief Valve (Top) and Manual Vent Valve (Bottom) The table below shows the distillation balance of a wash still distillation,
Wash | Low Wines | Spent Wash | |
Liter/gallon(US) Total | 30.000/7925 | 11.212/2960 | 18.748/4952 |
Vol. % alkocol | 10% | 25% | 1% |
Liter/gallon(US) alkocol | 3.000/793 | 2.813/743 | 187/49 |
The figures in the distillation balance show that the reduction of the water volume from the wash to the low wines significantly reduces the second distillation volume for the spirit still, In summary, the sole purpose of the first distillation is to reduce the liquid volume by 1/3 and to remove the solid parts of the grains that are still in the wash, Royal Lochnagar – Spirit Still The second distillation in the smaller spirit stills is carried out much more carefully and slowly. It typically takes approximately 8 hours. Since this takes double as long as the first distillation, often the result of two wash still distillations is collected in the low wines receiver and filled into the spirit still as a whole. Dallas Dhu – Pot Ale Receiver (Spent Wash Tank) & Heat Exchanger As described in the first part of this article, the spirit still has the bigger influence on the taste of the new make spirit, The second distillation is carried out much more carefully so the alcohol and the flavour substances can be separated more effectively from the water, Functional Chart of a Pot Still Distillery In the past, the so-called Worm Tubs were used to cool the spirit after distillation in the Pot Still, A Worm Tub is constructed as follows: The Lyne arm of the still is simply continued as a conduit and placed in the form of a spiral in a tub filled with cooling water,
- In this way the Spirit cools down while it is passed on.
- However, this is a rather complex process that requires a lot of maintenance.
- For this reason, many distilleries no longer use this type of cooling, but prefer the so-called ‘shell and tube condensers’.
- These modern heat exchangers are much more space-saving and easier to handle.
In some distilleries you can still find the traditional worm tubs, for example at Lagavulin on Islay or Balmenach in the Highlands. Many do not want to do without their worm tubs despite the higher maintenance costs, as this type of cooling can also have a positive effect on the character of the distillery character,
- Due to the increased copper contact and the temperature control of the water in the tub, the result is a heavier and spicier new make spirit,
- Since the aggressive foreshots are unwanted in the new make spirit, they are redirected in the spirit safe and not led into the spirit receiver,
- The functional chart from above is shown again to illustrate the function of the spirit safe,
This spirit safe has a long history and a special function. Under British law all pot stills and pipework must be padlocked. So the stillman cannot taste the spirit. Then how is he supposed to know when the foreshots have run through and the desired middle cut has started? Glenfarclas – Spirit Safe with Hydrometers and Thermometers The first thing experience teaches a stillman is the time needed to heat the still until the middle cut appears. Since thousands of gallons/litres must be heated to more than 158°F (70°C), it takes some time until the first spirit runs through the spirit safe,
Then the foreshots run for about 20 minutes. In order to determine the right moment to switch the spirit flow so the middle cut can be collected, the spirit safe contains several glass boxes in which the spirit can be collected and instruments start to swim. If you measure the density of the spirit with a hydrometer you can determine its alcohol content with a chart.
While the foreshots are running, the alcohol content of the spirit sinks from approximately 85% to 75%. Glenfarclas – Spirit Safe with Switches for the Spirit Flow Yet this is not the only instrument that must be monitored. The density of the liquid depends heavily on its temperature. So the temperature is also measured in order to rectify the density. With density and temperature measured, the stillman can then read the alcohol content off a chart hanging next to the spirit safe.
What happens to the foreshots ? They aren’t poured away but led back into the low wines receiver. However, the foreshots aren’t enriched by this constant reflux, This is where the real magic of distillation happens. The aggressive foreshots are transformed into enjoyable aromatic substances through catalytic reactions with the copper of the spirit still.
This is a continuous process, and the quantity of foreshots remains constant in the spirit still, After the foreshots have reached the low wines receiver, the stillman changes the flow direction in the spirit safe and leads the middle cut into the spirit receiver, Aberfeldy – Spirit Receiver and Filling of Casks The distillation of the middle cut must be carried out slowly and carefully. If the spirit still is heated too much, the reflux of condensing substances with a higher boiling point at the wall of the still is prevented.
Therefore fusel oils can pass the lyne arm and get into the spirit receiver, While the middle cut is being collected, which takes approximately three hours, the alcohol content falls from 75% to 60%. But even after switching at 60% abv, the distillation continues. The fusel oils ( faints ) that appear now are led back into the low wines receiver where they are again catalytically transformed by the copper during the next distillation run.
The distillation of the faints goes on for a long time and is only halted when a residual alcohol content of 1% is reached so no valuable alcohol is lost with the liquid remaining in the spirit still (called spent lees). You don’t often get the chance to view a low wines receiver from the inside.
It contains a milky grey-white mix of alcohol and water on which the thin, oily layer of faints swims. The distillation process is now complete. The distillation balance for the second distillation in the chart below shows the emerging quantity of new make spirit, In our example of 7925 gal. us. (30.000 L) of wash with 10% abv, the resulting quantity of 734 gal.
us. (2.780 litres) of alcohol means a yield of 92.6%.
Low Wines | raw Whisky | Spent Lees | Faints & Foreshots | |
Liter/gallons total | 11.252/2972 | 4.117/1088 | 3.376/892 | 3.759/993 |
Vol. % alcohol | 25% | 67,5% | 1% | |
Liter/gallons Alcohol | 2.813/743 | 2.279/602 | 34/9 |
Particularly interesting in the balance are the faints and foreshots that are led back for redistillation. They increase the amount of liquid of the low wines as well as their alcohol content, Since they are a transit item appearing in every new distillation, they are neglected in the balance.
This initially confusing fact is the reason why the alcohol content of the low wines is alternately stated between 20% and 27% in technical publications or when mentioned in a distillery, For the balance in our example we simply assumed an average content of 25% in the first distillation run and 67.5% in the second run.
In our example the spent lees amount to 30% of the volume of the first distillate. This is, like all the figures in the balances, just an educated guess. If you want to know more about the production of pot stills follow this link, Once the distillation is completed, the raw distillate is obtained.
This distillate is turned into Whisky (or Whiskey ) by being matured in casks for at least three years (USA: two years). Just as the minimum maturation period differs in Great Britain and the USA, so does the name for the raw distillate. In Scotland and co it is called ‘ New Make Spirit ‘. In the USA the term ‘ White Dog ‘ has become established.
It is not known where the term comes from, but it was probably used by the first American settlers. ‘White’ certainly because the spirit does not take on a brown colour without cask maturation, Where the ‘dog’ comes from is not known. Some American distilleries even sell their ‘ White Dog ‘ without cask maturation or an ageing period for only a few days or weeks.
- These products are called, for example, ‘White Whiskey ‘, ‘White Lightning’ or ‘Legal Moonshine’.
- The term ‘moonshine’ contains something quite illegal per se.
- Moonshining is the illegal, domestic production and smuggling of spirits.
- As this used to take place mostly at night under the ‘moonlight’, the resulting distillate is called Moonshine.
In Europe it is not allowed to sell a spirit under the name ‘ Whisky ‘ unless it has been stored in casks for at least three years. But in the USA, many distilleries have seen a chance in selling their ‘ White Dog ‘ to make up for the revenue shortfall until they can sell the first Whiskey, which has matured for years.
What do moonshiners put in the end of the pipe?
Moonshiners Use an Unusual Raccoon Bone When Distilling Their Liquor > > > Source: Discovery Moonshiners take advantage of a raccoon pecker when they’re distilling their liquor, but why do they use that obscure bone in their process? By Mar.1 2021, Updated 10:31 a.m. ET By the nature of its creation, is a somewhat unusual beverage.
- It’s supposed to be homemade, which means that those who produce it often have to get creative to avoid having to purchase unnecessary items.
- That helps to explain why many involved in the brewing, like the cast of, take advantage of in order to help them pour their moonshine from one vessel into another.
Article continues below advertisement Although by its design, is a do-it-yourself process, that doesn’t mean it’s all that simple. Making alcohol isn’t the easiest task in the world, and it requires a number of different processes, including distillation. Source: Discovery Article continues below advertisement Unlike most mammals, raccoons actually have a bone in their penis that helps keep it stiff during copulation. That bone also happens to be quite useful in helping to guide the moonshine out of the still and into the vessel where it will be drunk.
- The reason they use raccoon penis bones is actually quite simple: most moonshiners are also raccoon hunters, so they have plenty available.
- The bones are also sometimes referred to as toothpicks or “Alabama toothpicks” because of their association with the rural lifestyle popular in that part of the country.
In fact, the use of raccoon peckers for moonshining is so common that it even has a page on, It may seem like a strange practice, but it also seems to be a pretty practical one. Article continues below advertisement Moonshining has only become more popular in the wake of shows like, which follow people who make and sell their alcohol illegally.
- While the show does take steps to accurately depict that process of creating moonshine, the idea that what they’re doing is against the law may be a little more open to interpretation.
- Article continues below advertisement According to Tim and Tickle, two of the show’s central characters, they aren’t caught because by the time the episodes make it to television, they are no longer committing any crimes.
As the government doesn’t care about the quality of the beverage. All they’re really interested in is how much their cut is, and whether the product is being taxed or not. “There’s not really a big fear here,” Tim explained about the possibility that they’ll be caught.
- It’s just that the government can’t get their money accounted for.
- That’s all it is.
- They don’t have a taste regulation today.
- I mean right now the legal brand of whiskey on the shelf, there’s no taste regulator on it.
- You can go buy anything and say ‘I don’t like it.
- It doesn’t taste good.’ There’s no regulations on it.” Whether the show is real or not, it’s certainly sparked plenty of interest in what making moonshine is actually like.
Apparently, that process even includes the essential use of a raccoon pecker. Latest Moonshiners News and Updates : Moonshiners Use an Unusual Raccoon Bone When Distilling Their Liquor
What is in the tails of moonshine?
The last portion of alcohol that is produced from most stills. This portion contains heavier alcohols, a much higher percentage of water and other unwanted by-products which are more water soluble.
What liquid is left after distillation?
Separation by Distillation A vaporizing science project from Science Buddies Can you separate the ingredients of a solution using just heat? Try this sweet activity and find out! Credit: George Retseck Advertisement Key concepts Physics Boiling point Condensation Distillation Introduction Do you like cooking? If you have helped in the kitchen at home or watched someone else cook, you have probably seen lots of liquids—such as water, milk and soup—heated.
Did you notice that once the liquid boils, a lot of steam develops? Have you ever wondered what the steam is made of and what happens to all the substances such as sugar or salt that are dissolved in the solution you are boiling? Do they boil off, too, or do they stay behind in the solution? In this activity you will build a distillation device that allows you to sample the steam that you generate while boiling a fruit juice! How do you think it will taste? Background What do you need to make a solution? First, you need water or a solvent and then you need a substance such as sugar or salt to dissolve, also called the solute.
The solvent and solute become one solution—a homogeneous mixture—in which you cannot see the difference between them anymore. Most solutions actually contain many different substances. But what if you want to separate the individual components from a liquid solution? There is a process called distillation that allows you to do just that.
- It is used in many real-world applications, such as making medicine, perfumes or some food products.
- Distillation exploits the differences in the volatility of the solution’s components, which means that every compound has a different boiling point and starts to vaporize (change from its liquid to gaseous state) at a different temperature.
When distilling, you heat up the solution so that the component with the lowest boiling point evaporates first, leaving the other solutes behind. The vaporized component in the gaseous state can then be collected in a different container by condensation and is called distillate.
- This means that the vapor is cooled down so the gas becomes a liquid again.
- By changing the distillation temperature, you can separate many different substances according to their different volatilities.
- If you have a solution that includes a nonvolatile solute, however, this compound will always stay behind in the solution.
Knowing now how distillation works, what do you think will happen to the fruit juice once you heat it? Make your own distillation device and find out! Materials
Stove (Always work with an adult helper when using the stove.) Deep cooking pot with sloped lid (transparent lid, if you have one) Ceramic bowl Small ceramic plate or ceramic coffee cup Three glasses Apple or cranberry juice (about half a liter) Liquid measuring cup Ice Oven mitts Broth (optional) Cooking thermometer (optional) Vinegar (optional)
Preparation
Make sure all of your materials are clean. (Then you will be able to sample the juice and products at the end of the activity.) Place the small ceramic plate in the center of the cooking pot. Depending on how deep your pot is, you can also place a ceramic coffee cup in its center. Place a ceramic bowl on top of the small plate or coffee cup. Put your pot on the stove.
Procedure
Measure out and pour one cup of the fruit juice into a glass. Have a look at its color and take a small sip to taste it. Is it very sweet? How does the color look; is it very intense? Keep the rest of the juice for comparison at the end. Pour an extra cup of colored fruit juice in the bottom of the pot. (Your small ceramic plate or ceramic coffee cup will now be standing in the juice.) Together with your adult helper, turn on the stove to medium heat and bring the juice to a boil. It should be a moderate rather than a rolling boil. Can you see the steam developing once your juice starts boiling? Now place the cover on the pot, upside down, so that the tip of the sloping lid is facing toward the bowl placed inside the pot. What happens to the steam once you close the lid? Put ice in the cover of the pot. You might have to replace the ice in the lid as it melts. If you use a transparent lid, can you see droplets forming on the inward-facing side of the lid? Where do they come from and what happens to the droplets? Allow the juice to boil for 20 to 30 minutes, making sure some juice always remains in the bottom of the pot. Do you see any changes in the amount of juice inside the pot? After 20 to 30 minutes, turn the burner off. Allow the pot to cool for a few minutes. Put on oven mitts and carefully remove the cover from the pot. What do you notice about the empty bowl that you placed under the lid? Still wearing hot mitts, lift the bowl off the small ceramic plate or coffee cup and set it down on a heat-resistant surface. Remove the small plate or coffee cup. Looking at the remaining juice in the pot, is there more or less juice left than the amount you poured in? After it cools, pour the remaining juice from the pot into a glass. Did the juice change during boiling? What is different? Pour the cooled distillate (the condensed steam), which is now the liquid inside the small bowl, into a glass. How does the distillate look? Now take the glass from the beginning with the original juice, and place it next to the remaining juice and distillate. Compare their appearances. How do they differ? Did you expect these results? Why do you think the juice changed the way it did? How much fruit juice is left compared with what you poured into the pot? Let the liquids cool to room temperature. Because you used clean kitchen utensils and edible fruit juice in this experiment, go ahead and take a sip of each of the solutions. How do the three different liquids compare in taste? Which one is the sweetest? Which one is the least sweet? How does the condensed steam taste? Why do you think is there a difference? Finally, recombine the distillate and the remaining fruit juice by pouring the distillate into the remaining fruit juice. Do the volumes add up to what you put in at the beginning? How do the appearance and taste of this solution compare with the original fruit juice? Extra: Repeat this activity with a salty solution, such as broth, instead of the sweet fruit juice. Do you think the results will be similar? What happens to the salt in the broth when you are boiling it? Extra: Try to do this experiment again with household vinegar. Vinegar is a mixture of about 4 to 6 percent acetic acid and water. Can you separate these two liquids by distillation? How does your distillate taste in this case? Extra: You might know that the boiling temperature of pure water is 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) at normal atmospheric pressure. Adding a solute such as sugar, salt or other compounds to water will change the boiling point of the resulting solution. Try heating up your three liquids (original juice, distillate and remaining juice) and measure their boiling points with a thermometer. Are they very different? How does the boiling point change with increasing solute concentration?
Observations and results Juices are usually very sweet. This is because fruits contain a lot of fruit sugar, called fructose. More than 80 percent of most fruits, however, consist of water, so basically the apple or cranberry juice is a mixture of water and sugar.
Once you reach the boiling point of the juice, it will start to evaporate and you will see steam coming out of the pot. If you close the pot with a lid, the steam rises up to the lid, and because the lid is much colder than the steam (especially after you put the ice on top), the vapor cools down rapidly and it condenses, becoming a liquid again that you can see in the form of droplets inside the lid.
These droplets fall and are collected in the bowl that you have placed in the pot. As the juice boiled, you probably noticed that the amount of water in the bowl increased whereas the amount of juice in the pot decreased. This is because the steam, which was part of the juice, was collected in a separate container.
- If combined, the distillate and the remaining juice should add up to a similar volume of juice that you had in the beginning.
- When you compared the three different solutions at the end (original juice, distillate and remaining juice), the first thing you probably saw was that the color of the remaining juice became much darker and the distillate had no color at all and looked like pure water.
And it actually is pure water; it shouldn’t have had any sweetness when you tasted it whereas the remaining juice should have tasted much sweeter than the original juice. The reason for this is that sugar is a nonvolatile compound, which means that when you boil any sugary liquid, the sugar will stay behind in the solution and not be transferred into a gaseous state.
The water component of the mixture, however, starts to evaporate at about 100 degrees C, resulting in a steam consisting of pure water. Salt is also a nonvolatile substance and if you repeated the activity with broth, your distillate also should have been pure water. If you compared the boiling points of all three solutions at the end, you might have noticed that you can increase water’s boiling point by adding solutes—the higher the amount of solutes, the higher its boiling point will be.
Vinegar, on the other hand—or a mixture of 4 to 6 percent acetic acid and water—is not easily separable by distillation. This is because the boiling points of water (100 degrees C) and vinegar (about 100.6 degrees C) and are too close together to result in a full separation of both components.
More to explore, from TutorVista, from How Stuff Works, from Science Buddies This activity brought to you in partnership with
Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners. : Separation by Distillation
What is the solid left behind after distillation?
– When sea water is distilled, the liquid that is boiled off and then condensed has been shown to have molecules consisting of two atoms of Pfsst (Pf) and one atom of Nuutye (Nu). The solid left behind after the distillation consists mainly of a crystal made up of the elements Byyou (By) and Kratt (Kt).
Why do they put a bone in moonshine?
A: They are used to direct the flow of moonshine from a still.
How do Moonshiners get rid of methanol?
How to Remove Methanol from Moonshine – One way a commercial distiller would determine the presence of methanol is to monitor still temperature, If anything is produced by the still before wash temperature reaches 174 degrees, it’s methanol. A commercial distiller will discard it.
Again, methanol boils at a lower temperature than ethanol and will concentrate at the beginning of distillation runs. Additionally, commercial distillers have determined that simply discarding a standard amount per batch, based on batch size, is enough to keep things safe. The rule of thumb is to discard 1/3 of a pint jar for every 5 gallons of wash being distilled.
How much initial product to discard:
1 gallon batch – discard the first 2/3 of a shot glass 5 gallon batch – discard the first 1/3 of a pint jar 10 gallon batch – discard the first 3/4 of a pint jar
Regardless of still temp, it’s a good idea to always follow this rule of thumb. Methanol or not, the first stuff to come off the still tastes and smells like rubbing alcohol. It’s by far the worst stuff in the entire production run and it isn’t going to impress anyone. Kyle Brown is the owner of Clawhammer Supply, a small scale distillation and brewing equipment company which he founded in 2009. His passion is teaching people about the many uses of distillation equipment as well as how to make beer at home. When he isn’t brewing beer or writing about it, you can find him at his local gym or on the running trail.
What is the sediment at the bottom of moonshine?
Why is sediment forming in spirit after carbon filtration? This is a very rare occurance. The fine sediment is in fact mineral salts which originate within the activated carbon itself. When spirit runs over activated carbon which contains some mineral salts, some mineral salts can be absorbed into the spirit.
Later, once the temperature has dropped, these mineral salts start to become insoluble in the spirit and after a few days a fine sediment appears in the spirit. This fine sediment (sometimes looks like a milky haze, other times it drops to the bottom of the bottle) is the mineral salts originally from the activated carbon.
These mineral salts are absolutely 100% safe (in fact essential for life!) but you don’t want them in your spirit. Under certain circumstances, some of this residual mineral content gets dissolved into distillate spirit as the spirit flows over the activated carbon.
Think of it this way, as the spirit passes through the activated carbon, the carbon absorbs the vast majority of ‘volatiles’ from the spirit and holds them within the internal pore structure – however, under certain circumstances, mineral salts contained within the carbon may pass into the spirit. Whether mineral salts do indeed get dissolved into the spirit depends upon 2 main variables: 1.
The amount and types of mineral salts within the particular batch of carbon.2. The pH and chelate chemical (eg organic acids like citrate are a chelating agent) content of the spirit. Obviously, we have no control over 1. In a perfect world we would persuade the supplier to first wash with an inorganic acid like they currently do and then wash with organic acids to remove the remaining salt content.
- These mineral salts remain soluble in the spirit for some minutes / hours because the spirit temperature is warm and so has higher solubility.
- After the spirit has cooled, these mineral salts will begin to become insoluble.
- If you had a spectrophotometer to measure even the slightest haze, you would begin to ‘see’ the spirit ‘go hazy’ after just a few hours.
To the naked eye, you will not start to see these solids until after 2 or 3 days (may be less or more depending upon the level of mineral salts present). Re-filtering through activated carbon will not help, but ‘re-filtering’ through an ordinary wine filter or even a coffee filter, say 1 week after the filtering through carbon would remove the insoluble mineral salts and hence solve the problem.
But spirit should be stored cold (not frozen) during this week to ensure anything that is going to become insoluble, does become insoluble). If the spirit is left for long enough (3 or 4 weeks?), it should be easy to pour off the bright spirit from a white sediment at the bottom of the bottle. This problem is likely to be influenced by certain environmental conditions like temperature and water quality.
: Why is sediment forming in spirit after carbon filtration?
Does moonshine still have methanol?
Methanol – A Deadly Byproduct – The fermentation process used to make moonshine produces alcohol in two forms: methanol and ethanol. Ethanol is the drinkable version. Methanol, known as wood alcohol, is a byproduct that’s toxic when large amounts end up in the finished product,
The distillation process that follows produces concentrated ethanol by boiling the fermented product. The problem moonshiners run into is ethanol has a boiling point of 173.1 degrees Fahrenheit while methanol’s boiling point is 148.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This means methanol evaporates at a faster rate than ethanol and can become concentrated.
When done correctly, it only forms in small amounts and is easily separated out and discarded. Without the right equipment, high concentrations of methanol can end up in the drink. What makes methanol so dangerous is the human body converts it to formaldehyde, an ingredient used to make embalming fluid.
What happens at the end of distillation?
The liquid evaporates, forming a vapor. The vapor is then cooled, usually by passing it through pipes or tubes at a lower temperature. The cooled vapor then condenses, forming a distillate. The distillate is a purified form of the original liquid.
What is the end of the distillation?
Also known as: EP The end point for a distillation fraction is the temperature at which 100% of the fraction has evaporated when distilled. This means it is also in theory the cut point between the fraction and the next heavier fraction being distilled, and the initial boiling point of that heavier fraction.
What is left in the flask after distillation?
Simple distillation is a procedure by which two liquids with different boiling points can be separated. Simple distillation (the procedure outlined below) can be used effectively to separate liquids that have at least fifty degrees difference in their boiling points.
- As the liquid being distilled is heated, the vapors that form will be richest in the component of the mixture that boils at the lowest temperature.
- Purified compounds will boil, and thus turn into vapors, over a relatively small temperature range (2 or 3°C); by carefully watching the temperature in the distillation flask, it is possible to affect a reasonably good separation.
As distillation progresses, the concentration of the lowest boiling component will steadily decrease. Eventually the temperature within the apparatus will begin to change; a pure compound is no longer being distilled. The temperature will continue to increase until the boiling point of the next-lowest-boiling compound is approached. Figure 1. Distillation apparatus. A distillation flask with a thermometer is placed in a heating mantle and is connected to a condenser. Figure 2. The tubes on the condenser are attached to a water source, with the water flowing in the low end and flowing out the high end of the condenser. The condensed vapor drips into the collection receiver.
- Check the calibration of the thermometer that is to be used. This can be accomplished by placing the thermometer in an ice bath of distilled water. After the thermometer has been allowed to reach thermal equilibrium, place it in a beaker of boiling distilled water and again allow it to reach thermal equilibrium. If the temperatures measured deviate from the expected values by more than two degrees, obtain a new thermometer and check its calibration.
- Fill the distillation flask. The flask should be no more than two thirds full because there needs to be sufficient clearance above the surface of the liquid so that when boiling commences the liquid is not propelled into the condenser, compromising the purity of the distillate. Boiling chips should be placed in the distillation flask for two reasons: they will prevent superheating of the liquid being distilled and they will cause a more controlled boil, eliminating the possibility that the liquid in the distillation flask will bump into the condenser. Figure 3. The thermometer is inserted in the distillation flask through a hole in the cork stopper. The arm of the flask is inserted through a hole in the stopper of the condenser. Make sure these stoppers are airtight, or the vapor will escape.
- Heat the distillation flask slowly until the liquid begins to boil (see Figure 4). Vapors will begin to rise through the neck of the distillation flask. As the vapors pass through the condenser, they will condense and drip into the collection receiver (see Figure 5). An appropriate rate of distillation is approximately 20 drops per minute. Distillation must occur slowly enough that all the vapors condense to liquid in the condenser. Many organic compounds are flammable and if vapors pass through the condenser without condensing, they may ignite as they come in contact with the heat source. Figure 4. The distillation flask being heated in a heating mantle. Figure 5. The collection receiver The vapors condense and drip from the condenser into the flask.
- As the distillate begins to drop from the condenser, the temperature observed on the thermometer should be changing steadily. When the temperature stabilizes, use a new receiver to collect all the drops that form over a two to three degree range of temperature. As the temperature begins to rise again, switch to a third collection container to collect the distillate that now is formed. This process should be repeated; using a new receiver any time the temperature stabilizes or begins changing, until all of the distillate has been collected in discrete fractions.
- note: All fractions of the distillate should be saved until it is shown that the desired compound has been effectively separated by distillation.
- Remove the heat source from the distillation flask before all of the liquid is vaporized. If all of the liquid is distilled away, there is a danger that peroxides, which can ignite or explode, may be present in the residue left behind. Also, when all of the liquid has evaporated, the temperature of the glass of the filtration flask will rise very rapidly, possibly igniting whatever vapors may still be present in the distillation flask.
- Never distill to dryness. The residue left in the distillation flask may contain peroxides, which could ignite or explode after all the liquid has distilled away.
- Make sure that all joints are secured very tightly. If any vapor escapes at the connection points, it may come into direct contact with the heat source and ignite.
- Never heat a closed system, the increasing pressure will cause the glass to explode. If the distillation flask has a tapered neck, the thermometer may be placed in such a way as to block to flow of vapors up the neck of the flask; in effect creating a closed system; make sure that if using a tapered neck flask, the thermometer is not resting in the lowest portion of the neck.
Simple distillation is effective only when separating a volatile liquid from a nonvolatile substance or when separating two liquids that differ in boiling point by 50 degrees or more. If the liquids comprising the mixture that is being distilled have boiling points that are closer than 50 degrees to one another, the distillate collected will be richer in the more volatile compound but not to the degree necessary for complete separation of the individual compounds.
- The basic idea behind fractional distillation is the same as simple distillation only the process is repeated many times.
- If simple distillation was performed on a mixture of liquids with similar volatilities, the resulting distillate would be more concentrated in the more volatile compound than the original mixture but it would still contain a significant amount of the higher boiling compound.
If the distillate of this simple distillation was distilled again, the resulting distillate would again be even more concentrated in the lower boiling compound, but still a portion of the distillate would be the higher boiling compound. If this process is repeated several times, a fairly pure distillate will eventually result.
- This, however, would take a very long time.
- In fractional distillation, the vapors formed from the boiling mixture rise into the fractionating column where they condense on the column’s packing.
- This condensation is tantamount to a single run of simple distillation; the condensate is more concentrated in the lower boiling compound than the mixture in the distillation flask.
As vapors continue to rise through the column, the liquid that has condensed will revaporize. Each time this occurs the resulting vapors are more and more concentrated in the more volatile substances. The length of the fractionating column and the material it is packed with impact the number of times the vapors will recondense before passing into the condenser; the number of times the column will support this is referred to as the number of theoretical plates of the column.
Since the procedures of simple distillation are so similar to those involved in fractional distillation, the apparatus that are used in the procedures are also very similar. The only difference between the equipment used in fractional distillation and that used in simple distillation is that with fractional distillation, a packed fractionating column is attached to the top of the distillation flask and beneath the condenser.
This provides the surface area on which rising vapors condense, and subsequently revaporize. The fractionating column is used to supply a temperature gradient over which the distillation can occur. In an ideal situation, the temperature in the distillation flask would be equal to the boiling point of the mixture of liquids and the temperature at the top of the fractionating column would be equal to the boiling point of the lower boiling compound; all of the lower boiling compound would be distilled away before any of the higher boiling compound.
What is the alcohol content after distillation?
Spirit-Specific Processes – The specific operation and processes employed in the distillation step vary based on the type of spirit being distilled. For most spirits, the first portion and last portion of the condensed vapor is removed and sent back to the distillation process, and only the middle portion (or “heart”) is retained.
- This heart can be the majority of the distillate or as little as only a third of the distillate for higher quality spirits.
- Fine brandy production typically employs two rounds of distillation in a pot still.
- After the first distillation round, the distillate (called “low wine”) contains 20-30% alcohol.
The middle third (or “heart”) of this is sent to the pot still again, producing a distillate of around 70-72% alcohol concentration. The middle third of this subsequent distillate is then sent to the next phase. Lower-quality brandies that are made in commercially large amounts are produced in a continuous distillation column,
The distillate can have an alcohol concentration as high as ~97%. Rum production also generally involves two rounds of pot still distillation, after which the product is usually between 70-95% alcohol. This “white” rum is then either bottled immediately or blended/aged in the following step. Rum from continuous distillation is also “white” and is generally lower in alcohol content.
Tequila is made in two (sometimes three) distillation rounds in a pot still. The first distillation is at a temperature of around 195F (95C) and takes about two hours and generates a roughly 20-25% alcohol concentration product, called “ordinario.” The second round of distillation is at a temperature of around 195F (95C) and requires three to four hours and yields “silver” or “blanco” tequila at an alcohol concentration of about 55%.
- Tequila is seldom made in a distillation column, but it is possible, albeit the quality is usually lower.
- Vodka distilled in a pot still required at least two rounds, as the first produces a liquid with about 20-25% alcohol.
- Subsequent distillations can increase the alcohol content to around 70%.
- Fractional distillation in a column can produce vodka up to 95.6% alcohol, which is then usually blended with water.
In whiskey production, the wash from the fermentation step is distilled 2-3 times in a pot still. The liquid first enters the “wash still.” The produced vapors are condensed and this liquid (called “low wines” and having an alcohol content of about 20%) is then fed to the “spirit still.” The heart is at about 65-70% alcohol concentration and is sent to the next stage for aging.
- Whiskey is also mass-produced in distillation columns, following a nearly identical procedure as the other spirits.
- Gin distillation can occur in two main ways: “steep and boil” or “vapor infusion.” In steep and boil, juniper and other desired botanicals are placed in a neutral spirit (generally around 50% alcohol) for up to two days.
The liquid is then distilled in a pot still and the vapor is collected. In vapor infusion, the botanicals and juniper berries are suspended above the boiling neutral spirit such that the vapor comes into contact with them. Both of these processes can be carried out in a pot still or a distillation column.
What are the residues after distillation?
Petroleum residues are the remaining fraction left after the distillation of crude oil. According to the conditions of the primary distillation, a distinction is made betweenatmospheric and vacuum residues (VRs).
What is left in the flask after distillation?
Simple distillation is a procedure by which two liquids with different boiling points can be separated. Simple distillation (the procedure outlined below) can be used effectively to separate liquids that have at least fifty degrees difference in their boiling points.
- As the liquid being distilled is heated, the vapors that form will be richest in the component of the mixture that boils at the lowest temperature.
- Purified compounds will boil, and thus turn into vapors, over a relatively small temperature range (2 or 3°C); by carefully watching the temperature in the distillation flask, it is possible to affect a reasonably good separation.
As distillation progresses, the concentration of the lowest boiling component will steadily decrease. Eventually the temperature within the apparatus will begin to change; a pure compound is no longer being distilled. The temperature will continue to increase until the boiling point of the next-lowest-boiling compound is approached. Figure 1. Distillation apparatus. A distillation flask with a thermometer is placed in a heating mantle and is connected to a condenser. Figure 2. The tubes on the condenser are attached to a water source, with the water flowing in the low end and flowing out the high end of the condenser. The condensed vapor drips into the collection receiver.
- Check the calibration of the thermometer that is to be used. This can be accomplished by placing the thermometer in an ice bath of distilled water. After the thermometer has been allowed to reach thermal equilibrium, place it in a beaker of boiling distilled water and again allow it to reach thermal equilibrium. If the temperatures measured deviate from the expected values by more than two degrees, obtain a new thermometer and check its calibration.
- Fill the distillation flask. The flask should be no more than two thirds full because there needs to be sufficient clearance above the surface of the liquid so that when boiling commences the liquid is not propelled into the condenser, compromising the purity of the distillate. Boiling chips should be placed in the distillation flask for two reasons: they will prevent superheating of the liquid being distilled and they will cause a more controlled boil, eliminating the possibility that the liquid in the distillation flask will bump into the condenser. Figure 3. The thermometer is inserted in the distillation flask through a hole in the cork stopper. The arm of the flask is inserted through a hole in the stopper of the condenser. Make sure these stoppers are airtight, or the vapor will escape.
- Heat the distillation flask slowly until the liquid begins to boil (see Figure 4). Vapors will begin to rise through the neck of the distillation flask. As the vapors pass through the condenser, they will condense and drip into the collection receiver (see Figure 5). An appropriate rate of distillation is approximately 20 drops per minute. Distillation must occur slowly enough that all the vapors condense to liquid in the condenser. Many organic compounds are flammable and if vapors pass through the condenser without condensing, they may ignite as they come in contact with the heat source. Figure 4. The distillation flask being heated in a heating mantle. Figure 5. The collection receiver The vapors condense and drip from the condenser into the flask.
- As the distillate begins to drop from the condenser, the temperature observed on the thermometer should be changing steadily. When the temperature stabilizes, use a new receiver to collect all the drops that form over a two to three degree range of temperature. As the temperature begins to rise again, switch to a third collection container to collect the distillate that now is formed. This process should be repeated; using a new receiver any time the temperature stabilizes or begins changing, until all of the distillate has been collected in discrete fractions.
- note: All fractions of the distillate should be saved until it is shown that the desired compound has been effectively separated by distillation.
- Remove the heat source from the distillation flask before all of the liquid is vaporized. If all of the liquid is distilled away, there is a danger that peroxides, which can ignite or explode, may be present in the residue left behind. Also, when all of the liquid has evaporated, the temperature of the glass of the filtration flask will rise very rapidly, possibly igniting whatever vapors may still be present in the distillation flask.
- Never distill to dryness. The residue left in the distillation flask may contain peroxides, which could ignite or explode after all the liquid has distilled away.
- Make sure that all joints are secured very tightly. If any vapor escapes at the connection points, it may come into direct contact with the heat source and ignite.
- Never heat a closed system, the increasing pressure will cause the glass to explode. If the distillation flask has a tapered neck, the thermometer may be placed in such a way as to block to flow of vapors up the neck of the flask; in effect creating a closed system; make sure that if using a tapered neck flask, the thermometer is not resting in the lowest portion of the neck.
Simple distillation is effective only when separating a volatile liquid from a nonvolatile substance or when separating two liquids that differ in boiling point by 50 degrees or more. If the liquids comprising the mixture that is being distilled have boiling points that are closer than 50 degrees to one another, the distillate collected will be richer in the more volatile compound but not to the degree necessary for complete separation of the individual compounds.
- The basic idea behind fractional distillation is the same as simple distillation only the process is repeated many times.
- If simple distillation was performed on a mixture of liquids with similar volatilities, the resulting distillate would be more concentrated in the more volatile compound than the original mixture but it would still contain a significant amount of the higher boiling compound.
If the distillate of this simple distillation was distilled again, the resulting distillate would again be even more concentrated in the lower boiling compound, but still a portion of the distillate would be the higher boiling compound. If this process is repeated several times, a fairly pure distillate will eventually result.
- This, however, would take a very long time.
- In fractional distillation, the vapors formed from the boiling mixture rise into the fractionating column where they condense on the column’s packing.
- This condensation is tantamount to a single run of simple distillation; the condensate is more concentrated in the lower boiling compound than the mixture in the distillation flask.
As vapors continue to rise through the column, the liquid that has condensed will revaporize. Each time this occurs the resulting vapors are more and more concentrated in the more volatile substances. The length of the fractionating column and the material it is packed with impact the number of times the vapors will recondense before passing into the condenser; the number of times the column will support this is referred to as the number of theoretical plates of the column.
- Since the procedures of simple distillation are so similar to those involved in fractional distillation, the apparatus that are used in the procedures are also very similar.
- The only difference between the equipment used in fractional distillation and that used in simple distillation is that with fractional distillation, a packed fractionating column is attached to the top of the distillation flask and beneath the condenser.
This provides the surface area on which rising vapors condense, and subsequently revaporize. The fractionating column is used to supply a temperature gradient over which the distillation can occur. In an ideal situation, the temperature in the distillation flask would be equal to the boiling point of the mixture of liquids and the temperature at the top of the fractionating column would be equal to the boiling point of the lower boiling compound; all of the lower boiling compound would be distilled away before any of the higher boiling compound.
What does distilling not remove?
Steam Distillation One of the simplest methods of purifying water, distilling is the process of boiling water into steam, and then condensing the steam back into water. As gases (including chlorine) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be re-condensed back into the drinking water, most steam distillers use a carbon post filter which adsorbs gases. It is crucial that the carbon filter be replaced regularly, as the filters that are included with most distillers are small, and can easily become saturated with toxins. When a carbon filter has reached the saturation point, toxins and bacteria can be passed into the distilled water. Distillation removes heavy metals, micro-organisms, poisons, bacteria, contaminants, sediment, minerals and viruses. Distillation can not remove substances with lower boiling points than water including oils, petroleum and alcohol. The boiling chamber collects these contaminants and requires regular cleaning. Steam distilled water systems utilize either a plastic or stainless steel holding tank to hold the distilled water. Most systems have a spigot that is used to fill large plastic bottles for water storage. Glass bottles are preferred, but they are hard to find, very heavy, and dangerous if dropped. The boiling tank must be drained regularly, and depending on the model, cleaned every few weeks to remove scale deposits. Some models offer optional expensive auto drain kits that eliminate the need to clean the boiling tank where the impurities collect. Other options include pump kits and pressure tanks that allow steam distilled water to be connected to a kitchen mounted faucet for on demand water. Quality steam distillers are expensive, time consuming and costly to maintain, with electrical costs ranging from $.20 to $.40 per gallon, comparable to replacement filter costs in the best OPUS Healthy Water System models. If scale is allowed to build up on the heating element, the efficiency of the unit will be affected resulting in higher operating costs. Proponents of distilled water advertise that distilled water is the most natural, purest form of water. However, distilled water cannot be found in nature. Rain, technically created by distillation, is the result of the evaporation and recondensing of water. However rain, as it travels through the atmosphere (or down mountain streams), quickly absorbs minerals, airborne contaminants, and other substances. Similar to, steam distilled water is “dead” water, as it contains no minerals. Distilled water is particularly corrosive. With no minerals to give the water pH balance, distilled water acts like a magnet, absorbing chemicals (phthalates and bisphenols) from plastics, nickel from stainless steel, aluminum from aluminum containers, and carbon dioxide from the air. With no minerals to buffer the water, and the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, distilled water will have an acidic (<7) pH. Due to the high purchase price, high maintenance, high electrical operating costs and low water output, most people choose RO over steam distillers. The purchase price is lower, daily water output is higher, and less maintenance is required. RO systems produce demineralized water that is comparable to steam distillation with the inherent problems that have been identified in clinical trials, relating to the consumption of demineralized water. While somewhat subjective, most people find that distilled water has poor taste characteristics, probably due to the absence of minerals. Nickel Allergies and Stainless Steel Storing distilled water in stainless steel tanks can result in water containing high levels of nickel. To make steel stainless, chromium and nickel are added. Nickel is the most common metal allergen, leaching into liquids and foods that come into contact with stainless steel. Acidic liquids and foods can absorb even higher amounts of nickel. It is estimated that 14% of women have nickel allergies, which can produce eczema like symptoms and an itchy, bumpy rash. I do not recommend storing water in stainless steel, aluminum or plastic containers. As water distillers store purified water in either plastic or stainless steel, and for the reasons outlined earlier, I do not recommend water distillers. Other systems that use stainless steel include the overpriced multi level marketed Multi-Pure system. Bisphenol-A, Phthalates and Aluminum In addition to absorbing nickel from stainless steel, distilled water can absorb aluminum from cookware and storage containers, and Bisphenol-A and phthalates from plastics. One of the most well known xenoestrogens found in plastic containers, plastic bottles, and in the lining of canned foods is the chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA has been linked to a variety of diseases and has recently been officially labeled a dangerous substance in Canada. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, may increase the risk of birth defects and cancer. Comparison: Using Opus Healthy Water Systems vs. Distillation
No electricity required. The electricity needed to distill water costs between $,20 and $,40 per gallon. If you drink 1820 gallons of water per year (about five gallons per day) your cost of operation is between $364.00 and $728.00 per year, not including replacement filters. No messy cleaning and descaling of the distillation tank boiling chamber. Steam distillation is expensive to install as an on-demand system, requiring additional plumbing and a dedicated water pump. Most steam water distillers use a combination of stainless steel and plastic parts, and may store water in BPA containing plastic or stainless steel tanks. The corrosive nature of distilled water results in the absorption of these toxic compounds. The plastics can leach bisphenol-A, and the stainless steel can leach nickel. Steam distillation produces water slowly, averaging only 4-5 gallons per 24 hours. OPUS Healthy Water Systems retain dissolved minerals and either maintain the original pH (Freedom and Advantage) or increase alkalinity (Alkaplus). Distilled and RO water absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, increasing acidity.
: Steam Distillation
What is the residue left in the distillation flask?
The liquid and/or solid that remains in the pot at the end of distillation is called the pot residue ; the condensed liquid is called the distillate.
What gets left behind during each distillation of alcohol?
Azeotropic Distillation – This is the term used for the process that produces 100 percent alcohol with the help of an organic solvent and two additional distillations. It is used by large plants to produce industrial absolute alcohol. In the process, a solvent, such as pentane or gasoline, is added to the product (alcohol which is not water-free) coming out of the usual distillation column.
- This mixture is fed into a distillation column which divides it into a top product (a distillate of an exact composition determined by the solvent) and a bottom product, which can be controlled to produce pure alcohol by adjusting the amount of solvent added.
- The distillate of this column is fed to a third column, which distills out the solvent, leaving as the bottom product a mixture of just alcohol and water.
This bottom product is returned to the first alcohol-water column. Ideally, no solvent is added to the system once it’s working, because it is recycled and never gets out. This process is obviously more complicated than the usual distillation system and requires an expert to design.