Automated Ethylene Production Plant

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Original Ethylene production video:
• Making Ethylene (Refri...
Board Schematic:
drive.google.com/file/d/1jGZg...
Arduino Code:
drive.google.com/file/d/12d2M...
In this video I'll show how I automated the process of producing
Ethylene (C2H4) gas for use as a refrigerant. Ethylene is known as
Ethene, but is different from Ethane which is C2H6.
My original process used a manually controlled flame from a propane
burner to heat a catalyst pipe full of aluminum oxide to decompose
ethanol vapor into Ethylene and water vapor and fill a beach ball
with the Ethylene gas, which I'd later pump into a tank under
pressure.
This process was time consuming, inefficient, and required constant
attention to keep the flame at the right level to maintain
temperature. I use a lot of Ethylene gas to test refrigerant mixes
for my cryocooler, so it was worth the time to make the process
hands-off.
The new catalyst pipe is a 1-3/8" x 24" aluminum tube with 8 135W
band heaters clamped to it. 1/4" aluminum tubes are brazed to the
catalyst pipe to serve as the inlet / outlet. The band heater section
is insulated to maintain temperature, but the ends of the pipe are
exposed to keep them cooler to avoid melting the aluminum brazing
alloy.
The temperature of the catalyst pipe is controlled by a PWM signal
from an arduino to a solid state relay driving the band heaters, with
feedback from a thermocouple in the middle of the pipe. The target
temperature I used in this video was 450C. Lower temperatures will
make a higher percentage of Diethyl Ether, and higher temperatures
will create Hydrogen and Carbon, and possibly damage the catalyst
pipe.
The ethanol vapor is supplied by a 1L boiler which is quickly brought
up to its boiling temperature with a 100W heater and then sustained
by a 30W heater. Feedback for the boiler heater control is provided
by a thermistor inside the boiler. If the temperature inside goes
over the boiling point of the ethanol, the program assumes the liquid
has been depleted, and shuts off.
The average production rate of Ethylene gas is around ~40L/hr
depending on the temperature used for the reaction.
One issue i ran into early on was that I used denatured alcohol from
the hardware store, which i discovered was up to 60% methanol. This
still creates Ethylene, but it also creates several other Alkenes
from CH2 chains. I solved this problem by using Bio-ethanol, which
appears to be azeotropic 96% ethanol without additives.
The ethylene is automatically pumped into a pressure tank when the
gas pressure pushes up the piston of a 500 ml syringe until the
piston trips a limit switch that triggers a compressor to turn on.
At the time of this video's making, I've created nearly 1,000L of
ethylene gas, a lot of which i've liquefied for cryogenic
experiments.
Later, this gas will be filtered, dried, then used as refrigerant in
a cascade vapor compression system, and as a component in my mixed-
gas joule-thomson cryocooler.
Music Used:
Kevin MacLeod - Bossa Antigua
Kevin MacLeod - Lobby Time
Kevin MacLeod - George Street Shuffle

[@Kotesu]

This guy is ambitious and insanely practical. Fusing chemical, mechanical, electrical and embedded software engineering, his breadth and calibre of engineering work here is only surpassed by the irreverence and humour. Incredible work. This channel is officially my favourite on KZbin in the 12 years I’ve been on the platform.

[@anthonyatienza3363]

Bro there's this guy who made a pyrolysis generator using microwave transformers turning plastic into fuel. He's doing this at 18 years old.

[@jeffhurtson5211]

@@anthonyatienza3363 im going to need that channals name

[@mstorgaardnielsen]

And energy. He has the energy as well.

[@TopDedCenter]

@@mstorgaardnielsen Probably the most important part. Having the time and energy to do this sort of stuff. Knowing that he makes all the same mistakes any of us would make, but manages to fight the ADHD urge to quit and work on something else.

[@nunyabisnass1141]

Its a thin line between madness and genius.

[@Flashv28]

Babe, wakeup! Refrigeration guy is back in the garage.

[@Bobo-ox7fj]

I'll get the spray

[@baneus]

He is playing Factorio in real life. The factory must grow!

[@spaceangel8851]

The factory must grow!

[@Naylok83]

No, not Factorio. It's more like Minecraft with the GTNH modpack.

[@samir7838]

my guy is playing greg tech irl

[@ShimoriUta77]

I really want to join his session and play together

[@ShimoriUta77]

​@@samir7838fr fr GTNH ftw

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

You really undersold the magnificence of that automation, and the time lapse. Barely showed it at all. The syringe auto-pumping was glorious.

[@dtiydr]

i would use some soft metallic below since the seal on the syringe will fail one day.

[@newklear2k]

> "Hyperspace Pirate uploaded 18 seconds ago" Shit, I'm here late

[@danielheckel2755]

On my browser the video is 9 minutes ago and your comment 10 minutes ago 😂😂😂

[@newklear2k]

@@danielheckel2755 that's just how enthusiastic I am!

[@owenblount7334]

6h late for me damn it

[@zenmark42]

I'm SOOO late on following along with these videos. I barely have any loose refrigerant in my home. Gotta catch up.

[@Beardqt]

as a guy that lived inside a concrete block plant for years i appreciate the "noxious chemical plant" ambience of this video 💚

[@ethanpschwartz]

Takes me back to the days when I drove past an oil refinery on the way to work every day. Recirculate the air and enjoy the flashing lights.

[@gergelybencsik8626]

Hey, a quick tip for your circuits: put a pull down resistor for the FET gates, not just the series resistors. Like 10k to GND, before the series 5k resistor. It ensures your switches and FETs are OFF when the Arduino is not actively driving those outputs, like when it is booting up, being programmed, etc. Floating gate inputs can be pulled active by touching them, blowing on them, or just looking at them real mean, so you know, some pull downs can save you from surprises.

[@axelBr1]

I wondered about the pull down resister for the FET gate, but presumed that the Arduino was capable of pulling the gate voltage down. (Coincidently I saw a YT video a few days ago recommending the use of a FET driver IC, rather than logic level FETs). But I hadn't considered your warning about FETs being able to be turned on by static charge.

[@Heoqojreirb]

I think some models of arduino have internal pull downs

[@LFTRnow]

10k is overkill, usually 1M or so is fine because the gate has far higher impedance. Too low of a resistor vs the series resistor will give you a voltage divider at the gate. Also regarding the other points, it is best for equipment to "fail safe". Relying on pulldowns on the arduino (which are under software control) is not fail-safe. A few added pulldowns provide additional protection.

[@codures]

He already has a master security relay atop everything. Never saw pins floating at Vcc.

[@fanman420]

1 k is better than 10 k

[@IvImpuIsivevI]

Just some feedback, from a petroleum controls engineer. Redundancy is meant to protect against failure mechanism. In your set up, the failure mechanism of the switches is its mechanical integrity. Therefore the switches should be staggered rather than both engaging. Similar to backup sump pumps. The back up only engages if the main fails and the well fills up with water. Also something to think about, power failure will turn off heater but not immediately relieve pressure. Consider something like a normally open valve for pressure release or rebuilt syringe set up to allow it to full open and pop off in the even of a power failure. Because ethylene us highly flammable with a low LEL, make sure any atmospheric release is well away from ignition source and ventilated. Cool build! It's interesting seeing a small scale batch set up, since I'm used to working with continuous full size units in the refinery.

[@GerinoMorn]

I'm a software engineer, and from the first second it was mentioned I was like: have a "low" limit switch, or you in theory could start pulling vacuum on your system xD Don't just trust the code will execute correctly, rather inversly: assume it will do everything but you think it will :D

[@Kevin-xy2tu]

This guy, he can manufacture anything, he knows electronics, coding, mechanical assembly, chemistry and probably a lot of other useful knowledge. You are really someone I look up to.

[@BloodyMobile]

He's the irl version of the Factorio engineer. And I love it.

[@xxx27987]

do you want to marry him?

[@ymndoseijin]

I would 100%

[@Redicule_research._ridiculous]

​@@xxx27987yes

[@kaboom-zf2bl]

become an Engineer and you never stop having to learn ... the more experience you get the wider your skill set will go ... for me from electronics to physics to chemistry t material science to aeronautical engineering to fluid dynamics and going further .. as you get older you find none of the engineering you are taught today is actually separate ... chemistry plays apart in electronics and physics and material science and aerospace and hydrodynamics ... even combustion and yes explosives .. myself I went to school to learn Electronics engineering computer engineering computer programming and computer systems analysis ... after school ... well Physics Chemistry aeronautical engineering ... geology fluid dynamics ... materials engineering which includes fabricating composites ... and Im am currently learning about EDM machines ... yes Engineers ... once you start your schooling you NEVER STOP learning more

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

He's making refrigerant

[@Fuscao_Preto]

Hhhhhhhmmmmmm.... yummy..... 😋 💨💀

[@Beardqt]

very good, i'm proud of you!

[@crabbyboi9127]

🤯thats so crazy

[@XYZ-dz2ox]

I almost finished the video and couldn't figure it out

[@DD-DD-DD]

no shit Dick Tracy

[@dsfs17987]

secret with aluminum brazing is not flux, but using stainless steel rod (1.6mm 304 welding wire works well) to scrape and break up the oxide on the aluminum surface so the brazing rod material can bond - do this scratching when you heated up the aluminum to where when you rub the brazing rod on the surface, it starts to melt, then use the SS rod to scratch the surface while applying gentle heat to keep the braze liquid, but not too runny then you "butter up" the pieces to be brazed, that is apply thin layer of the braze rod to the surfaces you want joined before actually joining the parts, then heat up both parts and mate them, position them so that you don't need 3rd hand now to add more braze material and help it move around a bit with the SS rod, use heat gently, overheating will make the brazing material run and collect in low places, which isn't ideal using similar mass (wall thickness) is easier than brazing foil to a chunk of aluminum, matching and managing the temperature is the difficult part

[@XYZ-dz2ox]

That sounds tricky

[@spehropefhany]

Hmmm. . I wonder if some argon flood of shielding gas would help.

[@dsfs17987]

@@spehropefhany that is not possible when using gas torch, nor even useful, because the oxide is there already on the aluminum, all you need is to disturb it for the braze to grab on to the bare aluminum, it is easy, sort of like soldering slightly oxidized copper wire, there flux helps, here it is mechanical and it isn't too tricky, just needs some getting used to, hardest part is keeping the temperature of the joing in the sweet spot so the braze doesn't run

[@spehropefhany]

@@dsfs17987 Thanks for the info.

[@atntaltd]

just use zinc it is damm easy usually i use zinc from old used carbon battery

[@exaltdragon]

You should mount the SSR on a heat sink with thermal paste. I've burnt these sort before from constant switching for a mains power heater bed, but after adding the thermal paste it stays cool and lasts much longer.

[@danielbuckman2727]

Very impressive! There's no better feeling than pulling together CAD skills, 3D printing, coding skills, chemistry, and engineering anything your imagination can come up with. On top of that you made a video of it. Awesome 👍

[@jaredrigdon3582]

I see a lot of mechE and EE tips, but not many ChemE tips, so heres some. I would crunch the numbers to make sure you're in "plug flow." Reactors like this are very efficient but only when run at a turbulent flow as it causes the gas to flow through as a plug and maintains a high reactant concentration for longer than something with more mixing. The other thing to check is how the thermocouple is measuring the temperature. You will prolly need to set the probe higher temp as the heat conducting will be lower at the center and as this is a very temp sensitive reaction if a portion of the pipe is too cool you will have the ether side reaction. But you also dont want portions too high, or you'll have the hydrogen side reaction. The heat transfer in this case is what will make or break your conversion. There are a lot of other factors like pressure drop and things that also affect the rxn conversion, but I think the temp control is what will be the most important here

[@ericlotze7724]

On the note of ChemE, what all do you know about Gas-to-Liquids tech? Could these processes be done in a similar reactor? The things that mainly have me interested are Syngas to Methanol and/or Dimethyl Ether (DME) (Mainly for Fuel Use) I know things like Fischer-Troph or Methanol-to-Olefins exist as well, but if i remember correctly those start getting into Complex/Precious Metal Catalyst territory. (And fractional distillation, although that isn’t *too* horrible) (Someone mentioned Diethyl ether, which would be neat for solvent use, but less something I’m a nerd for lol)

[@jaredrigdon3582]

@ericlotze7724 Yes, they can. The general name for this style reactor is a PBR(packed bed reactor) or a PFR(plug flow reactor) they can be used for all sorts of different reactions but have whole coursed dedicated to how to predict their operation(I'm currently taking a reactor design course). I do believe that that is the type of reactor most commonly used for that purpose, tho. If you would like there are videos online explaining the general operation.

[@leocurious9919]

@@ericlotze7724What do you want to know about the syngas to MeOH process? If you want to use it as fuel, perhaps go a bit further via MtG (Methanol to Gasoline).

[@bromisovalum8417]

@@ericlotze7724Fischer-Tropsch catalyst commonly are iron and cobalt based, nickel and ruthenium are also used. The nitrates are deposited on the carrier substrate then the actual catalyst is produced in situ by heating in a stream of syngas, Ruthenium is the most active and at the lowest temperatures, but it's expensive. Another intriguing process is Reppe chemistry, but that requires balls of steel working with acetylene as feed stock and metal acetylide catalysts.

[@cane870]

You can’t be in plugged flow with a catalyst like that. It’s turbulent simply because of the catalyst pellets. That’s really just an assumption you make to simplify calculations in reaction kinetics. The best way to increase conversion would be to get smaller pellets to increase the surface area, which could be practical because this is a DIY project. Of course by doing so you would restrict the flow so you’d have to find a good middle ground. He also could increase the size of his column to get better conversion, if conversion is that big of an issue.

[@jeanladoire4141]

I know nothing about cryo science and machines like that, but i binge watch all your videos

[@alexburgdorf419]

I'd wager a guess and say thats 99% of the people here.

[@greedtheron8362]

I would be careful with that beaker you used at the end there. It may look like it survived that couple hundred degree swing in temp, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's got a lot of micro-stresses and is ready to shatter when you least expect it.

[@billl7551]

Pyrex is even more impressive after that demo.

[@jamesmurphy449]

Aluminum passivates in air and especially in an oxidizing flame. Sanding the surface immediately before fluxing/heating can help remove the oxide coating and make brazing easier. If you can keep the flame off of the joint (or even better, if you can run a reducing flame with propane or acetylene) this also helps... and you'll get the best results if you can apply the filler metal the instant the temperature is right. Too much heat oxidizes your filler before it can flow into the joint (you can kinda see this happening at 3:20). Keep everything super clean and do what you can to get the temp exactly right. On the best day aluminum is still not easy to solder/braze.

[@douro20]

Yeah a lot of people just don't know how reactive aluminium is.

[@billl7551]

@@douro20 Yeah - - like that black aluminum dust - german aluminum in black powder.

[@not_a_therapist]

Thanks for this, just got off my 12 hour factory job shift and I'm stuck in complete deadlock traffic

[@truthsmiles]

Beautiful! Please consider using an electrical “inlet” (vs “outlet”) to receive mains power. That way you’re not handling a cord with live prongs (called a “widowmaker” in the electrical trade for a reason).

[@EgonSorensen]

But.. those 'inlets' are ex ... pain... eee ;-) Well worth it too imho Edit - can often be salvaged/scrapped from old PC PSU units, and similar equipment. Rated at mains voltage, and can carry reasonable amounts of current. The old-style AT supplies often has/had both inlets and outlets, and if not available, often PC UPS's has both.

[@dumle29]

I think you misunderstood. That's a switched outlet for the compressor. Not a power input. That said using that thin wire and XT60 plug for a mains outlet is still rather sketch

[@V8VRUte]

@@dumle29 Yeah, I thought that too for a moment, until I looked again, and realized it was indeed the output to the compressor from the SSR (The inlet was the one he showed that gets hung from the 3d printed bracket on the side of the extrusion)

[@wombatillo]

@@dumle29 XT60 connectors (brand name ones) are certainly not rated for 115 VAC or 230 VAC.

[@LanceThumping]

Was it called a widowmaker because of the live prongs or because they are often used to connect A/C circuits in ways that are insanely dangerous (like keeping a circuit live when the circuit breaker is off)

[@uSoldering]

I've had a 2-stage missing the silly sauce sitting around for years. I love you.

[@Ether_Void]

Just as a small note the analogWrite aka PWM signal for the SSR is likely redundant because SSRs won't turn off when you tell them to, instead they will turn off the next time it hits a zero crossing (120 times a second in the US). Since the Arduino library doesn't allow you to change the frequency of the PWM (without some some low level magic) it will probably just work like a threshold switch that turns off whenever the analogWrite value hits 0. Since there is a lot of thermal mass involved this is probably still fine. If you actually want to set the heater power you would need to chop up the mains sine wave, this can be done by detecting the zero crossing of the mains and then delay the turn on signal, similar to how light dimmers work.

[@ramous5182]

I'd suggest just using a very low frequency PWM, seems easier than having to detect the zero volt crossing

[@czechgop7631]

Or rectify the input and get a SSR that can switch DC

[@Ether_Void]

@@ramous5182 Simple threshold switching (like it is acting currently) would probably be the easiest option. There is nothing really wrong with it I just wanted to point out that the analogWrite likely won't act as expected in this situation. The frequency of the PWM would have to be at last two orders of magnitude lower than the grid so the extra time would not have a effect (assuming you want to keep the effect below 1bit accuracy). This would also eliminate the PWM timers so the PWM has to be implemented manually, and the accuracy of a 3 second cycle time probably wouldn't improve that much without also going into PID control.

[@Ether_Void]

@@czechgop7631 I generally don't recommend simply rectifying mains voltage and switching it. When you work with DC Arcs don't extinguish as easy and since you likely want to filter it (so the noise from the PWM switching doesn't enter into mains) the capacitors will turn to a serious safety risk. There is nothing really wrong with a threshold switch which is how the system will likely act in this situation, especially when you don't work with a PID control loop. Just wanted to point out that it likely doesn't act as expected. You can also get pre-made PID modules making it easier.

[@czechgop7631]

@@Ether_Void Two things. 1. SSRs are contactless, so there's no arcs and 2. Since it powers only resistive heaters you really wouldn't need much if any filtering

[@hamjudo]

I live far enough north that a solar + battery power system that is large enough for a cloudy week in the winter, will have excess power during a sunny week in the summer. When the batteries get full the options are to either electrically disconnect the panels, or send the surplus power to a big load. That big load needs to tolerate intermittent power. Liquifying air may become an excellent use for surplus power. In 2018, an engineer friend of mine was contracted to design the power control system for a crypto mining rig for a wealthy person's off grid home. Even with electricity that has zero marginal cost, crypto mining is stupid.

[@leocurious9919]

"Excellent use" in what way? That it is a fun project? Absolutely. That you can play around with cryogenic stuff for a few days? Absolutely.

[@dcnick3]

That USB extender is slightly cursed... Great video as always btw, something about automating industrial processes really scratches an itch for me

[@beamshooter]

Wow dude. You are one of my favorite DIY chem channels now. What a perfect mix of chem, fabrication, mechanics, and electronics. All reasonable for anyone with access to some basic tools can do.

[@fgbhrl4907]

You might also consider using PTC ceramic heater disks. They increase in resistance the hotter they get, so they inherently self-stabilize at a given temperature. Much simpler / foolproof.

[@leocurious9919]

Disks do not fit around tubes too well. Using square tubing for the reactor would introduce even more and worse temperature gradients. Just wrapping some resistive wire around it seems like of the easiest and cheapest options.

[@ericlotze7724]

0:45 Open Source Polyethylene would be cool af though! Granted probably requires weird catalysts and a *Fluidized Bed Catalytic Reactor* or something like that then a pelletizer and all sorts of stuff.

[@DUIofPhysics]

Really would love to see this.

[@ericlotze7724]

@@DUIofPhysics i also need to see what is the “easiest” plastic catalyst wise. Polylactic Acid (PLA), and potentially some of the more novel (and more easily biodegradable) bio-plastics would be neat. Maybe once the Cryogen Saga is Over, the Plastic Saga Begins? Some Plastics are pretty spooky though, Polystyrene is probably off limits; the styrene is itching to polymerize sometimes it full on *explodes* into polymer form.

[@TheQade]

Try buying Polish spiritus. That's pure consumption grade alcohol. Sold in liquor stores as a base to dilute and make your own flavored liquors. 98% pure ethanol.

[@Trainwreck1123]

Everclear would also work I would think.

[@Nie_nwm]

Hehe "Polish" spiritus 😂😅 im Polish

[@wytrzeszczwytrzeszcz7739]

But it includes paying taxes I bet he can diy ethanol

[@TheQade]

@@wytrzeszczwytrzeszcz7739 anyone can diy ethanol. Water + sugar + yeast + wait + distile. And wham, you have ethanol. That's not the point. :⁠-⁠)

[@wytrzeszczwytrzeszcz7739]

@@TheQade using algae you (afaik) can put AUTO into automation

[@mortlet5180]

At 11:22 something weird seems to be happening with the temp monitoring, and since this reaction (and its safety) depend so heavily on accurate temp control, I think it's worth checking that you don't have *ANY* electrical coupling between your switching electronics and the temperature sensing circuit. Just run a quick test with the thermocouple in some boiling water, while randomly switching power to your heaters, and make sure it keeps reading the same temp as another temp sensor in the same heat bath.

[@kyriedarling]

super awesome work!!! i was a chem eng student and i WISH we got to do practical stuff like this for coursework!! i'm really impressed with the control system scheme - super primitive and cheap compared to, well, an actual commercial chemical plant, but still does the job perfectly well (and looks pretty safe doing it!!) so glad this popped up in my feed, can't wait to see more

[@cyclefabllc82]

Hot tip - try Harris AlBraze 1070 filler and AlBraze EC powder flux next time you have to do aluminum brazing. I've had a lot of success with this stuff making custom A/C fittings for a local vintage VW repair shop.

[@prgnify]

Huge shout outs to borosilicate glass, that beaker went through the biggest temp delta and took it like a champ.

[@andersjjensen]

You're quickly reaching Chemiolis levels of sophistication, but in the engineering world. Mad respect!

[@bluekiwi42nd12]

Good setup! The 96% ethanol is pretty much the highest you can get it when water distilling (the other 4ish % is water) anything higher than that is probably been pyridine distilled.

[@ericlotze7724]

Supposedly Molecular Sieve can get you at/near Anhydrous. That’s what most chemistry channels have done. Also dug a bit on Amazon and the Sieve can be had for 20-50USD if i remember correctly. Also “stonylabs” or whatever the glassware company is also sells vacuum desicators (if you don’t go Vacuum Oven route, which I haven’t explored yet) *GRANTED* i an not an expert, so if you have more experience and all that and pyridine distillation is the way to go for some reason I don’t want to seem all wiser than thau lol.

[@NicksStuff]

Ethylene is a natural plant hormone that plays a significant role in the ripening of fruits. When fruits are ripe, they naturally release ethylene gas, which acts as a signal to initiate and accelerate the ripening process in neighboring fruits. This might be fun to try

[@cedricbrun4241]

I don't know if you did that, but to braze aluminium it's necessary to remove the oxide layer by sanding it. And you will need to braze it soon after removing the oxide, because just a few hours later the oxide layer is already too thick and prevents the solder from wetting properly. It is still not easy to braze tho..

[@memejeff]

He used flux afterwards which would strip off the oxide layer.

[@cedricbrun4241]

​@@memejeff I agree, although a freshly sanded joint makes wetting better than just with flux. That is what I meant

[@memejeff]

@@cedricbrun4241 Ah, I see. Makes sense :).

[@dandan-gf4jk]

Interestingly enough because of the reactivity of aluminium, I thought the oxide layer in is more of a binary thing, either it's there (and forms a set thickness) or it's gone (and will almost immediately form when exposed to air/water). Based on what you said, I suppose the growth is asymptotic towards a certain thickness but the initial layer is much thinner. Can you recommend approachable reading material on the topic?

[@stevenking3286]

Way above my pay grade but you are a multi-talented genius. Your distillation columns shot looks exactly like my local Du Pont chemical site.

[@michaelgraff6978]

It’s that the solid state relay is likely zero cross so the fastest you can PWM is a half cycle of AC. To do that you’d also need to know when the zero crosses occur.

[@unhiptser]

He had me at automated

[@johnkoury1116]

Awesome!!! I found a nitrogen generator that needs an $800 compressor so it has been sitting in my barn for about 2 years now. I love your videos and this video is so awesome. I am so psyched to see where you are going with this.....I got the feeling you were just showing off with all those super cool 3D printed thingy's..For all of us who need those thingy's or who do not have a 3D printer...I have 3D printer envy...I suppose being a chemical engineer I should have one of these setups on my kitchen counter...

[@Grak70]

A good way to get 100% pure ethanol is to find kleanstrip alcohol that uses ethyl acetate as denaturant and distill it with lye drain cleaner. The sodium acetate from the saponification reaction will be left behind as a solid and the ethanol will distill over near 100% pure with the bulk of the fuel.

[@petewright2283]

Whoop jackpot. Loving this

[@lucachacha71]

youtube just recommanded me your channel, AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED BY THE ALGORITHM, as an amateur chemist who never got the ball to actually put in practice what I learned, your channel is a dream come true!

[@TheTransporter007]

This is a criminally underrated channel.

[@USBEN.]

Dude i understand like 60% of what is being said but it's such a pleasure to watch your videos. These homemade systems have a unique raw touch to them, making it all the more interesting.

[@haydenc2742]

Awesome stuff right there! Desktop chemical plant! Exxon is jealous! Keep em coming!!!!

[@teamllr3137]

How yes, new video dropped

[@roccocroce]

This was one of the best videos I've seen so far. This is what youtube is for. Brilliant work my friend. There's something incredible about being so self sufficient as this.

[@dedamarsovac]

I've been daydreaming of doing this since I was like 16 and I've made my own little "freezer" using propane. The condenser was even water-cooled. Went down to -50°C but I wanted cooler. Since then, I've speciaized more in electronics, designing PCBs, antennas, sensors, power converters, wherever electronics and physics meet... but this.. this! You're living my dream! :D Every year sometime I go down the rabbit hole of "let's see how to make ethylene" and when I saw your first video I downloaded it because that's how gold it is. This is even more gold :D Inspiration++ I definitely wanna do that sometime in the future.. Prolly as soon as I stop living in a (temporary) rented place.

[@schrodingerscat1863]

This channel just keeps getting better, the automation here is great.

[@riffzifnab9254]

The (refrigerant) factory must grow!

[@unixson8038]

Wake up babe. Fridge guy just dropped a new video

[@emanuelgoncalvessantos4499]

Great work! I'm enjoying a lot your quest for the LN2.

[@sneakythumbs9900]

Awesome job man. Your videos are always inspiring.

[@blakeshafferfilms]

Good idea to have pull downs on the gates of your NMOS FETs. When they aren’t getting a signal from your arduino, the gate will be floating and could turn the FET on if any gate to source capacitance gets charge on it. Just a safety mechanism and good to always have a known state :) just make sure to size that and the gate resistor right so you have a proper gate voltage above Vth Also may wanna have a resistor in the path of the FETs since there may be quite a bit of current flowing when turning on the relays.

[@Xsiondu]

These videos just keep on keeping on. I love it

[@zinckensteel]

While I may never manipulate refrigerants with the expertise as you, watching your videos has taught me enough to understand basic differences between the kinds of heat pumps used in consumer appliances; i.e. some do a good job of moving a little heat across a huge differential, others do well at moving great amounts of heat across smaller differences of temperature - and both can be used as part of regenerative systems for the ethical home of tomorrow.

[@michaelfixedsys7463]

you're first ethylene production video was the first one of yours I watched.

[@tmiller9099]

I would suggest purging the system with N2 or steam first. At 0 PSIG there is 14.7 PSIA or 1 volume of air in the system. As you accumulate C2= you have an explosive mixture of fuel and air as the system goes from it'sLEL to UEL.

[@ericlotze7724]

I agree. I am trying to think what all else is a potential issue, but i do think doing a Process Hazard Analysis and getting real snobby on intrinsically safe design and stuff like that may be worth a look. Not that I’m expecting Radiography of the Welds or some shit, but stuff similar to the Backup Relays. I would need to look into detectors, but maybe make a System (and redundant Safety Instrumented System running a Circuit Breaker/Power Bar of sorts pre-device?) that uses detected Ethylene and/or Detected High Temperature/Flame to shut things down + trigger an alarm. How many cycles things can go before they break, what them breaking would do, and when to swap those parts and/or better alternatives is an aspect as well. Those Mechanical Limit Switches have me a *little* concerned, but could be worse, also a little uncertain on the Syringe, but otherwise seems fine. *And Again* i am not an expert (although i have done *sone classes*, still no full on Industrial Hygienist / OSHA inspector etc), and doing all this would be a bit overkill, but i think 1.) better safe than sorry 2.) Good Example for the Kids Watching 3.) Flex on Others with the Sheer Industrial Quality of your Design (as if it isn’t way more polished already!)

[@ericlotze7724]

Also for those who don’t know, “Lower Explosive Limit” and “Upper Explosive Limit” are those terms. *Although* if you have seen that USCSB Video on KZbin about that Paper Plant Explosion, I don’t *100%* Trust UEL Based Inerting lol

[@user-lp8pg6ld3s]

As a chemistry student watching these videos, the safety comments are just as valuable as the content of the video. I really appreciate yall taking the time to share.

[@tmiller9099]

On second thought. Since the final product will be used as refrigerant, I would consider drawing a deep vacuum on the system to remove both air and water. Water can form hydrates and plug the system at lower temperatures. You would need to break the vacuum with dried product or N2 (it's typically pretty dry).

[@oddzc]

Your sense of humor is amazing. Never stop.

[@alskjflaksjdflakjdf]

Wow, that rig is impressive! Great work!

[@tomapc]

At 8:43 , not 100mm, it is an Arctic F12 fan, so 120mm High Flow one! Used a lot of those, very good and quite cheap.

[@msmith2961]

I feel you're slowly creeping toward that goal of liquid nitrogen but nearly there!

[@TheQContinuumPi]

I really wish this was recommended to more people.

[@christopherleubner6633]

This was awesome. Lots of applications of this as ethylene is a great starting chemical for all kinds of stuff. Also you could make smaller ethylene generators and market for use in cannabis greenhouses. Small amounts of ethylene will more than double the flower yeild.❤

[@blakes8901]

this might be the coolest thing you've ever done on this channel thanks for the video

[@thecrazyinsanity]

i love this. it makes me think about what would be built in a post apocalypse setting, machines like this to turn already processed materials into more necessary things would be very useful and are extremely interesting

[@ricardoiarossi]

Cant wait for the next video! Awesome project

[@Marty_Destroyer_of_Worlds]

these vids are always the highlight of my day

[@spehropefhany]

Very impressive project and lucid video, thanks.

[@olduhfguy]

Someone is in love with their 3D printer 🙂

[@toygartumer7385]

Best channel on KZbin fr

[@msx80]

Wow, the refining machine was already cool but the automation was insane. Absolutely love it!

[@spageti6640]

Babe wake up, new hyperspace pirate video

[@Enderbro3300]

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. I've wanted to build something similar for potassium chlorate production but don't have the energy or drive to do it

[@larrythehedgehog]

that last minute was a great bit of free advertising for pyrex. good video!

[@JavierChiappa]

A mini automated chemical plant, thats brilliant, excellent work.

[@maddog2314]

Funny, I worked on the Phillips catalyst and you are actually right about the plastic chemistry obscurity. There are only 3 research groups including an industrial group actively working on understanding the mechanism of the Phillips catalyst. It is still very much a "black box" and it is a tough cookie to crack. I like to think we came close.

[@Duda286]

first and foremost THANK YOU, havent even watched the video but I know my weekend is about to get better

[@jetaddict420]

Having been an engineer working with scale setups of pilot plants this is the closest thing ive ever seen done by a non professional to what i designed

[@memejeff]

Legendary stuff man.

[@jerhom2787]

Industrial chem in the garage my favourite genre of youtube

[@Love2Destroy]

THIS is the content I want to see. Please keep making videos

[@V8Power5300]

I think you have to try and get rid of more moisture and vacuum your apparatus before starting the system. maybe add a second moisture absorbing trap. Other than that this looks like a great setup.

[@charlesurrea1451]

I love those heater bands. Especially on a big column, you can really dial things in.

[@robertobryk4989]

It might be useful to find the expected range of duty cycles of heaters during operation and have the Arduino program stop everything and scream if they are exceeded. Otherwise, a physically detached or electrically failed (in the off-scale low direction) temperature sensor can cause heaters to operate at 100% duty cycle. (Also, it might be useful to find expected range of sensor inputs, so that sensors failed off-scale in either direction can be detected directly).

[@ericlotze7724]

This is definitely a failure mode to consider! Similar to those Cheap FDM 3D Printers that caused some fires.

[@isaiahhiggins]

This channel is my favorite thing

[@littleboot_]

I'm really looking forward to your next video

[@tempy2440]

Thanks for the reminder that systems need to be worked on

[@theradioweyr]

Tremendous progress! I have always wanted to make my own liquid nitrogen.

[@alex4alexn]

these are the best videos, love the building

[@kocy33]

Thats pretty amazing! Hugely impressed great job.

[@kamranmoazzamansari7289]

i have been seeing ur videos for such a long time, and the way u say home made and show a content worthy of writing a paper , yes... they have already been written but yes..... an overkill....... and wait for it... wait for it.... (I love it, yes i just love it)

[@haraldclark6206]

That is awesome work!

[@owenhalldurocher9727]

love the vertical chemical plant vibe

[@luigisaporito9350]

complimenti, un bellissimo progetto. sei veramente in gamba

[@ConnorAustin]

Thanks for the video tutorial I needed ethylene for a fuel cell project

[@hgbugalou]

You home owner's insurance policy has to be even more interesting than mine.

[@CurlyfriesCurlyfries]

Honestly brilliant

[@UUTechRU]

Wow! Good work!

[@richardlighthouse5328]

I'm impressed.