distillation of water and ethanol

Distillation of a water and ethanol mixture. Originally created for Hayward (WI) High School Chemistry students.

[@Eddie-vz3sf]

this so fye if you wanna learn how alcohol is made. pretty much the gist of it!

[@strumper22]

You cannot separate water and ethanol completely. They form an azeotrope due to the hydrogen bonding between water and ethanol. This causes the coalescence of the boiling points to single temperature.

[@Mrscrapiron5]

Yep. But this video is made for 10th graders, so I over simplified my narrative. There still is significant separation, as the ignition test at the end shows.

[@danielanthony1054]

@@Mrscrapiron5 makes sense, 90% of all the distillers i've met doing tours in rum and whiskey distilleries don't understand how distillation of ethanol actually works. so i don't think a 10th grader would understand much better

[@scarpadog155]

Yes you can. Never say can't when dealing with chemistry..... you'll be incorrect often. There are several ways.

[@zenamcfadden3356]

How do you know the temperature of the water is the same temperature as the water? Is there a way to gather evidence that the water is the same temperature as the vapor?

[@khrssan8772]

if we made fermented drink and we want to destil that mean at 65°c will come out methanol first right? and at 78°c will come out etahol ? am i right? because i got some question if i do destile i need to do at 65°c for a while or just do at 78°c instead? thanks you

[@TimeSurfer206]

Yes, but still don't drink the product from the first 5 minutes or thereabouts after the temperature has switched. And also keep an sharp eye out for the NEXT temperature increase, which is when the water's about ready to boil off. There are toxins at that end, as well. My friend who distills says he uses a number of containers to catch the product (distillate) during his distillations, one at the beginning to catch the methanol, which he switches out to a new one after 5-10 minutes of catching it once it rose to the Ethanol Temperature. He then proceeds to switch out every half hour or so, keeping an eye on the speed of the drips. When the drips start slowing, he marks that container as the last. Once the temp spikes to 212F/100C, you're getting water. After he is done, he uses a sensor to detect the levels of methane in each container, and, if too high, he drops all that product back into the still for another run. He is dreaming of the day he can get a proper Fractional Distillation Column like those shown in these videos so he can get 95% pure Ethanol Motor Fuel in one run. So do I. I'm doing destructive distillation of wood, FOR the Methanol. I want pure methanol. Be very cautious if you are distilling Ethanol for drinking. Being poisoned by Bad Hooch is a large part of why America has an ATF. Death by Waragi is real, and not fun. Everyone I know who brews is more anal retentive about sterility than Doctors are.

[@khrssan8772]

@@TimeSurfer206 thanks for your information that help a lot