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How about solar distillation. Here's on that uses a Fresnel lens to heat th e liquid. Alcohol may not need much amplification. Perhaps a curved reflect or might work. The advantage of this system is you can pour the contaminate d alcohol in a disposable jar or similar container. When the distillation i s complete, simply toss the jar.
Solar powered desalination system using Fresnel lens
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the liquid. Alcohol may not need much amplification. Perhaps a curved refle ctor might work. The advantage of this system is you can pour the contamina ted alcohol in a disposable jar or similar container. When the distillation is complete, simply toss the jar.
even simpler:
use a big bucket instead of a hole in the ground
You're probably the source of that statistic. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
The Polmos 96% rectified spirit is dramatically better tasting--the local Italian-American population uses it for home-made lemon liqueur.
I have no idea what they put in the 160-proof (80-proof) stuff, but it's foul tasting.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
That would certainly work with water, but I'm not so sure that it will work with 91% IPA.
The basic criteria is that the process must:
I've used evaporative distillation to clean up brackish water, desalinate sea water, extract water from the ground, and distill moonshine in college. I've never tried a fresnel lens but prefer a tilted flat glass plate type:
One might suspect that distilling 100% pure (200 proof) IPA is much the same as distilling moonshine. Nope. Pure alcohol volatizes at
79C (174F). The flash point is 16.6C (61.9F). Therefore heating the alcohol in order to convince it to evaporate will need to be very well controlled or it might catch fire as in an alcohol lamp. Methinks that would be potentially unsafe.With the various ways I've tried to use evaporative distillation, the one distinguishing characteristic of all of them is the incredibly slow speed of processing. As I vaguely recall, the flat glass "green house" type solar water still produced about 1 drop every 2 seconds.
3.5 gallons = 264979 drops => 530,000 seconds => 147 hrs At an average sunlight of about 4 hrs/day, that's 37 days to complete the distillation. Since winter is approaching, the hours of daylight are even less. Even less without a solar tracker to insure that the lens is pointed at the sun.Also, I live in a rather dense redwood, oak, and fir tree forest. During the winters, I barely get enough sunlight to run my small solar electric panels. Running a solar distillery in winter will probably not work. I could probably build one in my office parking lot, but I suspect the landlord and fire safety inspector will not approve.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Fill a polycarbonate tube (fluorescent tube cover) with activated charcoal pellets (coffee-bean size are available) after sealing the bottom with some fine mesh, and glueing an upside-down bottle lid to the top. Fill a bottle, screw it in, and leave it to stand somewhere.
After drying, you can re-activate the charcoal in the oven.
Clifford Heath.
Mere details my boy, mere details, as I flick the ashes of my cigar, W.C Fields style. Or as Roseanne Roseannadanna said, "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it?s always something ? if it ain?t one thing, it?s another."
Mikek
Thanks. The activated charcoal filter was already suggested by Cursitor Doom somewhere upthread. I found instructions for building one at: So far, this looks like the most practical method of removing the tobacco tar from the alcohol. Aquarium filters appear to be the easy way to get some activated charcoal in bulk:
Argh. First, Cursitor Doom tries to kill me by suggesting I taste test the purified IPA. Next, Steve Wilson wants me to build a solar distillery using a lens that might ignite the alcohol or its vapors. Then, Lasse suggest a process that could take 40 days or more to complete. Now, you suggest that I bake the activated charcoal in my oven, which would certainly coat the inside of the oven with a layer of evaporated tar and fill my house with the stench of tobacco tar. I thought it was obvious, but please note that I prefer that my house, appliances, and I survive the alcohol purification processing.
"How to refresh activated carbon cartidges" (5:12)
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
I think it's just an excuse for keeping a few beers in the lab frig.
George H.
Good luck reactivating it when it's full of tobacco tar. You'd need a kiln.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net https://hobbs-eo.com
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Ash is particulates that will not dissolve in alcohol. I doubt the tar wil l adhere to it significantly. If there is much of it the ash should settle to the bottom overnight and can simply be decanted.
I would expect the tar to be best handled by distillation. As NT suggests it does not require boiling, only a difference in temperature between the c ontaminated alcohol and the receiver. It may be slow but you aren't in a h urry. Actually no difference in temperature is required, it just speeds up the process.
I'm pretty sure any method involving filters will be messy and expensive. I'm not sure other methods won't be as well. lol
Rick C.
I find in my case at any rate there's no correlation between quantity and undesirable side effects. It's all to do with tiny amounts of trace chemicals which may or may not be artificially arising; I've never quite worked it out. :-\
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That last part I definitely believe... :-o
Rick C.
Even in the good ol' 70s it was regarded as really bad practice to keep beer in a lab fridge - it could even get you fired! So we'd decant it into opaque reagent bottles and label it as hydroflouric acid. Never failed! :-)
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Ha ha! Very amusing, Jeff. Actually I just wanted you to report back on the efficacy of the charcoal method in removing the muck from your solvent, that's all. You certainly don't want to be drinking that stuff, before or after! :-D
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Here you go, Jeff:
;-)
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Lab frig was the frig in the lab... it mostly was for food, maybe some batteries and epoxy in the freezer. Chemicals stayed in the chemical hood. And no HF, except in the clean room.
George H.
Until somebody put real HF in the fridge. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Did some projects for the beverage and food industry. It was strictly forbidden to eat or drink anything in the lab. Samples manufactured there had to be taken out of lab for tasting.
-- mikko
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