Oh... if it for human consumption, be VERY careful. Typical
yeast fermentation produces byproducts in small amounts:
methanol (causes blindness and death), and "fusel oils" such
as butanol (which make excellent vehicle fuels by the way -
better than ethanol). If I understand it correctly, the
folks who make vodka, etc. know from experience to discard a
certain amount of the first distillate liquid, which contain
these. And they use batch stills... if you see "triple
distilled" then you guessed it, they distilled the liquid
three times...
A homemade continuous column would NOT remove the methanol
and fusel oils, so be very careful.
How much do you need? Might be more efficient to stock up
now before the apocalypse. (Which could be anything...
giant earthquake in Seattle... some geologists think that
could happen... Yellowstone blowing up... North Korea
getting lucky...)
Hehe. I think 250 gallons would be enough to keep in storage,
I suppose. Might be the best way to go. I could set up an
above ground 250 made of food-grade steel and store it there.
I just don't like that much ethanol in one (explosive) place.
And I'm not sure what products might form over time, inside.
(I remember vividly a refrigerator door blowing off the
refrigerator in front of my face when just barely being
opened, due to a small can of ethyl ether exploding.
Afterwards, I learned about what products gradually develop
inside and that I shouldn't keep ethyl ether for longer than
about 6 months, to be sure about it. Each molecule and
storage method leads to different results, of course, but I'm
a little uncomfortable about 250 gallons of long-term stored
ethyl alcohol. I'd rather distill to need and merely maintain
that equipment than store the stuff for the "apocalypse." I
also prefer to learn to fish, than to be given fish,1 in such
cases.
I'm already aware of methyl alcohol contamination problems,
though I'm NOT well aware of how best to deal with it. That's
something else I will need to gather up, I suppose. Same with
the other alcohol byproducts, such as amyl alcohol. I will
have to learn how to both test for and remove them if I ever
get started on something like this. I'm dragging my feet
because there are so many other pressing issues and I don't
really like betting on horrible disasters in my future. I
don't mind the learning process, though, which is why I was
so interested here. Learning goes into my head, takes up no
space, keeps for a long time, doesn't go stale, and can get
brought into use when needed. Actual physical stuff costs
money, takes up room, can get broken or lost, needs
maintenance, etc.... even when it isn't needed or being used.
But my wife may want me to at least "demonstrate" some
capability here, someday. I simple chem lab experiment I can
do to show that I can get from A to Z, if needed someday.
Then I can just drop it and wait until "the apocalypse"
happens, if ever. And I will like knowing how, anyway. So I'm
not opposed. But you have taught me well just how much is
involved even doing just that little bit, so I will be
spending more time learning before I go jump off this cliff,
for sure.
When I decided to make rocket fuels as a teenager, I spent
many many hours studying chemistry manufacturing books on the
5th floor of our local 4yr university's library before taking
on ANY of the fuels at home. I never had a single dangerous
event take place. And I made mercury fulminate,
nitroglycerin, potassium nitrate and sugar glass, used
potassium chlorates (still have some), potassium perchlorates
(also still have some), picric acid, and you name it almost
(gunpowder, of course.) Made lots of fireworks, including
exploding rocket flares. Just getting a handle on making the
potassium nitrate and sugar melts required careful study, as
it needed to be melted at higher than 300C but had a flash
point at anywhere above about 400C. To achieve that on my
meager budget, I had to discover that H2SO4 boils around the
right temperature for my project and to set up a condensing
double boiler to avoid "hot spots" that might cause an
explosion. But of course I also had to worry about what might
happen, anyway, and if I were anywhere near an exploding
beaker (I used a florence flask and beaker system) of pure,
very hot H2SO4. So I used sand bags to protect me. Worst
moment of this experience was having to leave that protection
long enough to remove the florence flask (I hadn't figured
out an automated way I could afford, then.) I moved quickly,
of course.
I will take far less chances now and do far more research
first. And I can afford better arrangements, too.
I think I'll enjoy this experience even more, now that I
realize just how interesting it really is. It's harder, but
much more interesting and educational than I'd imagined
before.
Jon