Distillation Project - Alcohol Beverages
Distillation
Alcoholic distillation is basically the process of separation the more volatile component, alcohol, from the less volatile component, water, from a water/alcohol solution, by heating the solution and condensing and collecting the alcohol rich vapours released, as a high alcohol strength liquid (spirit).
The starting material for most distillations, such as wine for brandy and beer for whisky, are usually weak alcoholic solutions (5%-7% v/v ethanol)
This seems counter intuitive, as it would seem that if the desired product is alcohol, the starting solution should have a high alcohol concentration.
The reason for starting with a relatively low alcohol starting material is that alcohol molecules (A) and water molecules (W) interact with themselves (A-A, W-W, the reasons why they form liquids) and between each other (A-W, the reason they form solutions).
The concentration of the species A-A, W-W and A-W depends on the alcohol (A) concentration.
Like most substances, like attracts like, in the same way that alcohol molecules will have a stronger affinity for other alcohol molecules (A-A) and water having a strong affinity for itself (W-W).
In a weak alcoholic solution, fewer molecules of alcohol will have an opportunity to interact with each other, being separated by many water molecules.
This results in fewer, stronger A-A formations, and more of the weaker A-W formations, making it easier for the more volatile alcohol molecules (A) to be liberated from the solution on heating.
On the other hand the collected distillate, from a batch/pot distillation, will be high in alcohol, and form many A-As, making it much harder to concentrate the alcohol even further through a second distillation.
In fact, a water/alcohol solution with a alcohol concentration of 95.6% alcohol sees the number of A-A molecules becoming so high that the alcohol becomes as reluctant as water molecules to vaporize of, in fact they will have the same
Alcoholic distillation is basically the process of separation the more volatile component, alcohol, from the less volatile component, water, from a water/alcohol solution, by heating the solution and condensing and collecting the alcohol rich vapours released, as a high alcohol strength liquid (spirit).
The starting material for most distillations, such as wine for brandy and beer for whisky, are usually weak alcoholic solutions (5%-7% v/v ethanol)
This seems counter intuitive, as it would seem that if the desired product is alcohol, the starting solution should have a high alcohol concentration.
The reason for starting with a relatively low alcohol starting material is that alcohol molecules (A) and water molecules (W) interact with themselves (A-A, W-W, the reasons why they form liquids) and between each other (A-W, the reason they form solutions).
The concentration of the species A-A, W-W and A-W depends on the alcohol (A) concentration.
Like most substances, like attracts like, in the same way that alcohol molecules will have a stronger affinity for other alcohol molecules (A-A) and water having a strong affinity for itself (W-W).
In a weak alcoholic solution, fewer molecules of alcohol will have an opportunity to interact with each other, being separated by many water molecules.
This results in fewer, stronger A-A formations, and more of the weaker A-W formations, making it easier for the more volatile alcohol molecules (A) to be liberated from the solution on heating.
On the other hand the collected distillate, from a batch/pot distillation, will be high in alcohol, and form many A-As, making it much harder to concentrate the alcohol even further through a second distillation.
In fact, a water/alcohol solution with a alcohol concentration of 95.6% alcohol sees the number of A-A molecules becoming so high that the alcohol becomes as reluctant as water molecules to vaporize of, in fact they will have the same