Distillation column made from a thermos. Design, diagram and principle of operation of a distillation column. How to do it yourself? DIY distillation column at home

The question often arises: what is better: a distillation column or a moonshine still. There are many supporters of each device, but definitely with the RK you can get good moonshine, but vice versa it will not work. Rectification allows you to obtain pure alcohol with a strength of 96-98° from raw alcohol (moonshine). Good alcohol has practically no organoleptic properties, there is no smell of raw materials, the pure product can be used for the production of homemade vodkas and all kinds of liqueurs and tinctures. You can get such a product at home using a mini-distillery. Today it is quite easy to purchase a home mini-distillery in specialized stores. It is also possible to make a real distillation column yourself with your own hands.

In addition to technical skills, you must know the operating principle of this device, how a distillation column works. To produce alcohol, packed columns are used; they have small dimensions and easily fit in height in an ordinary apartment. The productivity of such a device reaches 300-1000 ml per hour, which is quite enough for home needs.

Distillation column - operating principle. As a nozzle for the column, various materials neutral to the action of alcohol are used - glass, stainless steel, ceramics. The main property of all nozzles is to wet and retain reflux on their surface. That is, alcohol vapor from the distillation cube rushing up the column, condenses at the top and returns down, flowing down the nozzle. An exchange of components occurs, alcohols rise up the column, and water and heavier impurities flow back into the distillation cube. When a stable distillation column enters operating mode, a balance occurs between the supply of steam and the selection of alcohol. The temperature in the column is stabilized and during the entire rectification process it remains at the same level, not exceeding 0.1-0.3 degrees. This mode can be maintained by good insulation of the column, supplying a specific power for each column and maintaining the required pressure in the system

Distillation column design

How to make a distillation column worries many home distillers. But you can make a small mini-distillery for your home yourself, saving a lot when purchasing a ready-made kit. The amount will be 2-3 times less if you decide to make a homemade distillation column. All details, how the distillation column is constructed and the drawing are described in detail below.

Each home mini-distillery consists of:

1. Distillation cube;
2. Tsarga;
3. Nozzle;
4. Selection unit;
5. Dephlegmator;
6. Fridge;
7. Pasteurization drawer (optional);
8. Automation.

Drawing diagram of a distillation column

Distillation cube. In another way, an evaporation cube, raw (moonshine) is poured into it for rectification. The cube is also a strong base for the column; the weight of the column with the nozzle is quite large. For home use, a capacity of 15-50 liters is usually used. The cube can be universally suitable for distilling mash and alcohol; in this case, it is advisable to use a large capacity of 30-50 liters. When making a cube, stainless steel beer kegs of 30 and 50 liters or food kettles are often used. The container must be equipped with a heating element, which is a heating element or two heating elements with a power of 1-3 kW. As a heating source, you can use an electric or induction stove with the ability to adjust the heating power. A thermometer is installed on the cube for internal monitoring of the still liquid. To reduce heat loss, it is recommended to insulate the cube from the outside.

Tsarga. The main, main part of any distillation column. All processes take place in it. The column for a home mini-distillery can be assembled from several connected parts (tsargs). It is better to make connections of all drawers using milk couplings or clamp connections. Such a system will be universal and can be used as a mash column for moonshine and a mini-distillery. For the drawer, a food grade stainless steel pipe with an internal diameter of 25-60 mm is used.

The distillation column for a moonshine still, which produces alcohol NDRF (under-rectified with a strength of 94-95°) can be made of copper. The diameter of the column must be selected approximately 25mm - 0.5 kW, 32mm - 1 kW, 38mm - 1.5 kW, 50mm - 2.5 kW. The length of the packed part of the distillation column should be 30-50 diameters, i.e. if the internal diameter of the pipe is 50 mm, then the height should be 1500 - 2500 mm. The higher the column, the better the exchange of vapor and liquid occurs in it, and as a result, the purer the alcohol. The wall thickness is preferably no more than 1 mm.

The column requires careful thermal insulation. The insulation for pipes has proven itself well; the drawer can also be insulated using other methods by winding twine around the pipe and wrapping it with foil tape on top. The better the thermal insulation, the more stable the column will operate. You need to make a seat for the thermometer 20-30 cm from the bottom of the nozzle.

This can be done by soldering a tube of the required diameter to the drawer. Or weld a sleeve under the sensor or thermometer. Stainless steel and a high-quality argon welder are not always available, so a distillation column for alcohol can be soldered from copper fittings. It is very easy to solder a rectification column from plumbing fittings with your own hands; you can easily pick them up in specialized stores.

Nozzle. Today, the highest quality nozzle is considered to be SPN (spiral-prismatic nozzle). It is made of stainless or nichrome wire, which should not react with alcohol and other distillation products.
The price of the nozzle is high, but if desired, it is easy to wind it yourself. In order for the nozzle to stay in the pipe, a crosspiece made of a stainless steel electrode for welding is soldered at the bottom of the drawer, and 2-3 cm of wire (nichrome) is placed on it. The SPN nozzle is not tightly poured on top and another wire wad is inserted on top.

The second most effective nozzle can be called the RPN - Panchenkov nozzle; it is a mesh of wire wound into wads the diameter of your pipe. There are also ceramic Rashiga rings and glass balls. The simplest attachment is a stainless steel sponge, but the effectiveness of such a filler is very low. For a pipe 1.3 meters long with a diameter of 35 mm, you will need 16-18 pcs. washcloths.

Dephlegmator with RK selection unit. The reflux condenser crowns the upper part of the river column. Alcohol vapor enters it and condenses, turning into liquid phlegm. Part of the liquid phlegm is returned down the nozzle, and part is discharged outside through the selection unit. The design of the reflux condenser can be different. The simplest to manufacture is considered to be a jacket or direct-flow reflux condenser. It is made of two pipes of different diameters, between which water circulates for cooling. Water is supplied from below, warm water comes out from above. The outer casing of such a reflux condenser can be made from an ordinary thermos. The diameter of the inner pipe is usually made the same as the packed column. At the top of any reflux condenser there is a TCA - a communication tube with the atmosphere.

Another option is a dimrot reflux condenser. It is a piece of pipe (a continuation of the drawer) in the middle of which there is a spiral of a thin tube with a diameter of 6-10 mm through which coolant circulates. For a column with a diameter of 50 mm, the dimrot is wound from a 6 mm tube 3 meters long. The reflux condenser is 25-35 cm long. This design has a larger contact area between steam and liquid and is considered more efficient.

And the third option is a shell-and-tube reflux condenser. Several thin tubes are welded into a large-diameter pipe in which vapor condensation occurs. The advantage of such a device is its versatility; it can also work as a distiller’s refrigerator. The second advantage of this type is low water consumption and large cooling area. The shell and tube can be made inclined, which reduces the height of the column, which is important for a home mini-distillery in apartments with low ceilings.

Under the reflux condenser above the packing part there is a distillate selection unit in the distillation column. Typically its design consists of one or two partitions and an alcohol sampling tube. The partitions are welded or soldered into the drawer at an angle. A needle valve with fine adjustment or a Hoffmann clamp is installed on the selection tube to limit or increase the selection of fractions.

Pasteurization drawer. The pasteurization tsar makes it possible to more efficiently purify commercial alcohol from the main fractions. Which are formed in the upper part of the distillation column and the reflux condenser throughout the entire distillation process. The alcohol pasteurization frame complicates the design of the distillation column and may not be installed as a separate element, but it allows you to significantly improve the quality of the alcohol. A slow selection of heads is also carried out during the selection of rectified alcohol from the pasteurization chamber.

Fridge. The alcohol at the outlet flows hot and in order to cool it, an additional refrigerator (before the cooler) is installed after the selection unit and the tap. You can purchase a ready-made glass refrigerator at medical equipment stores.
Or make a homemade refrigerator from tubes like a jacket reflux condenser, but with smaller dimensions. The length of the refrigerator is approximately equal to the length of the reflux condenser or slightly longer. Water first enters the lower inlet of the refrigerator, then from the upper it goes to the reflux condenser. By adjusting the water flow with a tap, the desired indicators are achieved.

Automation for distillation column. The complex rectification process requires constant presence and supervision.
Good automation makes it possible to carry out rectification without constant human participation in the process. It prevents “tails” from getting into the commercial alcohol and allows you to select the head fractions into a separate container. The rectification control unit, abbreviated as (BUR), will turn on the cooling water at the desired temperature, reduce the power during extraction and automatically reduce the extraction at the end. After collecting the tails, turn off the heating and water. The simplest automation option is a start-stop installation with a valve that stops sampling when the temperature in the column rises; after the temperature has stabilized, sampling resumes. It is cheaper to assemble automation for a home mini-distillery using Chinese components or purchase it on specialized forums.

Thanks to the special structure of the distillation column, it becomes possible to almost completely clean the final drink from fusel oils and impurities. Unlike distillation, the quality of the raw materials itself does not have such a key role, since there is practically no organoleptic quality in the final drink. The result is alcohol with a strength of up to 96.6% with poor organoleptic properties, but pure. It can be used to produce vodka and various liqueurs.

Let's consider the principle of the distillation column and what parts it consists of.

Distillation column, drawing

Distillation column, operating principle

Rectification is the separation of binary or multicomponent mixtures due to countercurrent mass and heat exchange between steam and liquid. The parts of the distillation column provide a sequential process:

1. Evaporation cube - storage and heating of still liquid
2. Column - heat and mass transfer inside the column itself due to the nozzle
3. Dephlegmator - condensation of vapors, formation of reflux
4. Selection unit - selection of reflux and rectified water

Let's look at the operation of each part separately.

Evaporation cube

This is a container in which mash or distillate is stored and heated. It is also called bottom liquid. When heated, the liquid evaporates, and the steam rises up the column, where it is divided into fractions. At the same time, the cube serves as the base for the column. The cube can be heated on regular or. Induction is faster and safer.

Also used as a heat source in some models.

Usually, the mash is distilled first to obtain raw alcohol. The column must be switched to distiller mode, that is, open the selection valve as much as possible. After this, the raw alcohol is distilled again, this time slowly and with the selection of the food fraction.

A thermometer is located on the cube to monitor the temperature of the still liquid. When the cube reaches 60-70°C, it is necessary to supply coolant so that the vapors can condense. When reaching 70°C, the power of the heating element must be reduced and left at this value until rectification is completed.

Tsarga

The drawer is the body of the column, its central part. Heat and mass transfer, which is the principle of operation of the distillation column, occurs here. It is this that makes the rectification process possible:

1. The liquid in the cube evaporates and steam rises up the column
2. At the top there is a reflux condenser (refrigerator), in which the steam is condensed
3. The distillate flows down the reflux condenser and along the walls of the column
4. The liquid comes into contact with the steam on the walls of the nozzle with which the column is filled
5. As a result of heat and mass transfer, the lowest boiling fraction accumulates in the upper part of the column
6. The low-boiling fraction condenses in the refrigerator and enters the selection channel.

A column can be assembled from several frames. The higher the column, the more intense the heat and mass transfer, and the cleaner the liquid is separated into fractions. Inside the column is filled with a nozzle: SPN or RPN. Without a nozzle, heat and mass transfer is impossible.

To speed up the rectification process, you can use. The walls of the column are heated, so phlegm, which is not in contact with the nozzle, evaporates from the walls. As a result, the process is accelerated and the degree of purification increases.

Additionally, they can be used with a column. On its surface, heat and mass exchange also occurs between hot steam and cold phlegm. The degree of purification is increasing.

Rectification attachment

The rectification nozzle is a universal tool that consists of a selection unit and a refrigerator. In the refrigerator, condensation of alcohol vapor occurs, which returns down in the form of phlegm. The selection unit allows you to control the amount of alcohol that comes out of the column. By controlling this volume, you can change the quality of the alcohol, that is, the degree of its purification. The slower the process, the purer the alcohol turns out.

The nozzle can be purchased ready-made or separately.

Alcohol selection unit

Used to improve cleaning quality

Automation for distillation column

Rectification requires constant monitoring to ensure that the head and tail fractions do not end up in the food part. This process can be facilitated using BUR - a rectification control unit. The block will limit the selection of rectified product in accordance with a given program so that the tail part does not mix with the food product. This way you can move away from the column without fear that the tails will end up in the clean rectified material.

BUR is an optional part of the distillation column, but it is much more convenient to work with it.

What's next

The resulting rectified alcohol will have a harsh taste. The alcohol must be diluted, filtered and allowed to brew. You can use alcohol to clean it, it's called. As a result of carbonization, the alcohol acquires a milder taste, the coal binds the remains of fusel oils, which in small quantities penetrate into the drink even during fractional selection in the distillation column. This is how classic Russian vodka is prepared.

After sorting (diluting) and charcoaling, the alcohol needs to rest in a glass container for several days.

Read more about the design and operation of the distillation column in the corresponding product card.

Beginning moonshiners usually prefer distillers. But the more experience, the more you want to get a perfect product - devoid of fusel oils and as strong as possible.

Moonshiners who are not practically familiar with the work of the Republic of Kazakhstan have a prejudice. They believe that the distillation column takes away the smell of the original product. This is only partly true.

It all depends on the purpose, and the column is operated in different ways: to obtain rectified alcohol or a pure and fortified distillate.

Distillation column in appearance - tall pipe, vertically rising above the distillation cube. Indispensable components:

• A food-grade stainless steel pipe with a height of no lower than 1 and no higher than 1.5 meters. Industrial ones have dimensions that are thousands of times larger than those indicated.
• Dephlegmator - the upper part of the pipe with a water jacket.
• Attachments: RPN or kitchen weeding scrapers made of stainless steel, as well as (not always) SPN-spirals of equal diameter and height.
• Thermometer. Or better yet, two: one in a cube, the second in a column.
• Tube for connection to the atmosphere.
• A direct-flow refrigerator that finally condenses the alcohol vapor coming from the column.
• Connecting elements and pipes for connecting/draining water for cooling.
• Column insulation in the compartment where heat and mass transfer occurs (desirable, but not required).

Calculation of system parameters

Calculation is necessary to ensure that the column produces a product with a strength of up to 95°, free of fusel and other impurities. At the same time, it did not choke and had an optimal transfer speed.

Attention. Any of the distillation columns on the market and homemade ones have a distillation speed several times lower than.

This is due to the need for repeated evaporation of the alcohol-containing liquid.

Productivity and quality of work depend on:

• height and diameter of the drawer;
• correct calculations for the nozzle;
• heating power;
• volume of the distillation cube.

Pipe and nozzle dimensions

To ensure the correct strengthening and separating properties, regardless of the internal cross-section, the acceptable height of the drawer is considered to be 1 - 1.5 m. These parameters have been determined by numerous experiments.

At a lower altitude, it will not be possible to protect against fusels breaking through into the finished product, that is, it will not be possible to achieve the proper purity of selection. If you make the height larger, this does not give better performance and, on the contrary, it increases the number of head fractions. Simply put - Every extra centimeter of the column reduces the separating ability device and negatively affects the transfer speed.

Acceptable parameters of the internal diameter of the pipe – 28-52 mm. These are the sizes used in the production of household RKs.

There is a formula: productivity, measured in milliliters of product per hour of operation, and power (Watts) are equal to the cross-sectional area (cross-section) of the pipe in square meters. mm, that is, directly proportional to its diameter squared.

When choosing or constructing a column, calculate the diameter (internal). If there are large deviations, it will not work correctly.

Nozzle

It not only increases the contact of alcohol-containing steam with reflux, it must be tied to a specific column. For home use, nozzles are selected that have a contact surface of 1.5 - 4 m2 per liter of rectified product.

If you take more, the purification will improve, but the already low distillation speed will drop. If you take less than 1.5 sq.m., then the separation and strengthening will fall, resulting in pure alcohol.

When using only on-load tap-changers, usually twisted sheets are inserted one above the other from below - from the cube to the selection unit. The ratio of SPN to internal diameter is selected 13-15 times smaller. That is, with a wire thickness of 0.25 mm, the diameter of the SPN is matched to a 50 mm pipe - 3.5x3.5; 40 mm – 3x3; 28-32 mm – 2x2.

Attention. Different attachments are used for different tasks.

For example, when distilling grain raw materials, it is advisable to use copper on-load tap-changers or spn-on-load tap-changers, rings, and saddle-shaped attachments. For rectification – RPN+SPN, cut wire wool.

Selecting the volume of the distillation cube

Rectification is carried out after the first distillation, when raw alcohol is obtained. 40-degree liquid is poured. The amount of nozzle to prevent fusel from getting into the finished product is calculated from 10 to 20 volumes of alcohol-containing strong liquid per cube.

It is allowed to fill only 2/3 with raw alcohol, then the container should be selected based on the drawer used. Calculations for a 1.5-meter column with a pipe diameter:

• 50 mm – no less than 30, no more than 60 liters. You need a container of 40-80 liters;
• 40 mm – from 17 to 34 l. Cube up to 50 liters;
• 32 mm – from 10 to 20 l. Cube up to 30 liters;
• 28 mm – up to 14 l. Requires a cube of up to 18 liters.

With minimal volumes, you can take a pipe with a length of not 1.5, but 1-1.2 m.

What to heat with and at what power?

Rectification is not distillation, in which heating on tiles of various industrial manufactures and even wood heating is possible. For the Republic of Kazakhstan, several mandatory conditions must be met:

• ensuring the fastest possible heating;
• the ability to finely adjust the heating for high-quality separation of alcohol into fractions;
• safety – protection from ignition and explosion, taking into account the fact that the cube contains not low-alcohol mash, but strong raw alcohol.

In this regard, it is necessary to select a heating source from many options taking into account these requirements:

1. Wood burning stove. It is rejected unconditionally, since it does not meet any of the requirements.
2. Gas burner. Not suitable because the heat cannot be precisely adjusted and there is a high risk of explosion.
3. Electric stove does not correspond for the reason that it works on the principle of completely stopping heating and resuming after the temperature drops to a critical point (remember the “clicks” made by an electric stove). When the power supply is interrupted, the reflux will not drain gradually, as provided by the technology, but will collapse and rectification simply will not take place or it will have to be started again - with a different heating source.
4. Induction cooker can be used with some reserve. It is impossible to smoothly change the power, and proper rectification requires a smooth change, no more than 10 W at a time.
5. heating element with regulation, voltage stabilization and a smooth change in heating by 5-10 W - this is the optimal solution. This is what the RK should be equipped with.

When selecting power, keep in mind: to quickly heat the cube, you need a kilowatt heating element for every 10 liters of liquid. That is:

• For a 50 liter (it contains 40 liters), a 4 kilowatt heating element is required.
• 40 l (optimally 30 l) – 3 kilowatt.
• 30 (up to 23 l) – 2.5 kW.
• 20-25 (15-20 l) – 1.5 kW.

Dephlegmator calculations

They are determined based on the type of column. When selecting alcohol below the reflux condenser, the best choice is a Dimroth reflux condenser with a power of up to 5 watts per square cm.

If the extraction is higher than the reflux condenser, then the power can be up to 2 Watts. Both Dimrot and “shirt maker” are used.

For example, if you have a drawer of 50 mm, then for Dimroth a tube of 6 cm (internal cross-section) up to 50 mm in length is sufficient (with an exact calculation - 48.7). The shirt can be made from a 52 mm pipe with a length of 39 cm.

Achieving the required power in the table:

Calculation of a once-through refrigerator

If the direct flow is an aftercooler in a refrigeration system with liquid extraction, a 30-centimeter “jacket” on the extraction tube is sufficient. Usually the water drainage is connected to the supply to the dephlegmator.

Another thing is if you intend to use the RK as a distiller, then make a shirtmaker based on distillation needs.

Without burdening you with obscure details, we note that in order to maintain turbulent steam movement, take the internal diameter of the pipe corresponding to the heating power multiplied by 6. Diameter - in mm, power in kW.

Between the walls of the pipe and the jacket, 1.5 mm is enough for free movement of water.

Important. When creating a direct-flow refrigerator, wind a wire with such a diameter onto the inner pipe that the spiral does not reach the inner surface of the shirt by 0.3 mm.

The spiral is wound in increments of 2-3 diameters of the internal (steam) pipe. It prevents wall deformation, improves cooling and prevents the formation of dead zones due to thermal expansion.

It is customary to use pairs of pipes for refrigerators with a wall thickness of 1 mm:

• 10mm-14mm;
• 12mm-16mm;
• 14mm-18mm;
• 16mm-20mm;
• 20 mm – 25 mm. In this case, a pipe thickness of 25 mm requires 1.5 mm.

The length of the direct-flow refrigerator is 50-75 cm.

Based on the above calculations, with the right approach to the matter, you will get a productive rectifier, the quality of which is even higher than its industrial analogues. But if you decide to buy a ready-made column, you can check whether its parameters meet the requirements.

Useful videos

Do-it-yourself distillation column for a moonshine still - theory, practice, drawings and diagrams:

Experienced moonshiners are familiar with many types of moonshine stills, but they place the distillation column above all of them. Yes, it is difficult to make it yourself and also difficult to use at home, but what prevents you from buying an industrially manufactured column? Fortunately, there are a lot of different models of distillation columns on the market.

But one purchase is not enough to get a good product. The moonshiner must know how the distillation column works and the principles of its operation. This article will help you find out about this.

Distillation refers to the process distilling the fermented mixture into volatile components, which then condense and turn into moonshine. This process is inherently primitive. Water boils at 100 ° C, and alcohol begins to evaporate at 78 ° C. It is enough to heat the mash, but not bring it to a boil, so that the alcohol begins to evaporate. After this, it condenses into moonshine. The resulting product can be distilled again to produce even stronger moonshine.

It is noteworthy that in primitive distillation devices the first 100 ml of moonshine have the greatest strength. However, in addition to the high alcohol content, this liquid contains a lot of harmful substances:

• Volatile acids.
• Ethers.
• Aldehydes.

For this reason, experienced moonshiners pour out the first milliliters of rectified alcohol or use them as a means for ignition. Drinking this solution is very dangerous for your health..

The first 100 g of distillate obtained at home is called the head.

When rectifying alcohol in a distillation cube, the concentration of alcohol vapor gradually decreases when heated. The level of alcohol vapor reduction can be determined by the temperature of the alcohol column. Don't wait for it to get very hot. Then from the alembic The water will begin to evaporate.

At the final stage of rectification, another part of the alcohol unsuitable for consumption appears. We are talking about tailings containing methanol and fusel oils. You can recognize a tail by its unpleasant smell. It appears when the strength of moonshine at the exit from the distillation column drops to 40%. It is not necessary to pour out the tails at all. They can be re-distilled.

Types of distillation

This process comes in two types:

• Simple.
• Factional.

In simple distillation, the heads and tails are not cut off. Remaining after rectification in a distillation still, the mash is usually called stillage, or less commonly the stillage. The resulting product is a distillate. In such a product, the percentage of alcohol usually does not exceed 30%. The amount of harmful impurities in such moonshine significantly exceeds the norm. Therefore it requires re-distillation.

Fractional distillation it is called so because the product coming out of the moonshine still is divided into 3 parts:

1. Head.
2. Heart.
3. Tail.

The first and third parts are cut off. The second part remains, suitable for consumption. Its strength can range from 50 to 70%. The quality of this product is relatively high.

Distillation and rectification are the same thing. But when using a full-fledged distillation column, the output is not distillate, but ethyl alcohol.

Distillation column for moonshine still allows you to separate the fermented alcohol into its component parts and obtain a pure product without the odor inherent in fusel oils, acetone and methanol.

Thanks to the rectifier, a moonshiner can make tinctures and other alcoholic drinks at home with his own hands, the quality of which is not inferior to those sold in stores.

Naturally, a distillation column can be used as a simple distiller to produce regular moonshine.

The main difference between distillation from rectification lies in the characteristics of the final product. The rectifier allows you to obtain pure alcohol, but it requires raw alcohol. The latter can only be obtained by distilling the mash in a moonshine still. That is, the rectifier and moonshine still must be used together.

It should also be understood that the moonshine still produces a product that has the taste and smell of the original raw material, while the distillation column produces alcohol with a neutral taste and smell.

Operating principle of a distillation column

Distillation column diagram can be found on the Internet. According to it, the rectifier consists of the following parts:

• An evaporation cube in which raw materials are stored and heated.
• A column within which heat and mass transfer processes occur due to a special nozzle.
• Dephlegmator.
• Distillate selection unit in a distillation column.

To understand the structure of a distillation column, you need to understand the operating principle of each of its elements.

This is a container for storing and heating mash or distillate. When heated, the still liquid evaporates and slowly rises up the column. In the upper part of the rectifier, the liquid is separated into separate fractions.

Often a cube is the base of a column. It can be heated on both a gas and electric stove. Some cube models use a heating element - heating element.

When making alcohol, the mash is initially distilled in a still. This way you can obtain raw alcohol necessary for subsequent rectification.

A cube made in an industrial environment must have a built-in thermometer that allows you to control the temperature of the mash. As a rule, the raw material in the cube is first heated to 70 ° C and only after that coolant is supplied to the column.

Tsarga

This is the central part of the column, in which temperature and mass transfer processes occur.

Her work looks like this:

• The mash in the cube begins to evaporate and rises up the column, in the upper part of which a refrigerator is installed.
• The reflux condenser provides condensation of alcohol vapors.
• The resulting distillate, after condensation, flows down the alcohol column.
• During descent, the distillate collides with steam. Heat and mass transfer occurs, as a result of which the most evaporated part of the fraction rises to the upper part of the column.
• It condenses and goes into the selection channel.

The strengthening column can consist of several frames. In addition, one must take into account the fact that as the height of the column increases, heat and mass transfer processes become more active. This allows you to get a more rectified alcohol at the output.

There is a variety of this device called "tornado". It differs from a conventional rectifier in that its walls are heated. This approach causes the phlegm to evaporate directly from the walls before contact with the refrigerator. This allows you to speed up the rectification process and obtain a purer product.

Rectifying nozzle

It consists of 2 parts:

Modern distillation columns are often equipped with automatic distillation control units. This device allows, according to a given program to separate the tail and food parts. As a result, the moonshiner may not sit near the moonshine all the time and do the selection with his own hands. The device, thanks to the BUR, will do everything itself.

Is it possible to make a full-fledged distillation column with your own hands?

You can make a moonshine still with a distillation column at home. But is it worth doing? The cost savings will be negligible. In addition, due to the fact that it is difficult to maintain all the necessary parameters at home, you may encounter the home apparatus choking during the production of rectified alcohol.

This happens due to non-compliance with the geometric parameters of the device, as a result of which the maximum speed of steam movement is exceeded. This leads to fluid accumulation in the central part of the column, as a result of which heat and mass transfer processes stop. The pressure inside the drawer increases. The moonshiner begins to hear gurgling inside the still.

To this problem In addition to design flaws, the following reasons can be given:

• Excessive heating of the moonshine still.
• Overflow of the distillation cube.
• Clogging of the lower part of the reinforcing column.
• Distillation under low atmospheric pressure.

To avoid these problems, it is better to buy a distillation apparatus than to make it yourself.

The rectification column, which 20 years ago was only used in distilleries, is now used in everyday life to produce high-quality alcohol - rectified alcohol, which is an impossible task for a conventional moonshine still.

And in order to better understand what it is, what the structure and principle of operation of the distillation column is, as well as how to make the unit with your own hands, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the issue in more detail.

A distillation column is a complex device consisting of several units: a drawer, a selection unit and a thermometer, which are necessary for full rectification to take place. This process allows you to separate a multicomponent mixture consisting of substances with similar boiling/evaporation points.

The main difference between rectification and conventional distillation is that with it the evaporation and condensation of substances is not a single phenomenon, but a constant cyclic process. As a result, a column-type moonshine still produces alcohol of the highest quality - rectified alcohol.

Design and principle of operation of a distillation column

Tsarga

It is located at the base of the column and is one of its main parts. Gas-liquid mass exchange takes place inside it - one of the main phenomena in the rectification process. This happens as follows:

• The liquid, boiling in the distillation cube, evaporates and passes through the frame in gaseous form.
• The steam, having reached the reflux condenser, cools and condenses on its walls.
• The condensate flows first along the walls of the reflux condenser, and then along the walls of the drawer back into the cube.
• At this moment, gas-liquid mass exchange occurs between the draining condensate and the rising steam. It involves the transfer of heat and a certain amount of evaporated substances from steam to condensate. Under this influence, part of the reflux is its low-boiling components: alcohol and a small proportion of water evaporate again, not reaching the distillation cube, and the more difficult-boiling ones: fusel oils and other impurities continue to flow into the distillation cube.

Thus, mainly alcohol accumulates in the upper part of the column, and impurities mainly circulate in the lower part of the unit. As a result, the output is a rectified product with a strength of about 95%.

A distillation column can have one drawer or several. Moreover, the higher the column, the larger the area on which mass transfer takes place between reflux and steam, which in turn improves the quality of the resulting product.

Inside the drawer there are nozzles, on the surface of which the main mass transfer occurs. Stainless steel products are well suited for sugar and grain, and copper - for fruit mash.

In addition to nozzles, plates can be placed inside the drawer, which further increase the area where gas-liquid mass exchange takes place, which affects the quality of the resulting rectified product.

The walls of the drawer may have additional heating, which enhances the evaporation of phlegm that does not reach the nozzles and plates. This addition also improves the quality of the final product.

Dephlegmator

The upper part of the distillation column, responsible for collecting and cooling the rising vapors to reflux. From here the condensed liquid flows down into the drawer.

The dephlegmator can be made according to several circuit diagrams, the simplest is the film version, and one of the most popular is the Dimroth refrigerator,

Selection unit

Responsible for collecting part of the condensed phlegm and discharging it outside into a collection container. Depending on the settings of the selection unit, the amount of condensate collected also varies. The lower its selection, the higher the quality of the rectified product.

Thermometer

In a distillation column, unlike a standard moonshine still, it is a mandatory component of the system. The fact is that rectification is a very delicate process, highly dependent on maintaining the correct temperature.

Distillation cube with heating elements

Although a distillation column can be used with a conventional gas, electric or gas still, it is much better to equip it with a heating element unit.

This feature, like a thermometer, is associated with the need for precise and fine regulation of the temperature inside the system, and therefore with the regulation of the power of the device that heats the mash.

Gas valves require great skill, induction cookers have a fixed step from 100 to 300 W, but heating element regulators allow you to change the power by 3-5 W.

Which is better, a classic moonshine still or a distillation column?

To understand the advantages of rectification over distillation, it is worth making a clear comparison of these technologies.

In order to obtain a product of the same quality through distillation as through rectification, it is necessary to carry out about 10 consecutive distillations. It should be taken into account that distilling an alcohol-containing product stronger than 20-30% is explosive (moonshine is explosive by default, but in this case the risk increases significantly).

How to make a distillation column with your own hands according to a detailed diagram

The unit has a simple design.

Calculation and assembly of a distillation column with your own hands is carried out as follows:

Instead of an afterword

The alcohol obtained through rectification is much higher quality than the distillate from a classic moonshine still.

But along with the positives come flaws: the requirements for equipment are much higher, and its production is more expensive; in addition, operation also requires high skill.

Therefore, it is not so easy to clearly determine which is better, a good moonshine still or a distillation column, but, of course, there is an intermediate solution - a mash column. It produces a distillate, but not a rectified product, of very high quality, and it is easier to use, it’s all a matter of priorities.