SUMMARY OF THE OBSERVATIONS MADE DURING DISTILLATION PROCESS.

In this particular activity, we observe the process of distillation in terms of time, temperature, pressure
and also we note down the alcohol percentage by volume of the samples collected.

The pressure recorded is of the steam being used to heat the wash through a circulating coil. The
temperature monitoring is carried out by two probes, one recording the temperature of the still while it
is being heated and the other present in the Lyne arm. The temperatures can be viewed at the control
panel board. To measure the ABV, we collect 250ml of samples continuously and record these values
alongside. A part of the sample is taken in a densitometer and depending on temperature; we consult
the chart to note the reading for ABV.

We observe that as time progresses the percentage of alcohol in the sample reduces, due to the fact
that only a fixed amount of alcohol was present in the wash still. We begin to note down reading at 93C
(wash temp) where we observe 65.25% of alcohol. The observation was carried out for 1 hour and 11
mins at the end of which we had observed 20 samples. It is apparent from the earlier readings how the
lyne arm structure helps to reduce the vapor temperature and thereby increasing the reflux action
which is essential for an economic process. After the 20 th sample the alcohol remaining in the wash is
very low and extracting which is not recommended as it is highly uneconomical.

We plot a graph of temperature vs time in which it is apparent how the wash temperature has been
increased gradually by controlling the steam pressure circulating within the coil. Since it is difficult to
control the temperature at steady pressure we increase/decrease the pressure depending on the
temperature required. We also notice a steady rise in the vapor temperature along with time.