E a (CH3CH2OH)

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In d ci n

In this countr (S eden) distilling our o n alcohol is probabl the most illegal thing one can
do (e cept for not pa ing ta es). An a , it's illegal in most countries, therefore ou should
kno consequences. I'm NOT doing this illegal acti it ! This le is totall theoretical and all
info about belo presented distilling de ice is based on e perience of members of S edish
"Bre ers-forum".
Note, alot of e periments can be done ith denaturated ethanol that can be bought in an
hard are or paint store.

It ould be impossible to pro e police that ou're making ethanol for chemistr e periments.
Not e er bod nds this ob ious - ethanol is er useful both as a sol ent and a reagent. Man
s ntheses require 96% ethanol, ho e er, some s ntheses can be carried out onl ith dr
(100%) ethanol. Theoreticall , simple distillation can t produce higher concentrations than
96% since ethanol builds an a eotrope that contains about 4% ater. A eotrope formation can
be disturbed b addition of NaCl to the 96% ethanol, ho e er this is not ef cient. Most
commonl , 100% stuff can be obtained after dr ing b direct contact ith an appropriate
dr ing agent, more about this is belo on this page.
There are also other a s to dr ethanol for e ample ith e tracti e distillation, here third
compound (usuall ben ene, or no ada s toluene) is added to increase olatilit of ater.
Basicall , the third compound forms its o n a eotrope ith ater ith boiling point lo er
than that of ethanol/ ater a eotrope. Ho e er, this isn't con enient on lab scale and especiall
for a home e perimenter, because an effecti e fractionating column is required.

There are lots of great pages that describe both theor and practice of distilling. This great site
http://homedistiller.org ha e it all. The got lots of info if not all, from ash making to
distilling and lots more.

Another useful pdf le describes a er simple to make distiller that as de eloped b

members at .br ggforum.com (S edish forum). Here s the direct address to the pdf:
http://br ggare.allhandel.se/do nload/ ler/The%20Spiral%20Still.pdf and just in case I ha e
also sa ed it here.

I' e taken freedom to dra the hole setup here:

Some speci cations on the spiral still. The copper pipe the use is 1 cm in diameter. Pipe is 5
m long, here half of the length forms an up ard coil (re u er) and the other half forms the
do n ard coil. The do n ard coil can be cooled additionall b a fan, if needed.
During operation, bucket must be isolated ith to els to reduce heat loss. To all ou impatient,
remember that such big olumes ill take lots of time to heat up (8-10 h according to the pdf).
The beaut of this spiral still is that an one can make it! It does not require an elder
equipment or e pensi e glass setup. Additionall the distilling coil does not require ater to
cool, it's basicall an air condenser. The up ard part of the coil orks as a fractionating
column hich can deli er ethanol of concentrations up to 90%.
Ho e er, I strongl discourage making of such de ice, since it's illegal in most countries.

Just to gi e a little theor , ethanol is produced b action of east on sugar in a process called
fermentation. Main products that form are ethanol, CO2 and small amounts of less important
compounds that e simpl don't care about. Keep in mind that there are different t pes of
easts that are capable to produce from 10 to 20% ash. Just to compare, usual baking east
gi es about 12% ash, hile such high concentrations as 20% can be achie ed b special
brand names of east that contains additional east nutrients and pH buffers. One such S edish
brand name is called "Turbo Yeast", I head that this beast can ferment 30 l sugar solution in
couple of da s as opposed to eeks for common east. See more info in rst link abo e.
Fermenting time can be also decreased b emplo ing continuous stirring. First, this ill keep
east more e enl di ided in solution. Second, CO2 ill be remo ed faster from the s stem,
gi ing east better li ing conditions.
The fermentation is considered complete hen all east sediments on bottom and solution
becomes clear. This happens hen east dies due to high ethanol concentration. Same could be
done prematurel if ash is preheated abo e 50 C. People sa that this makes it easier to
process the ash for distillation.

Theoreticall , if ou look through t o links I ga e abo e, ou can produce 96% ethanol. Again
man people recommend distilling setup used in second link. Additionall there is another,
simpler setup that as de eloped b br ggforum.com members, hich does not use an coil
condenser. But te t is onl in S edish
(http://br ggare.allhandel.se/do nload/ ler/Plast%20Br%E4nnaren.pdf), ho e er ou can get
the idea from the pics.

D ing e han l

Easiest, ethanol can be dried b direct contact ith a dr ing agent. Depending on ho dr ou
ant it to be, different dr ing agents are used. In this case e use freshl prepared CaO.
Ideall , about 3,2 kg of CaO takes a a 1 kg of ater, b follo ing reaction:
CaO + H2O --> Ca(OH)2

Where Ca(OH)2 precipitates.

P ced e

Materials:
Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) 95%
Calcium o ide (CaO)
Calcium (Ca) (this is optional, to gi e complete dr ing)

Add 1 part prilled CaO to 4 parts 95% ethanol and re u for se eral hours on ater bath.
Ethanol is then distilled off, ithout remo al of the solids. Don't forget to use CaCl2 dr ing
tubes during re u ing/distilling, else, ethanol ma absorb alot of ater from surrounding air.
Obtained product ma still contain 0,5-1% ater. It can be dried further ith metallic calcium.
First, determine content of ater b densit measurement and calculate the amount of metallic
calcium required to dr ethanol. Add calcium to ethanol and re u for se eral hours. Ethanol is
then distilled off ith calcium to obtain absolute (100%) ethanol. Note, other impurities than
ater are not remo ed b dr ing..
Product is stored airtightl , it's er h groscopic.

Pure ethanol has boiling point of 78,4 C at 760 mmHg.

Reference:
M.M.Kacnelson Preparation of s nthetic chemo-pharmaceutical substances 2:nd ed. 1923
+ mentioned links

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