Pumps

Do-it-yourself alcohol column from pipes. We make a distillation column with our own hands - step by step instructions

Home production of strong drinks requires modern equipment made of high-quality material. In stores, manufacturers offer models that are divided into distillers and rectifiers. Many novice distillers are tormented by the question: what is better for home-brewing - a column or a moonshine still.

The principle of operation is not much different, but the final product of the distillation column is better and cleaner, and it has no equal in strength, because it is almost pure alcohol. To find out how these devices differ, what technical parameters they have, individual nuances, whether there are any shortcomings, you need to read this article.

The whole distillation procedure consists in the heat exchange that occurs in the product, during the cooling process, the raw material is separated, and the purified substance appears at the outlet of the device. At different heating temperatures, you get different substances:

t \u003d + 56 C - we get acetone;
t=+65 C - methyl alcohol can be isolated;
and only at t=+78 C is rectified alcohol obtained;
if you continue heating to the boiling point of water and above, for example, up to 100 degrees, then at the exit we will get water flavored with fusel oils and all sorts of impurities.

The basis of everything that happens in the process column is the contact of the liquid and vapor states of various substances, as a result of which various vapors are released, which settle in the dephlegmator, and only alcohol-containing ones pass on.

Additional heating occurs in the evaporator, but only up to +78 degrees, so all harmful impurities and water condense and remain in the device. In different parts of the product, individual interaction of vapors and condensate occurs, and fractions of different temperature levels fall into condensate and drain into lower part.

A column is a device that has a certain height, with a container extended along its entire length, so a different temperature is obtained: only alcohol-containing vapors reach the very top, all other fractions condense, because the temperature is less than necessary for their boiling. The taste and strength of the final product differs significantly in better side from moonshine, passed through a standard distiller.

Modern models of columns are characterized by very high performance, and the alcohol resulting from rectification does not have a fusel smell and foreign matter.

What is the difference between a moonshine still and a distillation column

The most important difference: a standard apparatus for home brewing consists of a distillation cube and a refrigerator coil, where alcohol-containing vapors condense. In some models, there is a steamer, where high-quality separation of impurities and aromatization of vapors takes place to obtain elite alcohol in the form of brandy or whiskey.

The column, on the other hand, is a rather complex device, it is mainly intended for cleaning already obtained moonshine in order to eliminate all the smallest extraneous inclusions and get pure alcohol. The design is made of stainless steel, copper or brass, since very complex high-temperature processes take place inside and the corrosion resistance must be quite high.
The lower part of the column is called the tsarga, and the upper part is called the cooler or dephlegmator, because it is there that the final separation of various phlegms takes place. Its lid contains a tube for communication with environment, to internal pressure did not exceed the allowed value. We have already discussed all the nuances of the work, so we omit it.

The product is installed on a distillation tank or cube, and all connections must be perfectly sealed. At the very top is an outlet tube for alcohol vapors, the best way when she has additional refrigerator. The height of the product is decent, some samples are up to 2 m, so this design may not fit indoors: 2 m + tank + stove. The best option is to heat the tank on a special stove for moonshine: it has small dimensions, like a tabletop electric stove.

Braga is not recommended to be distilled through a column, although today manufacturers have already mastered the production of improved samples that can cope with such an application. The verdict is simple: moonshine stills are designed to distill raw alcohol, and the column can purify it almost completely of odor and harmful impurities.

Remember! A distillation column is used to obtain pure alcohol, and if you want to make brandy, brandy, where you need the aroma and specific flavor of the original product, then use only moonshine.

Types of moonshine stills and distillation columns

In total, there are two main types of devices for practical home brewing in the world:

Alcohol-containing vapors are discharged to the side for cooling - directly into the coil or through the dryer.
The vapors are directed upwards into distillation device, where the separation of impurities, complete removal of odors and subsequent cooling takes place.

Classic devices are divided according to the cooling system: using a coil or direct-flow, where the cooling element is the refrigerator body.

The columns are divided according to the amount of the final product obtained:

simple, ensuring the separation of the feedstock into two final products - rectified and sediment;
complex - they provide separation into more than two products, columns with the selection of additional fractions in the form of side strips and from special stripping strips.

There is also a division according to purpose, pressure, principle of operation or organization of contact within the structure.

In addition, the columns are divided into complete and incomplete. Incomplete products are further divided into two types:

A wash or distillation column, which operates according to this principle: alcohol-containing vapor enters the upper plate, and leaves the cube pure water. Condensation falls in the refrigerator, and the reflux condenser is not installed.
In alcohol columns, everything happens in a mirror way: steam is supplied under the lower plate. Alcohol is removed from the upper part, and the residue with water is removed from the bottom, the dephlegmator performs the function of feeding the liquid medium. Such columns are installed on alambiks.

The first ones are not intended to produce pure alcohol, and the second option is not used to produce pure water.

Characteristics of both devices

Everyone knows that the main purpose moonshine still- this is the production of an alcohol-containing liquid from mash by distillation and subsequent purification. The main technical parameters are:

Volume

It is he who affects the scale of production at home, so the choice of product is based on this parameter: the more mash, the more liters of raw alcohol that is purified various methods or carry out a re-distillation.

Material

Basically, all the details of modern models are made of food or medical stainless steel. The following brands are used in production:

AISI 304, due to its rather high cleaning properties, is used in medicine, on dairy farms and similar plants;
steel grade 430 is of poor quality, but products made from it can be heated on induction cookers;
copper alloys and steel combinations different brands are found in many models of moonshine stills of domestic and foreign production.

AT homemade devices aluminum is still used, but it is almost being replaced by more reliable materials. Coils are made of copper or brass, only elite devices called alambiks, which are used to produce home-made elite alcohol, are made entirely of copper.

Additional devices

These include a thermometer, an alcoholometer, a dry steamer, a reflux condenser, and others that help control the distillation process. Re-purification gives good result, but it is not carried out in the case when you need to get a fragrant drink with a smell.

Technical characteristics of universal distillation columns for clarity, it is better to present in the form of a small table:

All sealing joints in the column are made of high-temperature food-grade silicone with a warranty period of at least 10-20 years, the temperature is allowed up to +150°C.

Advantages and disadvantages

The standard apparatus for the production of moonshine has the following advantages:

The simplest design, the principle of operation is clear to all users, you can make it yourself without large financial costs.
A large number of recipes that come with the finished model, but you can significantly expand them by studying the recipe on the Internet.
High reliability of a design and all materials.
Low cost, which especially affects the wide availability for all segments of the population.

Distillation columns have their advantages:

Obtaining a pure product without odor and impurities.
The strength of the final product is much higher than that of a simple apparatus.
It is used to isolate an alcohol-containing liquid from sugar-based mash, because it is there that there are a lot of impurities and odor.

In comparison, the classic device has more negative features:

low performance;
low percentage of alcohol content - no more than 70%;
low degree of purification during primary distillation;
danger if safety precautions are not followed.

Distillation columns have only one drawback - the large height of the structure.

What is better to choose

If we compare the design of a classic product for home brewing and a distillation column, then the difference is noticeable, and they are used for different purposes. Therefore, your choice will directly depend on the goals, as well as on what you are going to overtake:

For wine mash, as well as based on berries and fruits, it is better to use moonshine.
For sugar mash, it is better to use a column, because the final product is clean and odorless.

Today, there are models of universal products on sale that can work as a simple distiller or as a powerful distillation column.

Especially in demand among experienced distillers are devices made by German manufacturers that have an additional drawer, which is screwed into the distiller. For example, the column and apparatus have the same capacity of 2 l / h, but the product is quite different:

the density or strength of a classic product is only 60%, and that of a column is 96%;
the purification level of the distiller is 60 times lower than that of the column.

Moonshine stills are more practical because of their dimensions, and the columns are much higher - the most compact will be about a meter in height.

If we compare the performance of different products, then the classic produces 2 liters per hour of raw alcohol, and the column - 2 liters of pure alcohol 96.6% or in terms of 60% moonshine - 6-7 liters. Therefore, when buying, you need to decide what is more important for you - the purity of the final product or the simple use of the product anywhere. Financial opportunities also play an important role.

findings

If we talk about the purity of the final product, then distillation columns are a cut above a simple moonshine still, but great importance has a financial side. Each user chooses the necessary model for himself, but we dispassionately state that the classics of the genre still lose to technical progress in the face of a more productive distillation column in terms of basic technical indicators.

Experienced moonshiners are familiar with many types of moonshine stills, but above all of them they put a distillation column. Yes, it is difficult to make it yourself and also difficult to use at home, but what prevents you from buying an industrial-made 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 is arranged and the principles of its operation. This article will help you find out.

Distillation refers to the process distillation of 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 that, it condenses in the form of moonshine. The resulting product can be distilled again to get even stronger moonshine.

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

volatile acids.
Efirov.
Aldehydes.

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

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

During the rectification of alcohol in the distillation cube, the concentration of alcohol vapors gradually decreases when heated. It is possible to determine the level of reduction of alcohol vapors by the temperature of the alcohol column. Don't wait until it gets too hot. Then from the alembic water will start to evaporate.

At the final stage of rectification, another unusable part of the alcohol appears. We are talking about tailings containing methanol and fusel oils. You can recognize the tail by its unpleasant smell. It appears when the strength of moonshine at the outlet of the distillation column drops to 40%. Tails do not have to be poured out. They can be redone.

Types of distillation

This process is of 2 types:

Simple.
Fractional.

With a simple distillation, the heads and tails are not cut off. Remaining after rectification in the distillation cube, mash is usually called stillage, less often still residue. 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 is divided into 3 parts:

Head.
A heart.
Tail.

The first and third parts are cut off. There remains the second part, suitable for use. 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 allows you to separate the mash alcohol into its constituent parts and get a pure product without the smell 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, which are not inferior in quality to those sold in stores.

Naturally, a distillation column can be used as a simple distiller to obtain ordinary moonshine.

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

It should also be understood that from the moonshine still a product is obtained that has the taste and smell of the feedstock, the distillation column produces alcohol with a neutral taste and smell.

The principle of operation of the distillation column

distillation column diagram can be found on the internet. According to her, the rectifier consists of the following parts:

Evaporation cube in which raw materials are stored and heated.
A column inside which heat and mass transfer processes take place due to a special packing.
Dephlegmator.
Distillate selection unit in the distillation column.

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

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

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

In the manufacture of alcohol in the distillation cube, the mash is initially distilled. So you can get raw alcohol, which is 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 the cooling liquid is fed into the column.

Tsarga

This is the center of the column., in which the processes of heat and mass transfer take place.

Her work is as follows:

Braga in the cube begins to evaporate and rises up the column, in the upper part of which a refrigerator is installed.
The dephlegmator provides condensation of alcohol vapors.
The resulting distillate after condensation descends down the alcohol column.
As it descends, 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.

A reinforcing column may consist of several tsargs. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the fact that with an increase in the height of the column, the processes of heat and mass transfer become more active. This allows you to get more rectified alcohol at the output.

There is a variation 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 until it comes into contact with the refrigerator. This allows you to speed up the rectification process and get a cleaner product.

Distillation 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 around the moonshine all the time and do the selection with his own hands. The device, thanks to the BUR, will do everything by 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 it? The cost savings will be negligible. In addition, due to the fact that it is difficult to maintain all the necessary parameters at home, one may encounter flooding of the home apparatus 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 steam velocity 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 tsarga is growing. The moonshiner begins to hear gurgling inside the machine.

To this problem, in addition to design flaws, the following reasons can lead:

Excessive heating of the moonshine.
Overflow of the alembic.
Clogging of the bottom of the reinforcing column.
Distillation under conditions of low atmospheric pressure.

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

Manufacturers of home-brewed moonshine strive to ensure that their drink is clean from harmful substances. fusel oils and without bad smell. To do this, they distill the product several times, as a result of which it is purified. And yet the most the best way the production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages is the use of an apparatus with a distillation column. The principle of its operation and the possibility self-manufacturing consider in the article.

Like the moonshine still, the distillation column produces moonshine, only of higher quality, purified. But above all, it is intended for the production of pure alcohol 96%, which is used as a basis in the preparation of various alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol is a rectification product, during which the alcohol-containing mixture (mash, raw alcohol) is separated into separate fractions (methyl and ethyl alcohols, fusel oil, aldehydes) with different boiling points as a result of repeated evaporation of the initial liquid and vapor condensation.

The distillation cube filled with alcohol-containing liquid is heated. During the boiling process, steam is intensively formed, which rises up the column. There, a dephlegmator awaits him, in which the steam is cooled and condensed.

Did you know? The largest distillation columns reach 90 m in height and have a diameter of 16 m. They are used in the oil refining industry.

Drops of condensate (phlegm) descend into a column filled with steam. Cooled phlegm flows down special nozzles where it meets with hot steam. Heat and mass transfer occurs between them, which is repeated many times and is the essence of rectification.

As a result, pure vaporous alcohol is collected in the "head" of the column. For final condensation, it is taken to the refrigerator, from which the distillate comes out, that is, the finished product.

Video: distillation column and the principle of its operation

Construction of a home distillery

The device of the distillation column consists of different parts, whose dimensions must be accurately calculated. For this design you need:

a distillation cube, or a container with an alcohol-containing liquid;
tsarga, or pipe, which will be the body of the column;
a dephlegmator in which steam is cooled and condensed;
nozzles with which you need to fill the king;
distillate selection unit;
water cooler;
smaller parts for connecting parts of the structure and for controlling its operation (thermometers, automation).

Consider each component of the device separately.

The basis of the whole structure is a distillation cube. This is a container for alcohol-containing raw materials.

It can serve as any vessel made of copper, enameled or stainless steel. Some moonshiners use a pressure cooker for this if a small amount of alcohol is expected.

And you can independently weld a suitable container from sheets of "stainless steel".

Video: how to make a distillation cube with your own hands The main requirements that the cube must meet:

absolute tightness: when boiling, the vessel should not let vapor or liquid pass, and the lid should not be torn off by growing pressure;
a hole for the release of steam, which will appear if a fitting is inserted into the lid.

If you buy a ready-made distillation cube, then it already meets these criteria.
It is very important that the volume of the cube matches the dimensions of the column. For a pipe 1.5 m high and 50 mm in diameter, you need to take a container with a capacity of 40-80 liters, a 30-50 liter vessel is suitable for 40 mm drawers, at least 20-30 liters for 32 mm, and excellent for a diameter of 28 mm suitable pressure cooker.

Important! The distillation cube must be filled with mash no more than 2/3 of its volume, otherwise, when boiling, the column will “choke».

The pipe in which rectification takes place is called the tsarga. This is a cylinder with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm and a diameter of 30-50 mm. The effectiveness of the tsarga depends on its height: the higher the pipe, the slower the harmful fractions are separated and the purer the alcohol is.

The optimal height of the tsarga is 1-1.5 m. If it is shorter, then there will be no room for separated fusel oils in it, and they will end up in the distillate. If the pipe is longer, then the rectification time will increase, but this will not affect the efficiency.
Drawer side of distillation column with packing Ready-made drawers for moonshine stills from 15 cm long are on sale. You can buy 2-3 tubes and combine them into one. And you can make the tsargu of the desired length yourself. To do this, you need a stainless steel pipe.

Video: how to make a drawer for a distillation column yourself Threads must be cut from above and below in order to attach the lower part to the cube, and attach a dephlegmator to the upper.

From below, you also need to attach a grid to hold the nozzles with which the side will be filled. Some home specialists wrap the pipe with insulation, such as foam rubber.

Did you know? The Panchenkov nozzle was invented in the USSR in 1981 not for the production of alcohol, but to improve the purification of petroleum feedstock for jet fuel.

Filling the tsargi with nozzles is a prerequisite for rectification. If the pipe is hollow, only the distillation process is possible in it, the result of which will be moonshine, but not pure alcohol. The purpose of the filler is to increase the surface over which the phlegm flows.

Thus, heavy harmful components are deposited and cannot get into the final product, and a light vapor of pure alcohol is taken away. The filling should completely fill the pipe.

Any filler made of inert stainless material can serve as a nozzle:

glass or ceramic balls;
stainless steel kitchen washcloths, finely chopped (they need to be changed from time to time, as the material deteriorates);
Panchenkov nozzle (the best option), which is specially woven from copper or stainless steel. Its advantages: it precipitates phlegm well and does not fail over time.

Panchenkov nozzle

Important! The nozzle-washcloth must be made of stainless steel. You can check it with a magnet: it attracts stainless steel.

The selection unit is a small piece of pipe between the drawer and the reflux condenser. Its purpose is to collect phlegm: first come the "heads", that is, harmful alcohol fractions, then the "body" comes out, or alcohol without taste and unpleasant odor.
A self-made selection unit is done differently, but according to the same principle. For example:

to the outer pipe, the diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the tsarga, a tube of smaller diameter is welded from the inside so that a pocket is formed between them around the circumference, where part of the phlegm will be collected;
instead of a tube, a stainless plate is welded inside, corresponding to the inner diameter of the pipe, with round hole inside: part of the phlegm will collect on the plate, and part will fall through the hole back into the drawer.

Video: do-it-yourself selection node Outside, two holes are made in the pipe for two fittings: a tap is attached to one to remove phlegm, and a thermometer is inserted into the other (smaller) to measure the temperature of the steam.

The top of the structure is the dephlegmator. Here, the steam cools, condenses, and already in the form of drops goes down.
With your own hands, you can make several options for dephlegmators:

Dephlegmator shirt or direct-flow made of two pipes of different diameters. Running water circulates between them, and inside a smaller pipe, the steam turns into condensate. The outer pipe can easily be replaced by a thermos body, the neck of which is screwed to the selection unit. In the bottom of the thermos, it is imperative to make a hole for the TCA, that is, a tube for communication with the atmosphere, through which light unnecessary vapors will escape.
Video: the principle of operation of a direct-flow dephlegmator
Dephlegmator Dimrota more efficient than the previous model. The body is a pipe of the same diameter as the side. Inside it is a thin tube, twisted in a spiral, in which the cold water. If the diameter of the drawer is 50 mm, then the spiral must be twisted from a tube with a diameter of 6 mm and a length of 3 m. Then the length of the dephlegmator will be 25-35 cm.
Video: assembly of a distillation column with a Dimroth reflux condenser
Shell and tube dephlegmator consists of several pipes: small ones are attached inside the large one, in which steam condenses. This model has several advantages: water is economically consumed and steam is quickly cooled. In addition, this structure can be attached to the column at an angle, which reduces its height.
Video: the principle of operation of a shell-and-tube dephlegmator

Fridge

A small cooler, or after-cooler, is needed to lower the temperature of the ethylene flowing from the extraction unit. It is made on the principle of a shirt reflux condenser, but from tubes of a smaller diameter.

It also has two passages for water: cold liquid enters the lower one, exits the upper one and goes up through the silicone tubes to the dephlegmator for the same purpose.

The water speed is controlled by a tap.

Video: how to make a do-it-yourself refrigerator for a distillation column

The pasteurization cage is not an obligatory element of the column. On the one hand, it complicates the basic design. But on the other hand, it improves it, since it more thoroughly purifies alcohol from head fractions throughout the entire rectification.

This is a smaller side (30 cm) with an additional selection unit. It complements the main king. "Heads", as usual, come out of the reflux condenser, but not only at the beginning, but constantly.

Alcohol is collected from the lower selection of a small tsarga. This ensures maximum purity of the alcohol.

Automation

The long process of rectification can last for hours. At the same time, it must be constantly monitored so that the “heads” and “tails” do not accidentally mix with the “body”. It will not be so tiring if you install good automation to control rectification. For this purpose, a BUR (rectification control unit) is designed. The block can do the following:

turn on the water for cooling at a certain temperature;
reduce power during reflux extraction;
stop selection at the end of the process;
turn off the water and heating after the end of the selection of the tail section.

You can automate the process by installing a "start-stop" with a valve: when the temperature rises, it stops the selection, when it stabilizes, it resumes the selection.

You can do without automation, but it is much easier with it.

Video: distillation column automation

Advantages:

the finished product is the purest alcohol 96% without impurities harmful to health;
in distillation mode, you can make moonshine with the desired organoleptic;
ethyl alcohol can become the basis of any alcoholic beverage;
you can design a device for this yourself.

disadvantages:

ethylene has no organoleptic properties of the original product;
the rectification process is very long: no more than 1 liter of distillate can be obtained in an hour;
ready-made structures are very expensive.

What material is preferable

Rectification is intended for maximum purification of alcohol from various impurities. The details that make up the column should not affect either the quality or the taste of the product. Therefore, the material must be chemically inert, not susceptible to rust and not affect the taste and smell of the distillate.

Food grade stainless steel, that is, chromium-nickel stainless steel, is best suited. It is chemically neutral and does not affect the composition of the product.

The distillation column can be called a new generation moonshine, because it produces alcohol best quality. Making this device with your own hands is quite difficult. But if you make an effort, then the festive table will always be headed by a natural and delicious home-made alcoholic drink.

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To build such a unit, you need to know the basic principles of the operation of the column, the essence of the processes that take place in it. And a lot of interesting things happen there - the process of rectification differs in its physical and chemical bases from ordinary distillation.

How the column works

As in a conventional distiller, the column has both a heater and a refrigerator, which are full-fledged working elements. But on the way of alcohol-containing steam from the surface of the mash to the refrigerator coil, there is another complex unit, which is called a distillation column. It is a high pipe, the diameter of which is 30-50 times greater than its length. Optimal dimensions for heat and mass transfer processes that occur inside the column.

The heated steam rises up the pipe, slowly cools along the way, condenses, and flows down, back into the tank. When moving from top to bottom, the condensate comes into contact with hot steam, reheats, and light-boiling components turn into steam again. Among these components is ethyl alcohol. If you choose the operation mode of the column in such a way that alcohol vapors begin to condense at a certain height, where the intake pipe is installed, then pure alcohol, without impurities, will enter the refrigerator.

After some time, a dynamic equilibrium mode will be established in the column, due to the difference in the heat capacities of the liquid and vapor phases, in addition, the liquid-vapor mixture is divided into fractions according to chemical composition on which the vaporization temperature depends.

In the uppermost part, vapors of volatile impurities - aldehydes, acetone and other toxic substances are collected. When the temperature on the upper thermometer of the column is above 70 C, they simply fly away into the atmosphere - the column is connected to the outside air by a branch pipe or valve and operates at almost atmospheric pressure.

Approximately at a height of ¾ of the length of the column, alcohol vapors are collected, which must be selected. Below - fusel oils and other substances whose boiling point is higher than alcohol. In the alcohol extraction zone, the temperature should be maintained at the level of 74-78 C. To make this possible and a significant height of the column is required, the larger the zones of different fractions, the easier it is to separate one substance from another.

How to make a distillation column

A homemade distillation column at home is not a myth. This is confirmed by numerous videos and photos on the Internet and posts on forums. Even if they are half the same as the craftsmen say about them, then such an apparatus is worth making. But you need to take into account the fact that for the production of moonshine, as such, a distillation column, regardless of whether it is homemade or industrially manufactured, is unsuitable.

The distillation apparatus is designed to produce alcohol with a minimum of additives, including aromatic substances and resins, which give moonshine a special aroma and flavor. But the resulting alcohol can be used as the basis for any alcoholic beverages made at home, without fear of poisoning with fusel oil or methyls and esters, which contribute to a severe hangover.

For the re-distillation of raw alcohol or ordinary moonshine obtained at a distiller familiar to moonshiners, a rectifier is an indispensable thing. No distillation system can compare with the quality of the resulting product.

Column manufacturing technology

Do-it-yourself distillation column will work properly at home only when its height is at least 1.8-2 m with an inner diameter of 40-50 mm. Such a column is difficult to manufacture, store and operate. It is best to make it collapsible, on clamp or threaded connections, it is also convenient to use couplings. If you have the skills to work on lathe, then the coupling will not be a problem. Otherwise, you will have to use the paid services of professionals.

What is a column made of?

The main components of the distillation column:

frame;
refrigerator-reflux condenser;
nozzle (dish-shaped or spiral);
thermal insulation;
thermometers.

The composition of the entire moonshine still includes a tank for mash and a refrigerator for condensate, which is an ordinary coil. If you make a distillation column correctly, then it can be installed on any moonshine still with a tank with a capacity of at least 20 liters. On smaller volumes, it will only be possible to disperse it to the operating mode and get a few liters of alcohol (50 percent of the possible output).

The optimal volume of the evaporator is 25-50 liters. So it is more convenient to regulate the temperature of the process, which is one of the main factors during rectification. In addition, the production of alcohol with a volume of up to 8-10 liters takes the same time to prepare and accelerate the column as 3-5 liters. Saving time is also in most cases very important for reducing the cost of the product.

Column body

It is best to make it from three parts, approximately equal in length. At the bottom, a flange is welded to the stainless pipe for installation on a distillation tank with a strong lid. The height of the column is impressive - about 2 meters. Flange connection on a sealed gasket - optimal solution. The flanges must be welded in such a way that the column is in a strictly vertical position, only in this way will it work properly.

The body segments are connected by clamps or threads - whichever is more convenient. The main thing is to ensure tightness. best material the main pipe of the column is food grade stainless steel. It has a relatively low thermal conductivity, and heat losses in the column are undesirable, up to the ingress of vapor to the cooler.

The two lower parts of the column are just pipe sections. They will be placed nozzles - special devices that increase the area of contact between vapor and liquid. The more complex topmost part is there:

flow cooler must be equipped;
a drain pipe is provided;
socket for thermometer;
air valve.

The flow cooler occupies approximately ½ of the upper third of the column. The simplest solution is to wind a copper or stainless coil over the pipe. A more complicated option is to place the same coil, ball cooler or Dimroth cooler inside the pipe. For this purpose, a larger diameter pipe can be used by connecting it to the lower part with an adapter.

There are many options here - the essence is the same, the dephlegmator must provide a barrier to the path of steam and turn it into condensate before reaching air valve. Only vapors with a temperature of no higher than 60 C should penetrate there. If the refrigerator does not cope with its task, then alcohol will go into the air along with volatile substances.

The air valve is installed at the highest point of the column and serves to equalize the pressure. You can not install the valve, but simply mount a thin copper tube (Ø 3-6 mm). The presence of a tube requires special control over the temperature at all stages of rectification. When selecting heads, T = 55 - 65 C should be at the level of the intake pipe.

The selection is carried out through a branch pipe cut into the body below the refrigerator at a distance of 2-5 cm from it. It is a regular tube to which a silicone hose from a medical dropper is connected. Do-it-yourself distillation column works very slowly, the main intake is carried out in drip mode. This must be taken into account - the production of 8-10 liters of alcohol takes a whole working day.

Nozzle

This part of the column is one of the most important. For rectification, two types of nozzles are used - dish-shaped, in the form of cap or sieve elements, and spiral, made of metal mesh, tightly twisted into a spiral or special wires, twisted into prismatic spirals, which are simply poured into the column. In the latter case, a strainer is installed at the bottom of the column to prevent the packing from falling out.

The most effective do-it-yourself do-it-yourself cap-type plate nozzle for a distillation column. You can also make it yourself from ready-made parts sold on the Internet. In this case, work should begin precisely from the acquisition of plates - the diameter of the case must correspond to their size. It is easier to find a pipe under the cymbals than vice versa.

Copper plates for column

Sieve partitions are much easier to make, for this you only need a drill or drilling machine and a set of drills 2-3 mm. Partitions are made of stainless steel, brass or copper. There should be 8-10 of them per 1 m of column height.

Grid, special Panchenkov spiral prismatic nozzles (OLTC) or analogues will have to be bought in specialized online stores. Don't make them yourself. It is impossible to use dishwashing nets, as recommended by some sites - unknown alloys are used for them, which can react with alcohol vapors or impurities.

thermal insulation

The column must be protected from heat loss to a height not less than the lower cut of the dephlegmator. For insulation, any elastic heat insulator is suitable - polyurethane foam, Penoizol, basalt tubular foil heaters of the TECHNONICOL type. Warming is a very important step. If heat losses are excluded, the height of the fractional layers can be reduced by several tens of percent. At the same time, the concentration of a substance, in our case, alcohol, will increase in them, while maintaining clear boundaries of fractions.

A self-made distillation column, with its complexity and low distillation speed, will make it possible to obtain alcohol of sufficient purification from proven raw materials. From a properly prepared mash, the product yield, in terms of 40 0 strength, will be 25-30% higher than that of a moonshine still of a conventional design, with incomparably better quality.

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 familiar with the work of the Republic of Kazakhstan in practice 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: in order to obtain rectified alcohol or pure and fortified distillate.

distillation column appearance — high pipe, vertically rising above the distillation cube. Indispensable components:

A pipe made of food grade stainless steel with a height of not less than 1 and not more than 1.5 meters. Industrial ones have dimensions that are thousands of times greater than those indicated.
Dephlegmator - the upper part of the pipe with a water jacket.
Nozzles: RPN or stainless steel kitchen weeder scrapers, as well as (not always) SPN spirals of equal diameter and height.
Thermometer. And two are better: one in a cube, the second in a column.
Tube for connection with the atmosphere.
Once-through condenser, which finally condenses the alcohol vapor coming from the column.
Connection elements and pipes for connecting / draining water for cooling.
Column insulation in the compartment where heat and mass transfer takes place (desirable, but not required).

Calculation of system parameters

The calculation is necessary in order for the column to produce a product with a strength of up to 95 °, clean from fusel oil and other impurities. At the same time, it did not choke, it had an optimal speed of haul.

Attention. Any of the home-made distillation columns on the market has a distillation speed several times lower than.

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

Productivity and quality of work depend on:

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

Pipe and nozzle dimensions

In order to ensure the correct strengthening and separating ability, regardless of the internal section, an acceptable height of the drawer side is 1 - 1.5 m. These parameters have been determined by numerous experiments.

At a lower height, it will not be possible to protect oneself from the breakthrough of the fuselage into the finished product, that is, it will not be possible to achieve the proper purity of the 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 speed of the haul.

Permissible parameters of the inner diameter of the pipe - 28-52 mm. These are the dimensions used in the production of household dispensers.

There is a formula: productivity, measured in milliliters of product per hour of work 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). With large deviations, it will not work correctly.

Nozzle

It does not just increase the contact of alcohol-containing vapor with reflux, it must be tied to a specific column. At home, nozzles are selected that have a contact surface of 1.5 - 4 m2 per liter of rectified.

If you take more, cleaning will improve, but the already low distillation rate will fall. If you take less than 1.5 square meters, then the separation and strengthening will fall, as a result of pure alcohol will not work.

When using only the tap changer, usually the twisted webs are inserted one above the other from below - from the cube to the selection unit. The ratio of SPN to the inner diameter is selected 13-15 times less. That is, with a wire thickness of 0.25 mm, the diameter of the SPN is selected for a pipe of 50 mm - 3.5x3.5; 40 mm - 3x3; 28-32 mm - 2x2.

Attention. For various tasks, their nozzles are used.

For example, when distilling (distilling) grain raw materials, it is advisable to use copper on-load tap-changers or SPNs, rings, saddle-shaped nozzles. For rectification - RPN + SPN, cut wire washcloths.

We select 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 number of nozzles to prevent fuselage from getting into the finished product is calculated from 10 to 20 volumes of alcohol-containing strong liquid in a cube.

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

50 mm - not less than 30, not more than 60 l. Need a capacity of 40-80 liters;
40 mm - from 17 to 34 liters. 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 up to 18 liters.

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

How to heat and at what power?

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

ensuring the fastest possible heating;
the possibility of fine adjustment of heating for high-quality separation of alcohol into fractions;
safety - protection against ignition and explosion, taking into account the fact that in the cube - 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:

Wood burning stove. It is rejected unconditionally, since it does not meet any of the requirements.
Gas hob. Not suitable as the heat cannot be precisely controlled and there is a high risk of explosion.
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 level (remember the “clicks” made by the electric stove). When the power supply is interrupted, the phlegm 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 source of heating.
Induction cooker can be used "at a stretch". It does not have a smooth change in power, and proper rectification requires a smooth, no more than 10 watts at a time.
heating element with regulation, voltage stabilization and a smooth change in heating by 5-10 W - this is the best solution. It is they who should equip the RK.

When choosing power, keep in mind: for quick heating of the cube, a kilowatt heating element is needed for every 10 liters of liquid. I.e:

For a 50 liter (40 liters in it), a 4-kW 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- Dimroth dephlegmator with a power of up to 5 watts per square cm.

If the selection is higher than the reflux condenser, then the power can be up to 2 watts. Both Dimrot and the "shirtman" are used.

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

Achievement required power in the table:

Pipe inner diameter (mm)	Drawer height (cm)	Productivity at optimum heating power (ml/h)
52	100	1900-1950
51	150	1750-1790
42	150	1120-1190
40	100	1100-1130
32	150	630-660
28	150	450-490

Calculation of a once-through refrigerator

If the straight-through is an after-cooler in the RV with liquid extraction, a 30 cm “shirt” on the extraction tube is sufficient. Usually, the water outlet is connected to the supply to the dephlegmator.

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

Without burdening you with obscure details, we note that in order to maintain turbulence in the movement of steam, take the inner 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 the free movement of water.

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

The spiral is wound in increments of 2-3 diameters of the inner (steam) pipe. It prevents wall deformation, improves cooling and protects against 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 is needed 1.5 mm.

The length of the once-through refrigerator is 50-75 cm.

Based on the above calculations, with the right approach to business, you will get a productive rectifier, in terms of quality - even higher than industrial analogues. But if you decide to buy a finished column, you can check that its parameters meet the requirements.

Useful videos

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