On 2017-10-02, Peter Hill wrote:
On 02-Oct-17 4:47 PM, Martin Brown wrote:
On 02/10/2017 12:54, NY wrote:
"Ade" wrote in message news
Ethanol bp is 78c which is why it isĀ* so easy to seperate from
Methanol at 64c when brewing.
And the boiling point of ethanol/water mixture at its 95/5% mixture is
fractionally *lower* than for pure ethanol (78.2 for the mixture, 78.4
for pure ethanol) so you can never get pure ethanol by simple
distillation. Apparently the way round this is add an "entrainer" such
as benzene or cyclohexane which preferentially binds with the water.
This triple mixture boils at 62 degrees and the water/benzene boils
off, leaving (in theory) pure ethanol as a residue.
Snag is you really don't want any benzene in drinking quality ethanol.
But don't you want 99%+ ethanol for drinking. The only reason to want
99.9% pure is for further chemical process or fuel.
Even the "rocket fuel" grades for consumption don't exceed 80% by
volume. Normal spirits on the shelf are around 40%-50% by volume.
There is a product in the US called "Everclear" that's 95% ABV (not
available in all states, labelled as intended for making your own
cordials & such).