Distillation column made from scrap materials. Is it possible to make a distillation column Dimensions of a 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:

Distillation cube;
Tsarga;
Nozzle;
Selection unit;
Dephlegmator;
Fridge;
Pasteurization drawer (optional);
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.

A distillation column is a device that separates liquids of different boiling points. This device is mainly used in industry. However, at home you can assemble a device such as a distillation column with your own hands. More on this below.

Operating principle

The specified device operates according to the following algorithm:

The tank is filled with raw materials containing alcohol.
Heat it to a boil.
As a result, steam is released, which condenses at the top of the column and is discharged into a special vessel.
The remaining liquid moves in a circle again.

Necessary components

A high-quality homemade distillation column is obtained only from correctly selected materials.

For the assembly process you need:

Stainless steel pipe up to 150 cm long, up to 50 mm in diameter, wall thickness up to 1 mm.
To make a reflux condenser you will need a thermos. Its volume should be 0.5 - 0.75 l.
Adapters for joining the reflux condenser and the pipe with the cube cover.
Insulation with which the thermal insulation of the column packing element will be carried out.
A tube with a diameter of 4 to 6 mm to make outlets for water and a refrigerator.
A piece of stainless steel sheet to make support washers.
Fluoroplastic for thermometer sleeve.
Drills of different diameters.
Electric soldering iron with a power of 100 W.
Electric drill.
Hammer.
Pliers.
Emery machine or electric drill attachment.
Gas-burner.
File.
Sandpaper.
Flux, solder (soldering acid).
Hose or flexible tube 6 cm long.
Thermometer.
Adapter for taps.

Assembly instructions

In this case, the following actions are necessary:

Cut a piece of pipe to the required length. Then chamfer and trim the edges.
To connect the distillate sampling unit and the pipe to the device cover, make adapters. In this case, special attention will be required. On one side, the existing adapter should be tightly inserted into the pipe, and on the other, it should be equipped with a thread, the pitch of which is 1.5-2 mm.
Make support washers for the nozzle. Their diameter will ensure a tight fit in the pipe. Therefore, this hole parameter should correspond to 3-4 millimeters. Insert the washer on one side of the pipe. This is an important action. In the place where the pipe is connected to the container, an adapter should be soldered. In this case, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the soldering area first. The tinned adapter is inserted into the pipe. The soldering locus should be heated with a gas torch.
Build nozzles for the column. Pour them into the pipe and shake it well to distribute them evenly.
Insert the support washer into the nozzle pipe. After this, place the tinned end of the selection. Heat the commissure locus. Then put the heat insulator on the pipe.
Now we need to start disassembling the thermos. Sand the bottom with sandpaper. This place needs to be tinned. Build a bracket from tin, and loops from steel wire. Their significance is important. After this, insert the loops into the hole of the bracket and twist them using pliers.
Then you need to nail the free end of the wire to the wall, first holding it in a vice. Take the thermos with both hands and jerk sharply. This is necessary so that the bottom falls off.
Grind the welding seam connecting the lid and the thermos flask around the perimeter. This procedure is considered complete until a small gap appears around the entire edge. Separate the inner flask of the thermos from the outer part.
Make a reflux condenser. For this purpose, you need to remove the bottom and vacuum lid of the flask. This must be done scrupulously. Drill a hole in the center of the inner flask along the back wall to allow air access inside. You should clean and tin the hole, then insert a pipe into it and solder it. Make another hole in the center of the bottom of the thermos. Place the bottom on the flask. Solder the tube to the bottom of the thermos. This is a significant process.
Then you need to tin the neck of the thermos and the selection unit. After that, insert them into each other and solder them. For the cooling water inlet and outlet pipes, holes must be made in the lower and upper parts of the outer flask of the thermos. This should be done carefully. Then you need to solder the joints of the tubes. For the thermometer sleeve, drill a hole in the distillate sampling unit. This is important. In the bushing itself, use a drill to make a hole the same size as the thermometer probe. Then insert the bushing and take-off unit there.
After this, you need to thoroughly rinse all adhesions with a baking soda solution. Then the reflux condenser should be attached to the column, after which the apparatus must be washed again with water.

Mini version of the specified device

Currently, a small distillation column is in demand. This device is available assembled and takes up little space. Industrial production drawings of a distillation column are difficult for ordinary people. However, the process of distilling alcohol at home can be much simpler. The industrial format distillation column design requires multiple trays to fully purify the final product. This makes the assembly process quite complicated. In order to make a unit such as a distillation column with your own hands at home, you will need the availability of available tools. The cooler can be made from a copper tube. To do this, you need to wrap it around the rectifier column. Metal scourers are made from stainless steel. During operation, their service life in the distillation column is long. For the existing 10 cm of pipes you need to take one washcloth. A medical clamp from a dropper can be used as a faucet at the outlet of the system. The distillation column circuit usually ends with a tube for communication with atmospheric air. Therefore, a thin medical syringe needle is ideal for this purpose.

If we briefly explain the theory of alcohol production and rectification, then this is actually multiple distillation of mash, carried out in countercurrent plates. Instead, any elements with a large interaction area are usually used. To make a distillation column with a diameter of 3 to 5 cm at home, a metal sponge can act as a contact element. It should fill all its internal contents. When the distillation column operates, the distillate slowly flows down, and alcohol vapor rises up.

Do-it-yourself distillation column: features of assembly and testing

Some models of this device require the use of a 220 V boiler and running cold water for the cooler. All elements of the device can be connected to each other through conventional soldering. Small deviations in the parameters when assembling such a useful device in the household will have little effect on the output product. However, to increase the volume of alcohol, the size of the distillation unit must be increased several times. For example, a one and a half meter pipe of a column will provide the output of up to 30 liters of alcohol every 24 hours. Upon completion of the manufacture of the apparatus, you need to lubricate all connections with a soapy solution and blow it out. Thus, unnecessary leaks can be seen in the form of bubbles. If the water cooler is connected to the water supply tube, after turning it on at full power, having previously plugged the outlet, leaks in its system are determined under pressure.

Alcohol production process

In this case, some criteria should be taken into account. The temperature at which alcohol can be obtained from mash in a distillation column at home varies from 82 to 84 °C. This is important to know. At 98 °C, distillation of alcohol must be stopped. Since at this temperature the evaporation of fusel oils is in full swing. Through repeated distillation of alcohol, its more complete purification is achieved.

Bottom line

All of the above allows you to understand what this device is. Also from this we can conclude that a distillation column can be made with your own hands at home without much effort. To do this, it is enough to have the desire and the necessary devices that will be needed to create the specified apparatus.

More and more people are coming to the understanding that store-bought alcohol is not worth the money they ask for it: the quality is low and the prices are too high. For this reason, more and more “moonshiners” are appearing in our country. They start with primitive moonshine stills, but quite quickly come to the idea of creating a full-fledged distillation column with their own hands. But doing it is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

The distillation column has a complex structure. In order for it to work well in the future, its parameters must be accurately calculated. Only in this case will it be possible to count on creating a truly balanced system for home use.

Before making a distillation column for a moonshine still with your own hands, you need to carefully calculate the parameters of each of its elements, and then purchase all the necessary components that correspond to the calculations.

Characteristics of the drawer and nozzle

In fact, this is the main element of the distillation column. All other parameters of the column will depend on the pipe parameters.

When creating an alcohol column with your own hands, it is best to use a chromium-nickel steel pipe. This is the so-called food grade stainless steel. Due to the fact that this alloy is completely neutral in chemical terms, it will not add any impurities to the final product. This is very important, because the main task of rectification is to obtain a pure product without impurities, and not at all to change its taste and aromatic properties.

Some experts advise using a copper drawer for distillation. Under no circumstances should this be done. The fact is that copper can change the chemical composition of alcohol. The maximum where copper can be used is a distiller or a mash column.

The drawer must have a wall thickness of at least 1 and no more than 1.5 mm. Thicker pipe walls do not provide any advantages during distillation, but at the same time make the entire structure much heavier. This is unacceptable for a home distillation system.

The drawer must be calculated together with the nozzle. At home, it is customary to use nozzles whose total contact surface area does not exceed 4 m 2 /liter. Of course, you can use nozzles with a larger contact area, but this will only increase the separation capacity of the column, however, it will reduce the overall productivity.

Spiral-prismatic in size the nozzle should be 12 times smaller than the column diameter.

Experienced moonshiners recommend keeping attachments with different characteristics ready to use depending on the situation. So, to obtain fortified moonshine, it is best to place copper rings up to 10 mm high in the column. In this case, copper will effectively remove sulfur compounds from alcohol.

When selecting a frame, you should remember that even a minimal change in the diameter of the column will seriously affect the performance parameters.

Regarding the pipe height, then it should fit within the parameters of 1 to 1.5 m. The height will be less, then fusel oils will penetrate into the selection. At the same time, as the height of the pipe increases, the transfer time increases, but not the separating capacity of the system. That is, it makes no sense to increase the height of the rectifier.

To increase the selection of high-quality alcohol and prevent the tsar from overflowing with fusel, raw alcohol should be poured into the cube no more than 20 volumes of nozzle. On average, the cube is filled to 2/3 of the volume. This means that with a drawer diameter of 50 mm, you need to use a cube with a volume of 40 to 80 liters. If the pipe diameter is 40 mm, then a cube with a volume of 30 to 50 liters is sufficient.

Heat source calculation

Many people think, that if a moonshine still can be heated on a gas or conventional electric stove, then it can also be used to heat a distillation column. This is far from true. The fact is that rectification is very different from the conventional distillation process. If the process of obtaining a distillate allows for heat surges, then during rectification the heating power must be properly regulated. Therefore, neither a gas, nor an electric, nor an induction cooker will work.

Ideal option: installing a heating element of the required power inside the distillation device with an output voltage regulator for precise adjustment.

As for the power of the heating element, to heat a 50 liter cube you need 4 kW of energy, for 40 liters 3 kW, for 30 liters 2 kW.

The heating element must be installed correctly in the cube so that its heating does not cause the mash and raw alcohol to boil. The higher the heating element is, the less power it requires to cause the contents of the cube to boil. As the depth of immersion increases, the power required to boil increases.

Dephlegmator calculation

The power of the reflux condenser is largely determined by the type of distillation column. If you plan to build a column with liquid extraction, then the power of the dephlegmator must correspond to the rated power of the entire column. Most often, this design uses a Dimroth refrigerator, whose utilization power is 5 watts per 1 cm 2 of area.

When creating a distillation column with a fence installed above the dephlegmator, then the power of the latter should not exceed 2/3 of the power of the column. In this case, you can abandon Dimrot and use a “shirt maker”, whose utilization power does not exceed 2 Watts per cm 2.

Calculation of a once-through refrigerator

If the direct-flow unit will be used as additional cooling, then you should choose the simplest and smallest option. Its power should not exceed 30% on the power of the distillation column.

A straight-through refrigerator looks like a straight tube between the drawer jacket and the inner pipe. The length of the tube usually does not exceed 30 cm.

If the same direct-flow refrigerator will be used not only for distillation, but also for rectification, then the maximum heating during distillation, rather than the rated power of the column, should be taken into account.

The minimum tube diameter is determined by the minimum speed and the maximum kinematic viscosity of the vapor.

With a power of 1.5 kW, the minimum diameter is 8 and the maximum is 9 mm.
With a power of 2 kW, the minimum pipe diameter is 9 and the maximum is 12 mm.
With a power of 3 kW, the minimum diameter is 10.5 and the maximum is 18 mm.

So, we have in hand all the necessary calculations with the drawing, and therefore we can begin assembling the distillation column.

It is necessary to prepare the following elements of the distillation apparatus:

Frame.
Dephlegmator.
Nozzle. It can be dish-shaped or spiral.
Thermal insulation.
Thermometers.

The tank for raw alcohol can be used from a moonshine still. You also don't have to make a new coil. It can be taken from the same distiller. A correctly calculated and assembled column can be installed on any moonshine still. The main thing is that the tank volume is more than 20 liters. If the volume is smaller, the distillation column will not work.

How to make a king with your own hands?

It is best to make it from a stainless pipe. Ideal option – food grade steel.

Experts advise doing it with several joints. At the very bottom of the drawer, a flange is welded, through which it will be attached to the lid of the distillation tank. The flange connection must be airtight, so a gasket must be used. Preferably silicone. Plastic gaskets change shape when exposed to temperature.

The flange must be welded so that the column stands strictly vertical. A deviation of just half a degree will change the quality of the output product.

Individual parts of the column are better connect with clamps. This way, it will be easier to assemble and disassemble the column.

The two lower parts of the drawer are just pipes. They will have nozzles installed to increase the area of contact between the liquid and the steam. But the upper part is quite complicated. It must have the following structural elements:

Flow refrigerator.
Outlet pipe.
Connector for installing a thermometer.
Air valve.

The flow cooler accounts for half of the top of the column The simplest option is to wrap the pipe with a copper coil, but it is not very effective. The ideal option is to place a Dimroth cooler inside the pipe. In this case, the reflux condenser will turn the condensate into steam until it reaches the air valve at the highest point of the distillation column.

The outlet pipe should be installed lower refrigerator by a couple of centimeters.

Nozzle

This is one of the most important parts of the column. It comes in 3 types: plate-shaped, sieve and spiral. The first option is much more effective. Many novice moonshiners make a disc nozzle from parts that are freely sold on the Internet.

A sieve attachment is much easier to make. All you need: a drill, disks, and small-diameter drills, stainless steel partitions. We drill holes of different diameters in the partitions and install them inside the pipe.

You can’t make a spiral nozzle yourself, but you can easily buy it in a specialized store.

Some thematic forums and websites advise using dishwashing mesh to create a spiral attachment, but you shouldn’t do this. the fact is that no one knows for certain what alloys they are made of. This means that no one can predict what kind of compounds will be obtained when the mesh material comes into contact with hot alcohol vapor.

Thermal insulation

When assembling the column you must remember to protect it from heat loss at least to the lower limit of the dephlegmator. As insulation, you can use materials such as polyurethane foam, penoizol, foil insulation, etc.

Actually, all that remains is to put all the parts together and test run a homemade distillation column.

Conclusion

Now the reader knows how to make a column for home rectification. All that remains is to put this knowledge into practice and enjoy the purest product.

Even the simplest distillation column, despite the low distillation speed, will allow you to obtain a sufficient amount of alcohol both for consumption in its pure form and for the production of more noble drinks based on it.

Also, do not forget that using a distillation column as a moonshine still to produce moonshine will allow you to obtain 30% more product than from a conventional distiller. In addition, the quality of moonshine will be much better.

Manufacturers of homemade moonshine strive to ensure that their drink is clean from harmful fusel oils and without an unpleasant odor. To do this, they distill the product several times, as a result of which it is purified. And yet, the best way to produce alcohol and alcohol-containing drinks is to use a device with a distillation column. The principle of its operation and the possibility of self-production will be discussed in the article.

Like a moonshine still, a distillation column produces moonshine, only of a higher quality, purified. But first of all, it is intended for the production of pure alcohol 96%, which is used as a base in the preparation of various alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol is a product of rectification, 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 original liquid and condensation of steam.

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 reflux condenser 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 (reflux) flow down into a column filled with steam. The cooled reflux flows through special nozzles where it meets 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 collects at the “head” of the column. For final condensation, it is taken to the refrigerator, from which the distillate, that is, the finished product, comes out.

Video: distillation column and the principle of its operation

Construction of a home distillery

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

distillation cube, or container with alcohol-containing liquid;
tsarga, or pipe, which will be the body of the column;
a reflux condenser in which steam is cooled and condensed;
nozzles with which to stuff the drawer;
distillate selection unit;
water refrigerator;
smaller parts for connecting parts of the structure and for monitoring its operation (thermometers, automation).

Let's consider each component part of the device separately.

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

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

Or you can independently weld a suitable container from stainless steel sheets.

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 allow steam or liquid to pass through, and the lid should not be torn off due to growing pressure;
a hole for steam to escape, which will appear if you cut a fitting into the lid.

If you buy a ready-made distillation cube, 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 that holds 40-80 liters, for a 40 mm drawer a 30-50 liter container is suitable, for 32 mm you need at least 20-30 liters, and for a diameter of 28 mm it’s excellent A pressure cooker will do.

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

The pipe in which rectification occurs is called the drawer. This is a cylinder with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm and a diameter of 30-50 mm. The effectiveness of the drawer 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 tsar is 1-1.5 m. If it is shorter, then there will be no room in it for the separated fusel oils, and they will end up in the distillate. If the pipe is longer, the rectification time will increase, but this will not affect the efficiency.
Drawer of a distillation column with a nozzle There are ready-made drawers for moonshine stills with a length of 15 cm or more on sale. You can buy 2-3 tubes and connect them into one. Or you can make the drawer of the required length yourself. For this you will need a stainless pipe.

Video: how to make a drawer for a distillation column yourself You need to cut threads at the top and bottom so that the bottom part is attached to the cube, and the reflux condenser is attached to the top part.

You also need to attach a mesh to the bottom to hold the nozzles with which the drawer will be filled. Some home experts 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 crude oil for aviation fuel.

Filling the drawer 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 area over which reflux flows.

Thus, heavy harmful components are deposited and cannot enter the final product, and the light vapor of pure alcohol is selected. The filling should completely fill the tube.

The nozzle can be any filler made of inert stainless material:

glass or ceramic balls;
stainless steel kitchen sponges, 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 settles phlegm well and does not fail over time.

Panchenkov nozzle

Important! The sponge attachment should 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 the “heads” come out, that is, the harmful alcohol fractions, then the “body” comes out, or alcohol without taste and unpleasant odor.
Everyone makes a homemade selection unit differently, but according to the same principle. Eg:

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

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

The top of the structure is the reflux condenser. Here the steam cools, condenses and is directed downwards in the form of droplets.
You can make several options for reflux condensers with your own hands:

Jacket or direct-flow dephlegmator made from two pipes of different diameters. Running water circulates between them, and inside the 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 extraction unit. In the bottom of the thermos, you must make a hole for the TCA, that is, a communication tube with the atmosphere, through which light unnecessary vapors will escape.
Video: operating principle of a direct-flow dephlegmator
Dimroth reflux condenser more efficient than the previous model. The body is a pipe of the same diameter as the drawer. Inside it is a thin tube, twisted into a spiral, in which cold water moves. If the diameter of the drawer is 50 mm, then the spiral needs to be twisted from a tube with a diameter of 6 mm and a length of 3 m. Then the length of the reflux condenser 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 condensation occurs. This model has several advantages: water is used economically and steam is quickly cooled. In addition, this structure can be attached to the column at an angle, which reduces its height.
Video: operating principle of a shell-and-tube reflux condenser

Fridge

A small refrigerator, or aftercooler, is needed to reduce the temperature of the ethylene flowing from the extraction unit. It is made according to the principle of a jacket reflux condenser, but from tubes of a smaller diameter.

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

The water speed is controlled by the tap.

Video: how to make a refrigerator for a distillation column with your own hands

The pasteurization drawer is not a mandatory element of the column. On the one hand, it complicates the main design. But on the other hand, it improves it, since it more thoroughly purifies alcohol from the main fractions throughout the entire rectification.

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

The alcohol is collected from the lower selection of a small drawer. This ensures maximum purity of the alcohol.

Automation

The long rectification process 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 tedious if you install good automation to control rectification. The BUR (distillation control unit) is designed for this purpose. The block can do the following:

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

You can automate the process by installing a “start-stop” 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: automation for a distillation column

Advantages:

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

Flaws:

ethylene does not have the organoleptic properties of the original product;
the rectification process is very long: in an hour you can get no more than 1 liter of distillate;
ready-made structures are very expensive.

Which material is preferable

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

The distillation column can be called a new generation moonshine still, because it produces better quality alcohol. Making this device with your own hands is quite difficult. But if you make an effort, the festive table will always be topped by a natural and tasty homemade alcoholic drink.

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Of course, among all the varieties of moonshine stills, the home distillation column is one of the most difficult both to operate and to manufacture. Usually, for home brewing Industrially produced columns are used, which can be purchased almost without restrictions in every specialized store. However, it is also quite possible to do it yourself.

In order to make this apparatus, you need to have its diagram and design drawings, as well as know the main principles of the column’s operation and the meaning of the processes occurring in it. And quite a lot of interesting things happen here - the rectification procedure differs from conventional distillation in its chemical and physical bases.

Distillation column: Operating principle

In the column, as in a simple distiller, there is a refrigerator, a heater, and a regulator, which are working and full-fledged elements. However, from the surface of the mash on the path of alcohol-containing steam to the refrigerator coil there is another complex unit called a distillation column. This unit is a tall pipe, the cross-section of which is 40-60 times larger than its size. The cross-sectional diagram shows how an alcohol or mash column for preparing alcohol is constructed.

Hot steam rises up the pipe, cools slowly along the way, condenses, and flows down back into the container. As the condensate moves from top to bottom, it comes into contact with hot steam, reheats, and low-boiling substances again turn into steam. Among these substances is ethyl alcohol.

When you select the operating mode of this column so that the alcohol vapor begins to condense at a certain height, where the intake pipe is located, then pure alcohol, without various impurities, will begin to flow into the refrigerator. After a certain time, a dynamic equilibrium mode begins in this device, due to the difference in the vapor phase and heat capacities of the liquid; in addition, the liquid-vapor mixture begins to separate according to its chemical composition into fractions, which will determine vaporization temperature.

Directly in the uppermost area, vapors of volatile impurities accumulate - acetone, aldehydes and other toxic components. When the temperature of the column on the upper thermometer is more than 70 degrees, they simply escape into the atmosphere, since it is connected to the outside air by a valve or pipe and operates at almost atmospheric pressure.

At approximately three-quarters the height of the column, alcohol vapors begin to accumulate, which must be selected. Below are fusel oils and other elements whose boiling point is higher than alcohol. At the alcohol selection site, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within 75-77 degrees, so that this can be realized and a significant column size will be required, rather than a larger zone of different fractions, so it is easier to separate one element from another.

How to make a distillation column with your own hands?

Building a distillation column at home with your own hands is not a myth. This is proven by numerous photos and videos on the Internet, as well as posts on forums. Even when they are half as good as their owners claim, this unit is worth making. However, it is necessary to take into account the fact that for the production of moonshine itself, a distillation column, regardless of industrial or home-made production, is not suitable.

A rectification device is required to obtain alcohol with a minimum amount of additives, including resins and aromatic substances, which give moonshine a special taste and aroma. However, the resulting alcohol can be used as a base for some alcoholic drinks made at home, without worrying about poisoning with esters and methyls or fusel, promotes severe hangover.

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

Manufacturing technology

At home, a do-it-yourself distillation column will work properly only if its height will be at least 1.9-2.1 meters with an internal diameter of 45-60 mm. This column is difficult to operate, store and manufacture. It is advisable to build it collapsibly, with threaded or tube connections; it is quite convenient to use couplings.

The coupling connection will not be a problem when you have experience with a lathe. Otherwise, you will need to use the paid services of specialists.

Design principle

The main components of the distillation column are as follows:

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

In the general scheme of the moonshine still itself there is also a container for mash, as well as a refrigerator for condensate, which is a simple coil. If you build a distillation column correctly, it can be installed on any moonshine device with a tank capacity of at least 20 liters.

For smaller sizes it will only be possible to accelerate it to working condition and get a couple of liters of alcohol (50 percent of the probable yield). The best evaporator volume is 27-45 liters. Thus, it is more convenient to regulate the process temperature, which is considered one of the main factors during rectification.

In addition, the production of alcohol in quantities of up to 9-12 liters takes the same amount of time to accelerate and prepare the column as 4-6 liters. More often than not, saving time is also quite important for reducing the cost of the product.

Frame

It is advisable to make the body from three parts, approximately equal in length. A flange with a strong lid is welded to the bottom of the stainless steel pipe for mounting on the distillation tank. The height of the column is quite large - approximately 2 meters. The optimal solution is a flange connection with a sealed gasket. The flanges must be welded so that the entire structure is in a clearly vertical position, only in this case will it work as it should.

The body elements are connected to each other with threads or clamps - whichever is more convenient. The most important thing is to maintain a tight seal. The best material for the main pipe is food grade stainless steel.This material has a relatively low thermal conductivity, and heat loss in the column is undesirable, up to the passage of vapor into the refrigerator.

The two parts below are just pieces of pipe. Nozzles will be installed here - devices that increase the contact area of liquid and steam. The most complex is the uppermost element of the structure, here:

it is necessary to equip a flow-through refrigerator;
provide an air valve;
thermometer socket;
outlet pipe.

The flow cooler occupies approximately half of the top 1/3 of the column. The simplest solution is to wind a stainless or copper coil over the pipe. A more complex method is to install the same coil, Dimroth cooler or ball cooler inside the pipe.

For this task, you can purchase a pipe of a larger cross-section by connecting it to the lower part using an adapter. In this case, there are a large number of options - the point is the same, the reflux condenser must provide a barrier on the steam path and convert it into condensate before reaching the air valve. Only couples are required to come here with a temperature of no more than 60 degrees. When the refrigerator cannot cope with its task, alcohol will be released into the air along with volatile elements.

The air valve is placed at the highest point and is required to equalize the pressure. You don’t have to install a valve, but simply install a thin copper tube (Ø4-5 mm). The presence of a tube will require special temperature control at all stages of rectification. During the selection of heads, T = 55–65 C must be at the level of the intake pipe.

The selection is made through a pipe that cuts into the body below the refrigerator at a distance of 3-6 cm from it. It is a simple tube into which a silicone hose is connected from a medical dropper.

A do-it-yourself distillation column works quite slowly, the main intake occurs in drip mode. This needs to be taken into account - making 9-12 liters of alcohol can take a whole day.

Nozzle

This part of the column is one of the most important. Two types of nozzles are used for rectification:

spiral, made of steel mesh tightly twisted into a spiral or special wires that are twisted into prismatic spirals; they are simply poured inside the column;
disc-shaped, in the form of mesh or cap elements.

In the first case, a mesh filter is placed at the bottom of the column, which prevents the nozzle from falling out. For making a distillation column with your own hands, the most effective is a cap-type disk attachment. In this case, it is necessary to start the work with the purchase of plates - the size of the body must correspond to their diameter. The easiest way is to match the pipe to the cymbals rather than vice versa.

Mesh partitions are much easier to make; all you need is a set of 2-3 mm drills and a drill press or drill. Partitions are made of copper, brass or stainless steel. For one meter of column height, 8-10 pieces are needed.

Spiral prismatic special Panchenkov nozzles (RPN), mesh or analogues will need to be purchased in specialized stores. You can't make them yourself. You should not choose nets for washing dishes - unknown alloys are used for them, which can react with vapors of impurities or alcohol.

Thermal insulation

The column must be protected from heat loss to a height no less than the lower cut of the reflux condenser. For insulation, you can choose any elastic heat insulator - tubular basalt foil insulation, penoizol, polyurethane foam. Warming is a rather important stage. If heat loss is avoided, the height of the fractional layers can be reduced by 10-20%. Moreover, the concentration of the substance, in this case alcohol, will increase in them, clearly maintaining the boundaries of the fractions.

Automation of a distillation column

The rather complex process of rectification requires constant monitoring and human presence. High-quality automation allows rectification to be carried out without constant supervision. It makes it possible to select the head fractions into a separate container and prevents “tails” from getting into the commercial alcohol.

The rectification control unit (RCU) will reduce power during extraction, turn on cooling water at the required temperature and automatically reduce extraction at the end. After collecting the tails, the water and heating will be turned off. The simplest way to automate– this is the installation of a start-stop with a valve that stops selection when the temperature in the column increases; after the temperature is restored, selection resumes. For a home mini-distillery, it is cheaper to purchase automation on specialized forums or assemble it from Chinese components.