Basic concepts of alcohol rectification, features of the method and the principle of operation of the column. Making a distillation column with your own hands - step-by-step instructions Distillation column without welding seams

As already noted, about 70 different components were found in the impurities in the mash: acids, acetones, ethers, aldehydes, light and heavy alcohols, fusel oils, etc. Impurities are formed during the preparation of the wort, but most of all accumulate during fermentation, and during distillation, the mash almost completely ends up in the SS.

The main task of rectification is to clearly separate impurities from rectified alcohol.

The amount of impurities in the dehydrated distillate (that is, the distillate minus the water) is usually not. exceeds 6%. The specific amount of “waste” usually depends on the accuracy of the mash preparation technology. Many of these impurities are difficult to separate from the CP, and only proper operation of rectification equipment makes it possible to get rid of them in the commercial part of the rectified alcohol.

From a practical point of view, all impurities existing in CC (the previously mentioned 6%) can be divided into two groups in relation to the boiling point of CP (tbp. = 78.15 ° C at 760 mm Hg):

• -head (= 2.5%);
• - tail (3.5%).

Head impurities include all substances that have a boiling point less than 78.15 ° C and precede (in the time of the rectification process) the appearance of CP from the distillation column. It is these impurities that occupy the first (head) line for selection from the distillation column, and it is behind them that CP comes in turn. Among these substances, the most famous are methyl alcohol (tbp = 64.7 ° C) and the aldehyde group of impurities, whose tbp is slightly lower, but very close to tbp CP.

Tail impurities include all substances with a boiling point greater than 78.15 "C; these substances are distilled off immediately after CP. They take their place at the tail of the general queue for CP. Among these substances, the most famous is the group of fusel oils (boiling point is slightly higher, but very close to bp CP).

5.1. Preparing the column for work.

a) Assemble the distillation unit as indicated in its passport.
For rectification, fill the evaporation tank to 3/4 of its volume with raw alcohol, at a strength of no more than 35-45%) Shut off the selection.

r) Check the tightness of the assembly.

e) Turn on the cooling water flow.

f) Turn on the heating of the bottom liquid.

5.2. Preliminary calculations.

It is very convenient to make a preliminary calculation of future (expected) results before starting work on the distillation column (while the bottom liquid is being heated). These calculations are some rough plan of work during rectification and will be naturally adjusted (according to the thermometer reading, smell) by you. This work plan will help determine the moments of your presence near the column and indicate the approximate number of fractions obtained.

Example of preliminary calculation. Working volume 10 l. A technological heating element with a power of Wt = 1 kW is installed in the evaporation tank.

Given:
Raw alcohol volume 10l
Alcohol concentration in CC 40

It is necessary to determine:

1) Time for heating the still liquid to boiling
2) Total rectification time and the number of fractions obtained

Calculation:

1) Heating of the bottom liquid to boiling is carried out using the installed power Wt = 1 kW from a temperature of 20 "C to 95" C. The heat capacity of SS is very close to the heat capacity of water 4.2 kJ/(kg deg);

Heating time = (10l * 4.2 kJ / (l deg) * (95-20) deg) / (1 kW) = 3150 sec = 52 min

2) Rectification. 10l of 40% raw alcohol contains 10l.0.4=4l=4000ml of dehydrated distillate. Let this distillate have the following distribution among fractions (the exact distribution depends on the quality of the original raw alcohol and this is determined only after proper rectification):

Total rectification time = preparation + warming up + “head” + alcohol + “tail” = 15min + 50min+ 20min + 3h45min + 10min = 5h20min = 5.3h,

for which 3760 ml of pure rectified alcohol is obtained with an average productivity of 3.76 l / 5.3 h = 0.71 l / h.

Composition by fractions			Average selection rate			Fraction isolation time
Name		ml		ml/h	ml/min		min	h.min
"head"
alcohol
"tail"

Using this example, you can simultaneously calculate the specific daily productivity of the installation from raw alcohol to rectified alcohol

Daily productivity = 0.71 l/h 24 hours = 17 l/day.

5.3. Rectification process.

The rectification process is controlled and regulated according to the thermometer reading. A typical time dependence of temperature change t is presented in Fig. 9, indicating five periods:

Designation Name of rectification period Power Selection
And heating Wy E=0
B stabilization Wy E=0
In the selection of head fractions Wt 30% of Enom
Selection of the food alcohol fraction Wt Enom
D selection of tailing fractions Wt Enom

Temperature

Fig.9 Temperature change during alcohol rectification.

A) Heating.

The SS in the evaporation tank is heated by all heating elements installed in it with a total power of Wy. After some time, the SS in the cube begins to boil, and gradual heating of the column begins with rising steam. At this moment it is necessary to switch to the technological power Wt specified in the installation passport.

If such a switch is not made, then after a few seconds the column will choke. REMEMBER that the column can remain in this state for no more than 30-60 seconds, otherwise the column and dephlegmator will overflow with distillate and its emergency discharge will begin through the upper fitting of the dephlegmator to the outside. If you nevertheless missed the moment of the beginning of boiling, and the column choked, then you will have to come to terms with the loss of alcohol and turn off the column. Then wait until the flooding process stops and turn on Wt.

After heating the column, a temperature jump is observed, noted by a thermometer.

B) Stabilization.

The column operates at process power Wt. Selection is blocked by E=O. The column works on its own, reflux ratio V= . While observing the thermometer readings, wait until the temperature decreases and stabilizes at the lowest level.

At this moment, the process of separation and accumulation of the head (low-boiling) fractions takes place in the upper part of the column. After 10-15 minutes, this process is completed, and the temperature in the upper part of the column reaches its minimum value and stabilizes 3-5 "C below the expected boiling point of the SS. The magnitude of this difference depends on the composition and amount of low-boiling fractions present in the SS. The expected temperature boiling point CP t can be determined from the atmospheric pressure at a given moment using the graph in Fig. 3.

If you don't have a thermometer, just let the column run on its own for 15 minutes. If this process takes longer, it will only be better. You will be able to more accurately separate all the main impurities that have accumulated in the column at this point.

If you work with an electronic temperature comparator, then you can more accurately determine the moment when the column stabilizes by the temperature difference.

C) Selection of head fractions.

The selection of the head fractions must be carried out as slowly as possible (with a high reflux ratio). Slow selection does not “spread” a fraction throughout the column and does not take with it the following fractions. Due to the small amount but wide variety of substances in the head fraction, this part of the distillate is actually one large transition section (p in Fig. 7) from many head impurities to pure CP.

To properly organize selection during this difficult rectification period, we can recommend the following approach, which consists of dividing stage “B” into three successive equal intervals.

Interval	Duration		Selection
"IN"		min		ml/h	ml/min
elementary			50%Enom
average			30%Enom
transitional			10%Enom		1,66

This scheme for organizing the selection of head fractions guarantees you:

• complete separation of the head fractions from the cube, and their complete absence in the following food fraction of the CP;
• minimum volume of the head fraction and the absence of the CP food fraction in it;
• approach to the main CP fraction with a low 50% productivity.

This period ends with the achievement of a temperature 0.1-0.05 "C lower than t. It is conventionally believed that the amount of low-boiling impurities present in the CP at this moment and causing such a decrease in the boiling point of the CP corresponds to acceptable food standards.

In practice, the most accurate device for making a decision about the end of the period of selection of the head fractions and the beginning of the selection of food CP is the usual “human nose”.

Control of the resulting distillate by smell is carried out as follows:

• place a few drops of the selected distillate onto your palm;
• rub this puddle over the entire surface of your palm;
• bring your palm to your face and inhale through your nose the distillate that has evaporated from your palm.

Such an instant and fairly accurate analysis will always be of some help to you when rectifying alcohol.

The total amount of head fractions obtained during this period is 1...3% of the expected amount of alcohol and depends on the quality of the feedstock. PLEASE REMEMBER! that the distillate obtained by distilling off the head fractions is not a food product, since it consists mainly of ethers, acetones, aldehydes and other toxic substances, and can ONLY be used for technical needs, for example, as a solvent.

D) Selection of the edible alcohol fraction.

We will install a new, clean and larger receiving tank. Let's increase the selection to En (for the conditional one it is 1 l/h = 16.6 ml/min), which will remain until the end of the entire rectification process. Let's check this selection using a stopwatch and a graduated cylinder. After 5-10 minutes we will check the thermometer readings. If everything was done correctly, the thermometer readings will not change. Moreover, this temperature will remain unchanged throughout the entire period of food fraction selection.

The resulting CP from this moment is a high-quality food product. However, its composition (indistinguishable by many even by smell) is gradually changing and can be divided into three parts:

• the first 5% of the total volume of SR will still contain traces of the head fractions (for the conventional one this = 200 ml);
• central part - about 80% of the total volume of SR will be absolutely pure (for a conditional one this = 3360 ml);
• and 5% of the total volume of SR before the end of this regime will begin to acquire traces of tail fractions (for the conditional this = 200 ml).

Taking into account the last remark, it can be recommended to prepare two separate marked containers for the selection of the food fraction, which are used to select the first 5% and the last 5% portion of the CP.

When receiving the central part of the SR, you can select the maximum selection Emax (reflux ratio is close to V = 2, $). The Emax value mainly depends on the quality of the processed SS, so it requires clarification at each rectification. However, searching and clarifying it can only be recommended after fully mastering the rectification process according to these instructions. To find Emax, it is necessary to use the second version of the selection rule.

But remember - the less selection, the higher the quality!

In this rectification mode, a constant presence near the device is not required, and the receiving containers are replaced as they are filled.

When receiving the third part of the food CP, it is recommended to use an intermediate container, from which periodically, after making sure that the thermometer reading corresponds to the boiling point of the CP, pour the alcohol into the main container.

This technique allows, if the moment of temperature increase is missed (the arrival of SR with a higher concentration of heavy alcohols and fusel oils), to prevent the “bad” alcohol from entering the “good” one.

A rectification column (RC) is a device for separating alcohol from an alcohol-containing liquid, which is significantly superior to a moonshine still in terms of purification. Without it, it is impossible to prepare a truly high-quality alcoholic drink from organic raw materials. This article discusses the principles of designing a RC.

What is alcohol rectification

Rectification of alcohol is the separation of an alcohol-containing mixture into components with different boiling points, carried out through heat and mass transfer. The latter occurs as a result of the system’s desire to balance the temperature, pressure and concentration of each component (alcohols, water, fusel oils, etc.) in the liquid and gaseous phases.

During heat and mass transfer, the steam is saturated with substances with a low boiling point (volatile or low-boiling), while the liquid is saturated with high-boiling ones. The steam rises, which allows, once the system reaches equilibrium, to select the most volatile component.

Advantages and disadvantages of the rectification method

Rectification of alcohol has two advantages:

1. Minor content of impurities in the final product. The method makes it possible to accurately separate from each other components that differ in boiling point by only 0.1 degrees. The alcohol concentration at the outlet is 96% - 98%.
2. Low alcohol losses. Only 1% - 3% ends up in waste.

Flaws:

1. Complexity of the method. Rectification is possible only with the correct combination of a number of conditions, which requires the operator to have in-depth knowledge of the process. The distillation column is simple, but all its parameters must be accurately calculated.
2. Relatively high height of the distillation column.
3. No raw material taste.

The aroma and taste of fruits present in the raw material are completely cut off during rectification, which is compensated for in the following ways:

• tinctures are prepared from the resulting pure alcohol;
• add high-boiling fractions to alcohol in acceptable quantities.

How does a column work?

The design of a distillation column is not difficult. It consists of the following nodes:

• cube: container for raw materials;
• drawer (vertical pipe) with contact elements - nozzles or plates;
• reflux condenser: installed at the top of the drawer;
• extraction unit with aftercooler;
• heater;
• thermometers.

The operating principle of the distillation column is as follows:

1. The raw material is heated in the cube (filled to 2/3 of the volume) and evaporates.
2. The steam that fills the drawer cools in the reflux condenser (coolant is supplied here) and turns into condensate - phlegm.
3. Phlegm flows down the contact elements. The design of the latter is focused on creating a significant area of ​​contact between liquid and steam, which is necessary for intensive heat and mass transfer.
4. When the equilibrium process occurs, as evidenced by a constant temperature, the operator opens the extraction valve and the steam located at the top of the drawer enters the aftercooler. Cold water is also supplied here.
5. As in a moonshine still, low-boiling components are separated first - aldehydes, ethers, methyl and ethyl alcohols, then fusel oils and other high-boiling ones.

People often wonder what is better - a distillation column or a moonshine still (distiller)? The latter uses a simpler method and preserves the taste of the raw materials, but there are a number of important disadvantages:

1. High concentration of impurities in the final product: the proportion of alcohol is only 40% - 65%. To obtain a 96% concentration, distillation must be repeated 9–10 times.
2. Significant loss of alcohol: at least 20%.

But a compact home distillation column cannot act as a replacement for a moonshine still: it is effective when the alcohol concentration in the raw material is 35% - 45%, while in mash it is only 10%.

Both devices are used sequentially:

• raw alcohol is obtained from mash using a distiller;
• feed raw alcohol and alcohol-rich distillation by-products into the RK and obtain a pure product at the output.

Types of columns

Based on the type of contact element, two types of contact elements are distinguished:

• disc: trays are used, mainly in industrial installations;
• nozzles: nozzles twisted from wire are used - an option for home and laboratory RK.

Along with conventional dispensers, combined full-cycle devices are produced - moonshine stills with a distillation column.

How to make at home

In the process of making a distillation column with your own hands, the most difficult stage is calculation. Let's consider all the components and their parameters.

Tsarga

Made from steel pipe with the following parameters:

• material: food grade stainless steel (12Х18Н10Т);
• internal diameter: D = 28 – 60 mm;
• height (the drawer is placed vertically): H = 1200 – 1500 mm;
• wall thickness: 1.0 – 1.5 mm.

The higher the drawer, the purer the alcohol that comes out.

Heater

Rectification requires fine tuning of the temperature, therefore a heater is needed:

• with low thermal inertia;
• with the ability to adjust power in steps of 5 - 10 W.

These requirements are met only by heating elements connected through a relay with output voltage stabilization. Gas stove is not suitable.

To heat the raw material quickly enough, a power of 1 kW is required for every 10 liters. After warming up they reach rated power. It is approximately equal to the cross-sectional area of ​​the drawer in mm (clearance). More accurate values ​​for different D/H ratios:

• 52/1000: 1950 W;
• 50.8/1500: 1790 W;
• 42/1500: 1190 W;
• 40/1000: 1133 W;
• 32/1500: 660 W;
• 28/1500: 490 W.

Nozzle

The most effective is the spiral-prismatic nozzle (SPN). It is expensive, but is available for self-production. The optimal size is (0.067 – 0.083)D. For different D it will be:

• 50 mm: 3.5x3.5x0.25 mm;
• 40 mm: 3.0x3.0x0.25 mm;
• 32 and 28 mm: 2.0x2.0x0.25 mm.

It is allowed to use a wire scourer instead of SPN for washing dishes.

Cube

It is made from a can, pressure cooker or cooked from steel sheets. A cube filled 2/3 should contain raw materials in the amount of 10 - 20 volumes of nozzle. That is, at H = 1.5 m, the volume of the cube for different D is:

• 50 mm: 45 – 90 l;
• 40 mm: 25 – 50 l;
• 32 mm: 15 – 30 l;
• 28 mm: 10 – 20 l.

Dephlegmator and aftercooler

Self-made distillation columns are equipped with two types of reflux condensers:

• Dimroth refrigerator: specific utilization power (SRU) is 4 - 5 W/sq. cm surface;
• refrigerator with jacket: UUM - 2 W/sq. cm.

The area of ​​the reflux condenser is calculated by dividing the rated power of the column by the UUL of the refrigerator used. For columns with steam extraction above the reflux condenser, the resulting value is multiplied by 2/3.

The aftercooler is structurally similar to the reflux condenser and has the same dimensions.

Calculation

The calculation of a distillation column is complex and requires knowledge of the characteristics of the materials used. Even minor errors can make all the work useless: the fractions will be partially mixed, and it will not be possible to obtain a pure product. When manufacturing, it is more correct to use ready-made drawings of a distillation column that has proven its suitability in practice, or to purchase a factory-made apparatus.

Found a mistake? Select it and click Shift + Enter or

Fans of making homemade alcoholic beverages eventually come to the need to improve quality. The best solution is to obtain pure alcohol and dilute it according to the required recipe.

A rectification column will help you obtain pure alcohol. More recently, information about home rectification was inaccessible; today a large number of specialized forums and blogs cover in detail the process of home rectification and the construction of corresponding equipment.

Rectification is the process of purifying alcohol from light ethereal and heavy fusel components, ridding the product of glucose, sugars and acids.

The rectification process allows you to obtain pure ethyl alcohol up to 96°.

The resulting raw materials are used for technical and medical purposes, as well as for the preparation of high-quality alcohol. Reference.

Raw alcohol or mash is heated in a cube. The vapor rises along the drawer, the heaviest parts condense at the bottom of the packing and flow into the cube. Easier vapors rise above the packing, condense and flow into the cube. A new portion of vapor rises, heats the already flowing phlegm, light fractions evaporate from it - the fundamental principle of heat and mass transfer comes into force.

The lightest particles reach the Dimroth refrigerator, where they cool and drain. When the vapors in the distillation column are “lined up” on floors in accordance with density, alcohol selection begins at the top of the column. Beginner rectifiers make a mistake precisely at this stage - either they allow “choke” - excessive reflux, or they take away a lot of product, then the “storey” suffers and the resulting alcohol will contain impurities.

Making a distillation column at home is quite difficult. Serious manufacturers calculate and test their products in detail and include detailed instructions. The DIYer has a choice:

1. Repeat the idea of ​​popular manufacturers, copy an existing device. If necessary, changes and modifications can be made to the tested diagrams.
2. Design your own scheme, different from others.

What does a distillation column consist of, and its drawing?

A home craftsman can make a drawer distillation column. It forgives many mistakes, and the result will be guaranteed.

Distillation column drawing

Alembic

This is a container where heaters are built in and mash or raw alcohol evaporates.

Capacity Specifications:

1. Strength. The weight of the distillation pipe will rest on the lid, so the cube must be rigid.
2. Chemical neutrality to alcohol. The ideal material is food grade chromium-nickel steel (stainless steel).
3. Convenience. The container needs to be lifted, moved, and stillage drained from it (distillation). The volume of the container is calculated depending on the required performance of the device and the power of the heaters.
4. Insulation. Heat loss should be minimal. therefore, both the walls and the bottom should be “packed” in insulation without cold bridges.

Drawer drawer for moonshine still

The drawer is a pipe that is installed on a cube. In fact, this is the main frame of the distillation column. There is a plate-shaped drawer, but it is rarely used at home.

Characteristics:

1. Strength. The wall thickness of the drawer is usually taken from 1 to 1.5 mm. This creates sufficient strength with low weight.
2. Chemical neutrality.
3. Insulation. In order to arrange pairs of different factions “by floor” in a column, the drawer must be well insulated. A sleeve made of foamed polypropylene or polystyrene foam trays used in plumbing are ideal.
4. Collapsible. For ease of cleaning and storage, the drawer can be made collapsible - from 30-40 cm elbows. This will allow you to adjust the height of the device, which affects the speed and quality of the product.
5. Availability of viewing glass areas.
6. Diameter. If it is a thin tube (up to 2 inches), no packing is needed - all processes take place on the walls. Such a column is called a film column. Diameters higher require the use of a nozzle - a sealing packing to increase the heat and mass transfer area.

Packing or nozzle

Packing is needed to sediment the phlegm and re-evaporate it. The main characteristic of padding is area. Stones of certain types, a stainless steel sieve, and stainless steel strand spirals are used as packing.

There are many ready-made solutions on sale; home craftsmen have come up with various inexpensive substitute options. Most often, metal dishwashing mesh or metal shavings are used to replace factory packings.

The alignment of vapors across floors depends on the volume and density of the nozzle. If the column uses a fine chip prismatic nozzle, you need to make a lattice support so that the nozzle does not fall into the cube.

Dimroth cooler

At the top of the distillation column there is a cooler - a tube twisted into a spiral.

Cold water circulates through it. It completely cools all light vapors. Characterized by plane of inclination, power, length.

Selection unit

It serves to select alcohol from the upper “floor”. The selection is not carried out completely; most of the phlegm returns to the tsar. The ratio of the product taken to the reflux returned to the chamber is called the reflux ratio.

The higher the reflux ratio, the lower the productivity of the apparatus, the purer the product.

There are three types of selection:

1. According to the mash. the selection unit is located above the Dimroth refrigerator and catches the escaped vapors. They are further cooled in an additional flow-through refrigerator.
2. By liquid. The cooled phlegm of the “upper floors”, dripping from the refrigerator, is taken through inclined planes or a sump.
3. A couple at a time. Part of the steam rises upward to the Dimrot, and part of it rushes to the additional refrigerator, where it condenses. A stable reflux ratio is ensured, which does not change during the entire distillation time.

Additional refrigerator

Has an auxiliary function.

What is he doing:

• further cools the resulting product,
• precipitates random vapors,
• cools the finished product.

You will learn more about what a distillation column is and what the principle of its operation is in this video:

Design selection

The size and design of the device depends on a number of factors:

1. Required performance. with higher productivity, the padded drawer will be higher and wider - the pair passes more. The cooler and extraction unit must also provide sufficient efficiency. The minimum length of the drawer is 1.5 meters, it is better to make it collapsible from three bends - 1 meter, 0.2 meters, 0.5 meters. this will allow the device to be used for both distillation and rectification.
2. Possible sizes. Often home distillation columns are limited in size due to ceiling height. Shifting the dimrot refrigerator in the upper part of the apparatus, or placing it perpendicular to the drawer (Thor's hammer) will help save space.
3. Access to metalworking technologies. A stainless steel device will last a long time and will not oxidize alcohol, but to connect the parts you will need argon welding or stainless steel electrodes. Cooking stainless steel is difficult. If possible, you can use laboratory heat-resistant glass, but it is too fragile. An excellent option for the DIYer is copper. It is easily soldered with a gas torch; there are a large number of them on sale.
4. Volume of refilled raw materials. The larger the cube used, the higher the productivity should be. Evaporation of alcohol occurs at 75 - 80 ° C; lowering the temperature will reduce the speed of the process.
5. Budget. With a minimum budget, you should consider a simple but effective design with mechanical adjustments. If the budget is not tight, the device is supplemented with precision needle taps, additional components and automatic control.

For home distillation, the simplest would be a column with a cube of up to 50 liters with built-in heating elements with a power of 3 kW. Column diameter 32 mm, liquid selection unit based on the design of Alex Bokakoba, Dimroth refrigerator inserted above the selection unit.

An additional cooler is not needed; instead, a plastic tube 1.5 meters long, cooled by air, works perfectly. As a nozzle, you can use a Panchenko nozzle, SPN or metal stainless steel dishwashers. All connections are made using inexpensive plumbing threaded connections.

Optimal calculations

The column calculation begins with determining the following parameters:

1. Possible height. Practice shows that for a home device the optimal height is 1.5 - 2 meters. If a gas stove is used as a heater, the height of the drawer will be 1.2 - 1.5 meters. The diameter depends on the height, the average ratio is 1/50. For example, a drawer of 1.5 meters should be no more than 32 mm. (rounded up to standard pipes).
2. Power of the heating element or heater. A 1.5 meter drawer will have a capacity of approximately 300 ml/hour, which corresponds to 300 watts of heating element power. The heater power must be sufficient to heat the mash volume to 70 °C within 1 hour, and also be able to be optimally regulated.
3. Volume of a cube. This is an insulated container with a convenient size and transportable. To save room height, the diameter and height should be approximately the same. The amount of heated vapor depends on the volume of the cube. Beer kegs of 25, 30, 50 liters are convenient for home use. It is better not to use aluminum cans or tanks - aluminum quickly corrodes.
4. Coolers power. The cooler must fully cope with the condensation of vapors with minimal water flow. There is no exact formula for calculating the power of a cooler; the number of turns and length are selected experimentally. For our design, 30 centimeters of a tightly wound spiral from a 6 mm tube is sufficient. It is better to make a refrigerator with a power reserve and regulate the flow rate of cold water.

How to make plumbing fittings at home?

The steps are as follows:

• We purchase materials— 2 meters of 32 mm copper pipe; soldering tin; 15 cm of copper tube with a diameter of 8 mm, 2 meters of 6 mm tube; needle tap, plastic hose with a diameter of 8 mm. We purchase a ready-made nozzle or a substitute - ceramic gravel, metal sponge. The simplest connectors are clamps or brass threads.
• We make a king. We divide the pipe into sections of 1 meter, 0.3 meters, 0.5 meters. We solder a 10-centimeter piece to the lid of the cube, insert a mesh to hold the nozzle. At each joint we solder a clamp connection or plumbing thread made of copper or brass.

• Assembling the knot selection based on Alex Bokakob. On a tube 0.3 meters long, closer to the bottom edge, we make two corner cuts at 30 - 40 degrees. We insert copper plates into the cuts, cut them and solder them. We drill a hole for the liquid sampling tube; the hole should be at the bottom of the “pocket” of the bottom plate. On the extraction tube we solder a thread for a needle valve, which will regulate the extraction. We insert a “forward flow” tube to the side and just above the extraction hole. It is needed to control the reflux ratio. The direct flow conducts reflux from the selection “pocket” below, and the reflux drips into the center of the nozzle. The middle part of the forward flow is made of a transparent plastic tube.

• Assembling the cooler, for which we tightly wind a copper tube filled with sand onto a pin with a diameter of 12 mm. The pin is removed, the sand is shaken out and blown out. It turns out to be a spiral, one end of which needs to be threaded inside. The beginning and end of the tube are threaded into a brass “cup” with a thread and sealed - this is a stopper. The resulting refrigerator is inserted above the extraction unit, and the dripping reflux is collected by inclined planes.

• Before use, pour the nozzle into the drawer. The nozzle should not tightly clog the pipe; steam should pass through it freely.

• If desired, you can make a flow-through aftercooler. It consists of two tubes with a diameter of 10 and 12 mm. The length of the thin tube is 3 cm shorter than the thick one. The tubes are inserted into one another and the ends are sealed. The cold water inlet and outlet are soldered to a thick tube.

The column is assembled and ready for use. Before use, it is better to wash the parts with a weak solution of acetic acid using a brush.

Watch the video that shows how to assemble a distillation column with your own hands:

Operating modes

The modes are as follows:

1. Heating the mash to 72 -75 °C. The Dimroth cooler operates at minimum power.
2. Warming up the column and building “floors” of reflux condensation. Throughout the entire column there is active bubbling and steam and mass exchange. It is important to prevent oversaturation of the column, otherwise there will be “choke” - phlegm will clog the entire diameter of the drawer. We select the power of the heaters so that the temperature near the sampling unit is 71 - 75 °C.
3. Start of selection. When sampling by liquid, the slender pyramid in the drawer is inevitably disrupted, so the reflux ratio will need to be adjusted. The vapor density gradually decreases, and the intensity of selection also decreases. The first liquid selected—the “heads”—contains volatile ethereal components. The volume of the heads reaches 20% of the planned alcohol content.
4. Selection of main commercial alcohol goes until the smell of fusel oils appears.
5. If you want to extract everything possible from raw materials, we pull out the “tails” - the last part of the alcohol-containing vapors. They contain a large amount of fusel oils; the tails are mixed into “heads” and used in further rectifications.
6. Completion of rectification— turning off the heater, cooling the pipes.

The entire cycle, depending on the desired product quality, can last a relatively long time - from 8 hours to 2 days.

The average productivity of the column we assemble is 250-300 ml. 96° alcohol per hour.

Is it necessary to design the equipment?

The process of calculating, assembling and testing homemade equipment brings great pleasure. The result after edits and improvements will be guaranteed. However, the first difficulties or failures can cool the ardor of beginning rectifiers.

As a result of independent design, even minor nuances influence the result - packing density, angle of inclination, diameter of Dimroth tubes... If you need a quick and guaranteed result, it is better to purchase a ready-made device from the manufacturer. When purchasing, it is important to know the device, productivity and purpose of the device, so as not to buy a fake or ineffective device.

On May 28, 2019, a new moonshine still entered the market. Regardless of our review, this model will become one of the most popular on the moonshine market, because Luxstahl 6 is a brand, quality and reasonable price. We decided to objectively evaluate the new product and compare it with the device, which went on sale on April 19, 2019. Even if you don’t think about upgrading your equipment, then you should definitely look at our review and evaluate the advantages of new generation devices.

The new version of Luxstal 6 is a full-fledged distillation column with a 2-inch liquid selection unit, which can be transformed if desired in a classic mash column(the format to which we are all accustomed).

Surprises everyone new rectification mode, in which the refrigerator rises to the top, and the reflux condenser turns into a reflux aftercooler. In fact, there is nothing complicated in the device; you just need to understand the operating principle once and you can safely make VERY STRONG moonshine at home.

Appearance of Luxstal 6 in distillation column mode

Let's immediately decide on the full cost. Prices start from 19,990 rubles with a distillation cube of 20 liters. But even for the previous version this volume was not enough, so you need to take a cube of at least 37 liters, and this is already 23,990 rubles.

Prices for Luxstahl 6 from the manufacturer:

• Column WITHOUT a distillation cube - 12,990 rubles.
• Column with a 20 liter cube - 19,990 rubles.
• Column with a 37 liter cube - 23,990 rubles
• Column with a 50 liter cube - 26,990 rubles

There's good news: The column can be purchased separately.

If you have a tank with a 2-inch clamp connection, then you can buy only the top of the device and easily adapt it, saving about 10 thousand rubles.

Column in classic operating mode

The kit includes everything you need for comfortable work (hoses, adapters, seals, taps). Additional devices type gin baskets for flavoring moonshine And TEN'a They are sold separately, but you can work without them and not break off.

You will definitely need a good induction cooker (7-10 thousand rubles), since the power of the gas burner is not enough, and it simply will not fit on the kitchen stove (the minimum height will be 125 cm, and in rectification mode about 180 cm). Therefore, buying from scratch will cost you at least 30 thousand rubles.

New dome lid Luxstal 6 (increasing the usable usable volume of the cube)

Appearance of the Luxstal 6 column: how to work with it?

Everyone is surprised at first upside down refrigerator. It looks unconventional, but this system works perfectly. It is thanks to this technical solution that you can get closer to the moonshine strength of 96.6%. It is better to see the principle of operation clearly in the video, which is located just below.

In any case, you will have to distill the moonshine twice. The first is in potstill mode at maximum speed, and the second is with the selection of head, body and tail fractions. Therefore, no revolution happened, relax :)

Potstill mode (first distillation)

The device can operate in all known modes, it can be easily transformed using clamp connections. You don't need to be a very experienced moonshiner to connect two pipes using a clamp, so don't worry about it.

I suggest you watch the presentation from the official Youtube channel Luxstahl, where the manufacturer shows the main features and technical characteristics of the new model.

Pitfalls of Luxstal 6: where can problems arise?

Apart from our wives, nothing is ideal, so even such a beautiful column has a number of shortcomings that are worth focusing on.

Those same legendary quick releases from Luxstal.

1. You will not be able to work on a kitchen gas stove. The height of the apparatus assembled with a 37-liter tank will be 125 cm, and if you turn the refrigerator over and proceed to rectification, then all of 185 cm. I extremely doubt that all moonshiners in their houses have ceilings of 3 meters and there is no hood.
2. You will have to buy a sane induction cooker (7-10 thousand rubles). Smoothly following from the first point are the expenses that the owner of the Luxstahl 6 column will have to spend on. A stove with a gas cartridge or an incandescent element for 700 rubles is definitely not enough for you.
3. An extra false bottom, which increases the cost of the device. A few of my moonshiner friends use the second bottom to distill grain mash. It is enough to simply reduce the heating rate and slow down the distillation, after which the mash will foam much less. It’s clear that if you buy a device for 30 thousand, then plus or minus a thousand doesn’t matter, but it’s still an extremely delicate moment. It was possible to include this bottom in additional equipment.
4. Legendary quick releases Luxstal. Purchase fum tape in advance to secure the hoses tightly in the sockets. In the new version, their size has decreased by 2 mm (from 12 to 10 mm) and it seems that the problem has been solved, but if something suddenly leaks during the haul, then you won’t have time to run to the plumbing store.

Let's give credit to the manufacturer: the guys from Luxstal listen to the feedback from moonshiners and solve the most pressing problems that arose in previous versions.

But, as noted earlier, almost nothing is ideal, so even with such a sweetie as Luxstal 6, you will sometimes have to tinker.

Dimensions of the Luxstahl 6 moonshine still with a 37 liter tank

Comparison of competitors Luxstal 6 and Wayne 5: which is better?

If we talk about moonshine stills of the VERY new generation, then the competition so far is only between Luxstahl 6 and Wein 5. Manufacturers were the first to make a non-standard column shape, launch an excellent advertising campaign and enter the world market.

It's time to compare prices and characteristics of models and choose the device that is more efficient, faster and larger. Below you see comparison table, which lists the main technical points of both models.

As you can see in the table, Luxstal 6 wins noticeably by price (5 thousand rubles) and by possibility to purchase a column separately from a cube. A more efficient refrigerator and the inclusion of Panchenkov attachments also make it better.

But drawer is 13 cm shorter And the reflux condenser is 20% weaker. The aftercooler is able to process the reflux and turn it into pure alcohol; in any case, there is no need to rush when sampling the liquid, so this is not critical. But a shorter drawer plays a rather important role, because at 66 cm you can fit 1 more Panchenkov mesh and the degree of purification will be higher.

My subjective opinion: 13 cm drawers do not cost 5 thousand rubles. As additional equipment, Luxstal offers a second drawer of 50 cm for 2,990 rubles (with copper attachments included). And in any case, this will be more effective and cheaper than Wayne 5.

Therefore, Luxstal 6 clearly wins here.

Cool features of Luxstal 6: what has really been done conscientiously here?

A beautiful refrigerator - like a separate form of art

1. Embedded hole for the heating element on the lamp. If earlier manufacturers took money for embedding a heating element into a distillation cube, now this business has been put on stream and the outlet for the heating element is available in any configuration. This significantly reduced the headaches and costs of moonshiners.
2. Dome shaped lid. The useful volume of the tank increases, the circulation of vapors improves and the likelihood of splashing out of the mash is reduced. A modern solution that really works.
3. “Parrot” from a can as standard. A device for constantly monitoring the strength of moonshine during distillation comes as a gift, but the thing is really useful and necessary. They made it simpler and cheaper (from a can), but still effective. I thought this decision was very appropriate. No one on the market has ever offered this.
4. Very high quality welding. Luxsteel has always been famous for its very beautiful and high-quality connections, so everyone is already accustomed to this and no one will be surprised by this. But it's still very important.

The guys surprised the market and, in addition to the non-standard form, added pleasant bonuses that made the work of moonshiners much easier.

If it weren’t for this “gift” false bottom, then overall 10/10.

Budget Parrot from Luxstal 6

Video with the transfer to Luxstal 6: how does the device work in different modes?

We hope the manufacturer will not keep us impatient for long and will post a video of distillation today (May 29, 2019). In the comments on Youtube they promised to do this, so as soon as something appears, I will immediately publish everything here.

Where to buy original Luxstal 6 from the manufacturer

Prices on all sites will be the same, since Luxstahl has a lot of partners in Russia, but I will still leave a link to the manufacturer’s website - luxstahl.com

When ordering on this site, no one will deceive you and will sell you 100% original equipment.

If I order a new version of Luxstal for someone, it will definitely be on this site.

This step-by-step instruction is just one of the methods of distillation on a rectification (RK) or mash (BK) column, having mastered which you can obtain a highly purified product. However, for fruit, berry and grain distillates there are technological nuances, without knowing which you will end up with pure alcohol instead of an aromatic drink. Each type of nozzle has its own characteristics. Use the proposed method as a starting point for studying the operation of columns, practicing on sugar mash, or knowing that you will end up with rectified alcohol or a drink close to it.

Initial conditions. Raw alcohol is available - sugar mash distilled in a conventional distiller (moonshine still) and - RK or BK. In this case, the method of working on different types of columns is almost identical, and the differences are described in the appropriate places in the instructions.

Rectification scheme
An example of an assembled distillation column with a description of the main structural elements

Technology of home rectification on RK and distillation on BK

1. Fill the cube with raw alcohol to no more than 3/4 of the height, making sure to leave at least 10-12 cm of vapor zone. However, it is also impossible to fill in too little, so that at the end of the distillation process, when there is almost no liquid left in the cube, the heating elements do not emerge (become bare).

The strength of the vat bulk should be about 40%. This value is related to the minimum reflux ratio required to achieve the selection of a given strength. As the strength of the vat bulk increases, the minimum reflux ratio decreases nonlinearly, reaching a minimum at a strength of about 45%. Therefore, if you start the process with a strength of 60%, you will have to reduce the reflux ratio down to 45% of the strength, and then increase it as the still alcohol content is further depleted. That is, first increase the selection from 60 to 45% of the pot strength, and then reduce it. As a result, rectification will not only be more difficult to manage, but will also take longer.

2 Turn on the heating element at maximum power and bring the raw alcohol to a boil. The optimal power of the heating element for acceleration is 1 kW per 10 liters of bulk, then the time until boiling is 15 minutes for every 10 liters of bulk.

3. Shortly before the start of boiling, at a temperature of 75-80 °C in the cube, turn on the water supply. Once boiling begins, reduce heat to operating power. If the operating power is still unknown, reduce it to a level below the rated power by 200-300 W. Adjust the water supply so that the steam is completely condensed in the dephlegmator. The outlet water should be warm or hot. The column began to work for itself.

4. Monitor the values ​​on the thermometers in the column, wait for the readings to stabilize.

5. Determine the operating capacity of the column. To do this, after the temperatures have stabilized, check the pressure in the cube. You will need a pressure gauge up to 6000 Pa (0.06 kg/sq. cm, 400 mm water column), or a U-shaped differential pressure gauge; a pressure gauge from a tonometer will also work (if nothing else is available).

If the pressure is stable and does not increase, add heating power by 50-100 W. The pressure in the cube should rise and after 5-10 minutes stabilize at a new value. Repeat this operation until the pressure stops stabilizing and continues to increase, for example, after 20 minutes the increase continues. Remember the current readings - this is the power of the choke.

If there is a 50 mm column and a SPN 3.5 nozzle, then the last non-increasing pressure (in mm of water column) will be approximately equal to 20% of the column height in millimeters. If the pressure is 30-40% of the height of the column, this means that the phlegm is stuck, and then the process of choking continues. With a less dense nozzle with less holding capacity, the choking power will be higher.

If there is no pressure gauge, they are guided by the sounds of the column - when choked, the column may begin to sway, gurgling, increased noise can be heard, spontaneous emissions of alcohol through the communication tube with the atmosphere or into the refrigerator when taking off steam are also possible. For the first time, without experience, it is difficult to determine the flooding of the column, but it is possible.

After determining the power of the reflux, turn off the heating and wait a few minutes for the phlegm to flow into the cube. Turn on the heating at a power 10% less than the cold one. Wait until the temperature and pressure in the cube stabilize. If everything is in order, then this will be the operating power of the column.

If the operating power is much lower than the nominal one, this means that the nozzle or the supporting elements of the nozzle are not packed correctly into the column: the nozzle is too compacted, there may be a tangle, there are pockets of reflux concentration where steam stops it, flooding the column. In this case, you need to disassemble the column, pour in the nozzle, straighten out the confusion, then reassemble it and repeat the adjustment process.

The operating power of the column is determined once. In the future, the obtained value is used constantly, occasionally making adjustments.

With correctly selected operating power, the pressure in the cube will be the same every time. It does not depend on the diameter of the column and is usually 3.5 – 150-200 mm of water for the SPN packing. Art. for each meter of nozzle height, for SPN 4 - 250-300 mm of water. Art., for other attachments the value will be different.

When searching for operating power, you can also focus on the following practical data: for an etched heptagonal SPN 3.5, the operating power in Watt is approximately equal to 0.85-0.9 of the cross-sectional area of ​​the pipe in millimeters. If SPN 4 is used, the coefficient increases to 1.05-1.1. For less dense nozzles the coefficient will be higher.

6. After stabilizing at operating power, let the column work for itself for 40-60 minutes.

7. Set the selection of “heads” at a speed of 50 ml/hour for a 40 mm column, for 50 mm – 70 ml/hour, for 60 mm – 100 ml/hour, for 63 mm – 120 ml/hour. Provided that SPN is used.

The time for selecting “heads” is determined based on the volume of the bulk: 12 minutes (0.2 hours) for each liter of 40% raw alcohol. It must be remembered that this is not distillation on a conventional apparatus with a coil - in the columns there is a separation into fractions and their sequential output to the selection in a concentrated form.

Recommendations such as 3-5% of absolute alcohol are average values, but no one has canceled them, and precise control of the end of the selection of “heads” is done based on the smell of the output. It should be remembered that the time and speed of selecting “heads” are unrelated quantities. If you select the “heads” at twice the speed, they will simply end up in a less concentrated form.

General principle: when selecting any fraction, you cannot take more from the column than enters the selection zone. This will prevent disruption of the separation of fractions along the height of the column.

8. Changing the extraction rate is carried out only by adjusting the water supply to the reflux condenser for columns with steam extraction above the reflux condenser. If the column has liquid extraction, then simply a withdrawal valve.

The heating power should always remain constant; this ensures stability in the amount of steam supplied to the column and the operation of the column as a whole.

9. Select headrests - this is second-grade alcohol, slightly contaminated with head fractions. Its quantity is equal to 1-2 volumes of alcohol held by the nozzle in the column (150-500 ml). In essence, the nozzle is washed to remove any remaining “heads” and intermediate fractions accumulated in the column. To do this, the selection is set at 1/3 of the nominal level (about 500 ml/hour). Second grade alcohol is suitable for re-distillation.

10. Go to the “body” selection: set the initial selection speed equal to the nominal or slightly higher. The nominal speed (ml/hour) is numerically approximately equal to the operating heating power (in W). For example, if the operating power is 1800 W, then the initial rate of “body” selection is 1800 ml per hour. Towards the end of the selection, the power is reduced to 600 ml/hour,

11. Monitor the process using thermometer readings and pressure in the cube. There are several methods. The simplest one is to navigate by the temperature difference between the lower (20 cm from the bottom of the nozzle) and middle (at half or 2/3 of the column height) thermometers. After the start of the “body” selection, the difference between these readings should not change by more than 0.3 degrees. As soon as the difference increases by more than the accepted value, you need to reduce the sampling rate by 70-100 ml.

Special cases: if there is only one thermometer, act in exactly the same way, focusing on changes in its readings. For the lower one - a change of 0.3 degrees, for the upper one - 0.1 degrees. This is a less accurate method as it is sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure.

If there are no thermometers in the column at all, they focus on the change in temperature in the cube - reduce the selection by 6-10% after increasing the temperature in the cube by every degree. This is a good method that allows you to stay ahead of the temperature rises in the column.

12. After selecting half of the “body”, more and more often it is necessary to reduce the selection speed. When the temperature in the cube rises above 90 °C, fusel and other intermediate impurities leave the cube and accumulate in the nozzle. To cut them off more clearly, before reducing the selection, you can let the column work for itself for several minutes, then resume selection after the temperature difference returns to its previous level, naturally reducing the selection rate. This will make it possible to more clearly cut off the “tails” by creating an alcohol buffer in the selection zone.

13. When the selection decreases by 2-2.5 times relative to the initial one, the temperature regularly leaves the operating range, with the temperature in the cube being 92-93 °C. These are signals for the bookmaker that it’s time to move on to selecting “tails”. On the RK, due to the greater holding capacity, when loading less than 20 volumes of nozzle, selection can be continued up to 94-95 °C, but often the process is stopped, saving time and nerves.

Change the container, set the sampling speed to approximately half or 2/3 of the nominal one. Although these are “tails”, you need to try to take a minimum of impurities. Select up to 98 °C cubed. The "tails" are suitable for the second distillation.

14. Rinse the column. After selecting the “tails,” let the column work for itself for 20-30 minutes, during which time the remaining alcohol will collect at the top, then turn off the heating. The alcohol flowing down will wash the nozzle.

You also need to periodically steam the nozzle, removing any remaining fusel oils. This can be done by driving the raw alcohol “to dryness”, then continuing the selection at a decent speed until an odorless distillate comes out. The second method is to pour clean water into the cube and steam the column.