The device of the coal column. How effective is a coal column for cleaning moonshine
The coal column for cleaning moonshine is rightfully considered the simplest and most effective way receiving quality product so beloved in our country. At first glance it seems that getting homemade alcoholic drink This is a task for a first grader. However, in fact, in order for such a drink to really be of high quality, it is not enough just to overtake it, it must also be well cleaned.
1
Alcohol-containing liquid, obtained immediately from the moonshine, is unsuitable for consumption and even dangerous to health. It contains many chemical compounds that are simply toxic to the human body. Primary moonshine may contain the following hazardous components: methyl alcohol; acetic, proptonic, crotonic and butyric aldehydes; mixture of organic acids and esters ( fusel oils); diethyl, oil-ethyl and other esters.
Research on the impact of such hazardous substances showed that the following safe norms: fusel oils - no more than 0.004%; aldehydes - not more than 0.015%; esters - no more than 55 mg/l; organic acids - up to 0.015%. In order to achieve such indicators, purification of the primary distillate is necessary. For this purpose, various sorbents are used. One of the most common and effective sorbents is Activated carbon. In branded filters, in addition to carbon, additional disinfectant and sorbent materials are used.
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2
The task of the cleaning filter is to absorb the molecules of harmful substances, while not deteriorating taste qualities, that is, there should be no smacks and smells. Moonshine impurities have different structure and molecular size, while Various types coal are able to absorb molecules of a certain size. In this regard, it is necessary to choose the right grade of activated carbon for the cleaning filter.
Animal bone charcoal is able to absorb only small molecules, which does not allow it to effectively deal with fusel oils with large particles. Coal is the best option. plant origin. Many people believe that it is safe and good option is activated charcoal in the form of tablets sold in a pharmacy. In fact, this is far from The best way, since such material is obtained, as a rule, from animal bone. In addition, starch is used to bind the coal powder, which, in contact with alcohol, will give an aftertaste.
Animal bone charcoal
In other words, for a cleaning filter, it is recommended charcoal composition. Perfect option - birch charcoal or charcoal of fruit trees. The finished material is sold in the form of coal for winemakers BAU-A, OU-A. Such a substance is obtained by pyrolysis of birch or fruit wood, and it is most effective when cleaning moonshine. You can use coal components in another form: ready-made coal for barbecue, cartridge for water filters, gas mask filter, gas analyzer blocks, aquarium filter. Filter components should be used with caution: they may contain additional ingredients that can create an unnecessary aftertaste in the drink.
Charcoal can be made by hand. To do this, it is enough to kindle a fire from birch or fruit firewood. They should burn well, and the coals are collected, while there is enough heat, and tightly closed in a container. After complete cooling, the ash is removed, and the coal pieces are crushed into fractions no larger than 5-6 mm and sifted with a sieve.
3
The carbon column (or filter) can be made very simply. The device is based on plastic bottle(1-1.5 l). The bottom of the bottle is cut off, and holes are made in the lid with an awl, by analogy with a watering can. Cotton wool is placed in the bottle neck, and the conical part is covered with several layers of gauze. After that, coal is poured in a layer about 9-12 cm thick. A gauze layer is laid on top of the coal column to prevent the rise of coal dust.
- homemade coal: 55 g per 1 liter of moonshine;
- coal type BAU: 12-13 g per 1 liter of pervach.
Coal type BAU for cleaning moonshine
Before backfilling, the coal composition is washed in water and cleaned of ash and dust. Such a coal column effectively cleans moonshine, and for guaranteed cleaning it is recommended to pass it through the filter several times.
In the case when the cotton wool in the neck did not stop the ingress of coal dust, the liquid becomes cloudy. Such a drink must be additionally passed through a cotton filter.
4 Standard devices
For high-quality cleaning of moonshine from all harmful impurities you can purchase a standard filter designed for this purpose, or use filters for drinking water. Quite often, water filters such as Barrier and Aquaphor are used. In such devices, activated carbon is used as the main sorbent, and disinfectants (ion-exchange resins, iodine-containing substances) and ion-exchange fibers are additionally present.
Nowadays, you can choose specific devices. They are available in the form of a filter mounted on a jar or made on legs. And also there are universal options. The last type of apparatus includes the Alcovar filter with a carbon column. The height of the column is 37 cm with a diameter of 5.1 cm. The body is made of of stainless steel and can be fixed on top of the jar or put on legs. You can note the device Dobrovar. In general, you can choose the design at your discretion, and the principle of operation is approximately the same for them.
Coal filtration of primary moonshine allows you to get rid of dangerous impurities, which makes the drink safe and brings it closer in quality to vodka. Craft coal column DIY is very simple, and you can use ready-made coal or make it yourself.
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If conditions allow, coal for moonshine can be made with your own hands . It is enough to prepare fruit or birch firewood, build a fire, let it burn well. When the firewood turns into pieces of red heat, they are closed in a metal container with a lid and left to cool completely. After that, the ash is removed, and the remaining pieces of coal are ground to a fraction of 4-6 mm, sifted, and placed in a filter housing or a self-made coal column.
You can buy beverage cleaning material online. Ideally this is:
- Birch activated carbon brand BAU-A;
- Coconut activated carbon BAU-LV.
The latter is used and specially designed for industrial cleaning alcohol.
The history of cleaning moonshine
At all times in our country, moonshine has been a popular drink. And even now, well and lovingly expelled, purified, infused with herbs, coffee beans, red pepper, the drink will give odds to factory products.
Even during the time of King Peas, people were looking for ways to improve the quality and taste of moonshine. For this we used:
- Cow's milk (1 cup per 3 liters of product);
- Potassium permanganate, which precipitates harmful oils.
They knew then about the ability of charcoal to ennoble the drink. And at the end of the VIII century, the Russian scientist-chemist T.E. Lovits, the successor of M.V. Lomonosov, made an important discovery for science - the adsorption of dissolved substances by charcoal.
Thus, cleaning moonshine with charcoal has scientific rationale, and the effectiveness of the method is time-tested.
Strong drink cleaner
Some "experienced" distillers are aware of the properties of coal, but purify the product by pouring a certain amount of adsorbent into the container and shaking it. The effect is negligible, and it also takes time for subsequent filtration.
To clean moonshine well from harmful substances, it must be driven through a thick layer of adsorbent. The coal column works according to this principle.
Equipment for cleaning the product is sold in stores, but their cost is high. In our country, where every second man is Kulibin or left-handed, you can make a reliable filter from improvised means. To do this, you will need a plastic bottle, a cotton pad (tampon) or coffee filters, glass jar 3-5 liter.
If you are seriously engaged in the manufacture of moonshine, it is better to buy, find, get a piece of stainless steel pipe for the column body. Weld legs to it, the inner filling is similar to the option with a plastic bottle.
"bottle" design
A do-it-yourself coal column is made for cleaning moonshine as follows: a bottom part 2-3 centimeters high is cut off from plastic 2 or 3 liter dishes. Several holes are drilled in the screw cap.
A cotton pad is inserted into the neck and the lid is twisted. The bottle is turned over and inserted into three liter jar and 1/3 filled with charcoal. The coal column is filled with moonshine, almost to the very top.
Some pressure is created, the moonshine passes through the coal, and harmful oils are retained by its grains. Over time, the dust washed out of the coal clogs the cotton wool. In this case, the coal is removed from the column, the cotton wool is replaced, and the coal is returned to the column.
In this way, moonshine can be filtered several times. At the same time, the replacement of cotton wool, coal before each run is not out of place, and the final product only benefits from this.
Water filter option
If a small batch of product is intended for filtering and cleaning oils, cleaning moonshine through a home-made coal column can be simplified.
For a conventional household water filter with a jug, the upper part of the cartridge is cut off with a hacksaw. The contents are thrown away, since this coal contains water softening additives in the form of small granules, alcohol will dissolve them and they will fall into the final drink.
A cotton pad is placed on the bottom, new coal is covered in layers of 2-3 cm high to the top of the cartridge and carefully compacted. From above, so that coal does not float, another cotton pad is placed, after which the filter is inserted into the jug, and the process of cleaning the drink can begin.
metal column
You can make a metal coal column with your own hands, having welding skills. The principle of operation of a stainless steel column is the same as that of a plastic column.
Only the drink, according to experts, is cleaned better in such a device. This is motivated by the fact that moonshine is still an aggressive substance, and polyethylene, no matter how durable it is, still emits harmful substances.
Redistillation
You need to filter "raw" moonshine 10-15 days before use or before redistillation if such is planned.
Before re-distillation, the degree of the product is lowered - diluted with rain, melt or spring water to the desired degree. The diluted alcohol is then passed through a makeshift column twice.
Conclusion
Using charcoal is a recognized, harmless, time-tested, highly effective method. The best option for this is coal filtration columns, which you can buy in a store or do it yourself.
Stainless steel carbon column
The history of cleaning alcohol with charcoal goes back to the distant past. Back in 1785, the Russian chemist T.E. Lovitz was engaged in research on the interaction of alcohol with coals. In addition to coal, he experimented with food acids, vinegar, and honey. Most top scores obtained by reacting alcohol with charcoal. All his theoretical developments and practical research formed the basis traditional methods making vodka
There is an opinion that the most best coal for purification of alcohol is obtained from birch. This is not entirely true. Late 18th and 19th centuries best brands vodka was purified with linden, alder, oak, poplar charcoal. Many distilleries owned by nobles and merchants used beech and alder coal in the preparation of vodka. But at present it is produced mainly from birch, as the most accessible and cheap material. Even the pharmacy is mostly birch.
This suggests that at home you can use any coal, except for pharmacy. A lot is added to it during manufacture. various additives such as starch and talc. These impurities, when vodka passes through the filter, react with alcohol, and not only worsen its taste, but can also form some undesirable compounds that are very toxic to the body and adversely affect hangover syndrome.
Birch charcoal is the most popular
By the way, hangover syndrome occurs not only with excessive use vodka and moonshine. In most cases, its appearance depends on the quality of the drink.
Coal column device
Early models of industrial coal columns ran on raw coal - ordinary charcoal, which was used to light samovars and cook food. Such coal is rich in various resins, which worsen its quality; during prolonged interaction with alcohol, they reacted and significantly worsened its organoleptic properties.
The first models of coal columns were made in the form of huge copper cylinders, 70 centimeters in diameter and 4 meters high. All sizes were selected experimentally and have been preserved almost to our time. The difference is that the early modifications of the cylinders, which used raw coal, were mounted in the form of series batteries of 4-5 columns, in which the water-alcohol mixture was kept for a certain time.
The transit time through the entire battery was about 24 hours. During this time, vodka was not only purified, but also almost completely changed its taste. When coal interacted with vodka, active redox processes took place, it was enriched with microelements, and new components appeared in it in the form food acids, for example, acetic acid. But part of the alcohol did not have time to completely oxidize, and acetaldehyde remained in it - an intermediate element of the process.
How to make a coal column with your own hands
The invention of conducting vodka through a column under pressure made it possible to improve the quality. This technology began to be used in the 30s of the last century. This made it possible not only to large quantity raw materials per unit of time, but reduce the size of the column. The residence time of the raw material in the column ranged from 30 minutes to 1 hour. After numerous studies, this time is considered optimal for complete cleaning vodka, changes in taste and quality without the formation of harmful substances in it, such as acetaldehyde.
This was made possible by the invention of the carbon activation process. It consists in processing with superheated water vapor, as a result of which all resins and foreign compounds are washed out, and the number of pores and their size becomes larger. In do-it-yourself columns, only activated carbon from birch or coconut is used, so you should not be afraid of chemical contamination of moonshine.
At home, a pressure sweep is not used. A do-it-yourself coal column for cleaning moonshine is built on the principle of gravity flow under the pressure of gravity. It is a vertical pipe made of copper or stainless steel with a diameter of 5-10 centimeters and a height of more than half a meter. A branch pipe is installed at the bottom of the column, which silicone hose connected to the intake tank. The top is open. For vertical installation of the column, three or four legs are welded or screwed on studs at the bottom.
If there is no suitable pipe at hand, and for some reason it is difficult to buy it, then you can use a glass funnel big size, with a cone capacity of about 3 liters. These are sold in stores and on laboratory glassware websites. At the bottom of the cone, a stainless steel strainer with small cells is installed so that coal does not wash out and spill out.
The video will help you get acquainted with the coal column in detail:
Principle of operation
The column works like this - first, activated carbon is poured up to half the height of the column. Then moonshine is poured to the top, and the column is closed with a lid. Do not close too tightly so that the alcohol does not evaporate, but air can enter inside. When the liquid moves down, a vacuum is created, and when sealed lid the cleaning process may stop.
The productivity of the column is up to 1 liter of moonshine per hour. The device of the indicated dimensions contains up to 2 liters of drink, which is optimal amount- the column with coal cannot work more than 2 hours. The pores become clogged with impurities and filtration stops. The performance of the column is restored after 8-10 hours.
On one filling with high-quality coal, which can be bought on the Internet, a do-it-yourself column can clean up to 30 liters of moonshine, after which the coal should be replaced. You can only use wood or coconut, specially made for filtering alcohol-containing liquids. Bone, or, even worse, coal from gas masks or industrial filters, should never be used.
You often see homemade charcoal columns made from PET bottles on the Internet. It is absolutely impossible to do this. Polyethylene reacts with alcohol, and instead of purified vodka, you get a toxic chemical mixture. It is also not recommended to filter "heads" and "tails" on the column. They quickly clog the pores of the coal bed and the filter becomes useless.
To achieve the desired effect, moonshine should be passed through the column twice.
Among the masters of home brewing, the most popular material for getting rid of other impurities is. A made coal column for cleaning moonshine with your own hands, or a purchased one, copes equally well with purification of an alcohol-containing product. Next, consider how to make a coal column for moonshine stills on one's own.
When distilling the mash, along with alcohol, a certain amount of impurities harmful to health, the so-called fusel oils, enters the refrigerator. In order to reliably get rid of them, three methods are used:
- Mechanical selection of impurities. He copes with this task "perfectly well". Partially get rid of fusel oils.
- Secondary distillation divided into factions. Most of all harmful substances are in the "heads" and "tails", which are cut off during the distillation process.
- Filtration. In moonshine brewing, several cleaning methods are used. Among the "doubtful" substances we name potassium permanganate, milk, egg white, oil. And absolutely proved its effectiveness and harmlessness - carbon filter.
Reference. IN industrial production alcohol, it is coal columns that are used for purification so that we can buy a quality product.
Selection and arrangement of a carbon filter
Shops specializing in the sale of home brewing products offer a good selection of both coal columns and consumables for them - different kinds charcoal. Therefore, if you wish to have a home the best equipment for moonshine and means allow you - it's easier to buy.
The standard column consists of:
- pipes(usually made of stainless steel), which is untwisted in order to periodically change the coal;
- top fitting connecting with a hose coming out of the refrigerator;
- bottom fitting through which ready-made, purified moonshine flows;
- legs - supports in order to conveniently substitute under the column three-liter jar. Not all models have legs.
When choosing, focus on ease of use. Also, given that the device of the coal column is as simple as possible, it will not be difficult to make it yourself.
Do-it-yourself coal column
You can independently make two types of columns: to clean moonshine during the race or for final disposal of the final product from fusel oils after distillation.
The second option is simpler, and also allows you to do finer cleaning. And even better - use both settings in order to obtain exceptionally pure alcohol.
Coal preparation
Buy or make your own charcoal.
Note! For the column, only coal obtained from birch or coconut tree(the latter, for obvious reasons, you can only buy)!
It is undesirable to “refuel” it with barbecue coals bought on the occasion, since combustible materials are often added to them.
Therefore, it is best to buy special coal for filling columns.
On the Internet they offer it for these purposes. in small pieces(up to 1 cm in diameter) - in this form it is only suitable for a column connected to a distiller.
To use it for filtering finished moonshine, grinding required.
Advice. Put the coal taken from the fire or bought into a bag and beat with a hammer. Then select big chunks- they can be broken again.
Sift what's left through a sieve. Use the finest dust for the cleaning ready-made moonshine, the fraction is slightly larger (ideally - like small cereals) - for filtering.
Column manufacturing
Before proceeding with the creation of a coal column with your own hands, it is necessary to prepare the materials:
1. For column connected to the distiller:
- food stainless steel pipe up to 0.5 m long, 100 mm in diameter;
- screw cap with fitting (top);
- non-removable cover with fitting (welded or soldered);
- filter-mesh fixed at the bottom;
- legs.
2. For filtering alcohol distillate:
- 2 liter plastic bottle with cut off bottom. Preferably - not to the end;
- cotton wool or cotton pads.
3. Coal is needed for any column model.
Everything is more or less clear with the connected column, it is the “last link” in the chain. It is important to fix the finished and tucked fixture strictly vertically.
A column from a plastic bottle is prepared as follows:
- The bottom is not cut off completely to make a kind of lid. It is needed so that the coal does not float when you pour the liquid.
- Holes are made in the lid with an awl.
- Cotton wool or cotton pads are inserted into the neck and the cap is screwed on.
- The bottle is filled with crushed coal.
- The neck is inserted into a jar (preferably a three-liter one).
Attention. Choose a PET bottle with an elongated neck and make sure it fits securely without distortion.
- Moonshine is poured on top of the coal.
Filtration
Alcohol through the holes in the lid will first pass in a trickle, but as the cotton wool is clogged with dust, it will only drip. It is possible that the dripping will stop with time.
In this case, you need to drain the moonshine remaining in the bottle into the dishes, unscrew the cap and replace the cotton wool, after which the process should be continued.
cleaning
Filtered moonshine, for completeness of cleaning, you need already in the bank fill with coal dust. Approximate calculation: 3 - 4 spoons per three-liter jar of alcohol.
Carefully! You don’t need to pour a lot of coal, because with an excess, by “binding” fusel oils, it can “steal” the degree.
Should be cleansed from a couple of days to a week. The jar needs to be shaken periodically. By the end of cleaning, the alcohol should be transparent, and coal dust layer on the bottom. After that, you need to filter through cotton wool, discs or filter paper.
Reference. Pharmaceutical activated carbon is the least suitable for cleaning, since it also contains talc, sometimes starch. Many complain that this product gives bitterness to the drink.
The principle of operation of the carbon filter
Why is charcoal an excellent sorbent? During combustion, wood materials burn unevenly, as a result of which the remaining coal microcavities are formed.
They "capture" high-molecular organic compounds(the same fusel oils) and hold them, leaving a product clean from organic matter.
Passing through such a "sieve", the moonshine is completely cleaned and leaves all harmful substances in the coal.
Due to which we will use not "sivukha", but clean and natural product , with moderate consumption, only a beneficial effect on the body.
Useful videos
The video below shows a self-made coal column, how to use it when cleaning moonshine:
See how to make a coal column for cleaning moonshine at home from improvised means, how it affects the taste of homemade alcohol:
How to make a glass charcoal column from a bottle, see:
How do you use charcoal to clean moonshine? Share in the comments. Like the article if it was useful to you, share the information with your friends on social networks.
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