is it possible to distill ethanol to 100% or would it just evaporate under the heat

it is indeed possible

 

although a 1`st distilation will only ever give 98% pure as it forms an azeotrope with water. but with the addition of Calcium metal to this 98% it`ll "lock up" that 2%, and so on a second distilation, you`ll get 100% pure alc (don`t drink it all at once, save me some!)

lol, is there any other metal i could add or even a compound like calcium chloride ect

calcium chloride will give away it`s water on heating. you could probaly use Calcium Oxide though, the hydroxide formed takes quite alot of heat to break down.

 

Calcium Metal is the prefered method though

 

edit: and forget any ideas of using sodium or potassium metals, it`ll strip the OH in the alc and replace it!

ok ill just make some calcium metal through electrolysis, how much would i need

how long is a peice of string?

 

there`s no possible way anyone can answer that based on the data you`ve given LOL

how would you extract Ca? in a kitchen using such aparatus that is.

Yipes! Pure calcium metal seems to be quite expensive. Most likely, a calcium compound of some sort would be a better solution (as suggested earlier). Or, if you have money, you can always buy 100g calcium from kno3.com, it costs £65 though.

you couldn`t do it realisticly, not safely and get a good yeild for your efforts.

i know the yield was the concern that is why i wanted to know how much calcium i would need but i reckon 98% concentrated will do fine

it would still be impossible to determine the amount needed since you`ve not provided a Quantity of alc that you wish to re-distill.

 

a gram may be fine for 500ml for instance, but would do little for a 30 litre barrel!

ill just work on a gram for every 500ml of ethanol and so electrolysis will be fine for the amount that i need

Whoa! wait a min, that gram per 500ml was an EXAMPLE! NOT an answer

 

it was an arbitrary figure used to make a point

lol oh right well lets say i have 1ltr of 98% ethanol how much calcium would i need

I`ve just locked this thread until you all read this.

 

WHAT are you on about? this is NOT the place to be having private chats regarding another matter, that`s what PM is for or another thread.

 

keep this one on topic, read all you have to read now, as I`ll be deleting the non relevant posts in 5 mins.

 

 

 

OK Carry ON, and "keep it Real" this time!

ok sorry about that any way like i said before lets say i have 1ltr of 98% ethanol how much calcium would i need to add

well 2% of 1 litre is 20ml.

 

so work out how much calcium metal is needed to react with 20ml of water to make CaOH, and that`ll be your answer, I CBA to get the calc and read up on the periodic table LOL

 

it`s advisible to add the Ca metal in excess though (not much, just a little over).

after all of this there is one crucial piece of information i have not asked.......what temperature should i heat the ethanol to distill it

the BP of ethanol/water mix is 78.5c if memeory serves.

 

not 100% sure about the pure ethanol though?

Hmmh, I remember when I debated about if 100% ethanol is possible with a couple of my friends. So, 98% is achievable with just distilling, and when calcium is added, even the last drops of water are removed making a theorically 100% solution (when distilled once more)?

 

Edit: You are indeed correct YT. 100% ethanol has a boiling point of about 78 degrees Celsius.

yeah, the calcium is JUST reactive enough to remove the water, but not enough to replace the OH in the Ethanol (and even if it could, it`s BP would be considerably higher anyway) )

We do some alcohol studies in my laboratory. Thus, we have solutions of 100% alcohol. My professor always says however, that once the bottle is opened technically it is no loner 100% alcohol as it will absorb some water from the atmosphere and be diluted (a negligible amount mind you, but nonetheless).

he`s perfectly correct

There is only one solution for this; we got to make ourselves a helium atmosphere where to drink it.

of Course!

 

and then we not only sound stupid as devils with drink, but the helium too