How to Distill Ethanol or Grain Alcohol

How to Distill Ethanol or Grain Alcohol Ethanol is also called ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol. Its made from a fermented mixture of corn, yeast, sugar, and water. The resulting alcohol is 100 to 200 proof (200 proof is pure alcohol). In addition to use in the lab, ethanol is a popular fuel alternative and gasoline additive. Because it is flammable, ethanol can be prohibitively expensive to ship, so it may make sense to distill your own. Anyone can have a still, but be advised you may need to get a permit in order to make ethanol. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 3 - 10 days, sometimes longer How-To Steps If you are starting with whole corn, you first need to convert the cornstarch into sugar by sprouting the corn. Place the corn in a container, cover it with warm water, and drape a cloth over the container to prevent contamination and conserve heat. Ideally, the container will have a slowly draining hole at the bottom. Add warm water from time to time as the liquid level falls. Maintain the setup ~3 days or until the corn has sprouts about 2 inches long.Allow the sprouted corn to dry. Then grind it into meal. Alternatively, start with cornmeal. Other grains can be prepared in much the same way (e.g. rye mash).Mash or mush is made by adding boiling water to the corn meal. The mash is kept warm to start the fermentation process. Yeast is added, if available (half pound yeast per 50 gallons of mash, for example), and sugar (variable recipe). With yeast, fermentation takes about 3 days. Without yeast, fermentation could require more than 10 days. The mash is ready to run once it stops bu bbling. The mash has been converted into carbonic acid and alcohol. It is called wash or beer or sour mash. The wash is placed into a cooker, which has a lid that is pasted shut so that it has a seal which can be blown off should internal pressure become too great. At the top of the cooker, there is a copper pipe or arm that projects to one side and tapers down from a 4-5 inch diameter to the same diameter as the worm (1 to 1-1/4 inch). The worm could be made by taking a 20 ft length of copper tubing, filling it with sand and stopping the ends, and then coiling it around a fence post.The sand prevents the tubing from kinking while being coiled. Once the worm is formed, the sand is flushed out of the tube. The worm is placed in a barrel and sealed to the end of the arm. The barrel is kept full of cold, running water, to condense the alcohol. Water runs in the top of the barrel and out an opening at the bottom. A fire is maintained under the cooker to vaporize the alcohol in the wash.The ethanol vaporizes at 173Â °F, which is the target temperature for the mixture. The spirit will rise to t he top of the cooker, enter the arm, and will be cooled to the condensation point in the worm. The resulting liquid is collected at the end of the worm, traditionally into glass jars. This fluid will be translucent, and about the color of dark beer. The very first liquid contains volatile oil contaminants in addition to alcohol. After that, liquid is collected. The containers of liquid collected from over the wash are called singlings. Liquid collected toward the end of this run is called low wine. Low wine can be collected and returned to the still to be cooked again. The initial collections are higher proof than those collected as the distillation progresses.The singlings tend to have impurities and require double-distillation, so once the low wine has been run to the point where a tablespoon or so thrown on a flame wont burn (too low proof), the heat is removed from the still and the cooker is cleaned out. The liquid remaining in the still, the backings or slop, can be recovered and poured over new grain (and sugar, water, and possibly malt) in a mash barrel for future distillations. Discard mash after no more than eight uses.The singlings are poured into the cooker and the still is returned to operation. The initial collecti ons can approach pure alcohol (200 proof), with the end collections, using the flash test on the flame, at about 10 proof. The desired proof depends on the application. The highest proof usually obtained from a still is 190 proof. For using alcohol as a fuel alternative, for example, addition purification with a sieve may be required to obtain 200 proof ethanol. Tips If you live in the United States, a permit may be required in order to legally distill ethanol.Stills traditionally were operated close to a water source, like a stream or river, because the cool water was used to condense the alcohol in the tubing (called the worm)Stills needed to have removable tops so that they wouldnt explode when pressure built up from heating the mash. What You Need 25 lb corn meal or 25 lb shelled whole corn100 lb sugar (sucrose)100 gallons water6 oz yeast

Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files

Basic Japanese Language Vocabulary with Audio Files When you are learning Japanese, it is essential to hear the words spoken. These audio words and phrases are grouped by topic and you can use them to learn to speak Japanese. Hiragana Pronunciation with Audio Files The following tables contains the 46 basic sounds found in Japanese. Click the link to listen the pronunciation of each hiragana character. (a) (i) (u) (e) (o) (ka) (ki) (ku) (ke) (ko) (sa) (shi) (su) (se) (so) (ta) (chi) (tsu) (te) (to) (na) (ni) (nu) (ne) (no) (ha) (hi) (fu) (he) (ho) (ma) (mi) (mu) (me) (mo) (ya) (yu) (yo) (ra) (ri) (ru) (re) (ro) (wa) (o) (n) Katakana Pronunciation with Audio Files   Here are the 46 basic Japanese sounds. Click the link to listen the pronunciation. (a) (i) (u) (e) (o) (ka) (ki) (ku) (ke) (ko) (sa) (shi) (su) (se) (so) (ta) (chi) (tsu) (te) (to) (na) (ni) (nu) (ne) (no) (ha) (hi) (fu) (he) (ho) (ma) (mi) (mu) (me) (mo) (ya) (yu) (yo) (ra) (ri) (ru) (re) (ro) (wa) (o) (n) Verbs Learning verbs when learning a new language is obviously very important. In the table below I have created a list of some of the most important verbs that someone new to Japanese should know.   If you are not familiar with Japanese verbs at all, follow this link to learn about verb groups and conjugations.  If you would like to hear the pronunciation of each verb, click the link and small audio file will play for you. Group 1 Verbs Dictionary Form(Basic Form) English Formal Form The ~ te Form aruku to walk arukimasu aruite asobu to play asobimasu asonde au to meet aimasu atte hairu to enter hairimasu haitte hajimaru to begin hajimarimasu hajimatte iku to go ikimasu itte kaeru to return kaerimasu kaette kakaru to take kakarimasu kakatte kaku to write kakimasu kaite kau to buy kaimasu katte kiku to listen kikimasu kiite matsu to wait machimasu matte motsu to have mochimasu motte narau to learn naraimasu naratte nomu to drink nomimasu nonde okuru to send okurimasu okutte omou to think omoimasu omotte oyogu to swim oyogimasu oyoide shiru to know shirimasu shitte suwaru to sit suwarimasu suwatte tatsu to stand tachimasu tatte tomaru to stop tomarimasu tomatte tsuku to arrive tsukimasu tsuite uru to sell urimasu utte utau to sing utaimasu utatte wakaru to understand wakarimasu wakatte warau to laugh waraimasu waratte yomu to read yomimasu yonde Group 2 Verbs kangaeru to think kangaemasu kangaete miru to see mimasu mite neru to sleep nemasu nete oshieru to teach oshiemasu oshiete taberu to eat tabemasu tabete Group 3 Verbs kuru to come kimasu kite suru to do shimasu shite At the Restaurant Click the link to hear the pronunciation.   ueitoresu waitress Irasshaimase. Welcome to our store. (Used as a greeting to customers in stores.) nanmei sama how many people (It is very polite way of saying how many people. Nannin is less formal.) futari two people kochira this way Sumimasen. Excuse me. menyuu menu Onegaishimasu. Please do me a favor. (A convenient phrase used when making a request.) Shou shou omachi kudasai. Please wait a moment. (formal expression) Douzo. Here you are. Doumo. Thanks. go-chuumon order boku I (informal, it is used by men only) sushi no moriawase assorted sushi hitotsu one (Native Japanese number) o-nomimono beverage Ikaga desu ka. Would you like ~? biiru beer morau to receive Kashikomarimashita. Certainly. (Literally means, I understand.) nanika anything Iie, kekkou desu. No, thank you. Rooms and Furnishings Click the link to hear the pronunciation.   heya room ima living room daidokoro kitchen shinshitsu bedroom toire bathroom genkan entrance niwa garden kabe wall tenjou ceiling yaneura attic yuka floor mado window Furniture kagu furniture tsukue desk hondana book shelf isu chair tansu chest of drawers beddo bed todana cupboard Appliances reizouko refrigerator reitouko freezer sentakuki washer kansouki dryer oobun oven denshi renji microwave suihanki rice cooker soujiki vacuum cleaner terebi TV More Audio Phrases and Words by Topic Animals: From bird to zebra, heres the menagerie. Body: These words are especially useful if you need medical help. Calendar: Months, days of the week, and seasons. Colors: All colors are treated as nouns. Listen to the rainbow. Dates: These follow a basic rule of the number plus nichi. Family: Learn how to talk about your family and somebody elses family. Foods: Basics for food, meals, and phrases related to eating. Greetings: The basic phrases you will need. Introducing People: Learn how to introduce people and hear the vocabulary and expressions. Location: Dont wander about lost. You need these phrases to get directions. Numbers: How to count in Japanese. On the Phone: How to speak a phone number, plus phrases you will need for a phone call in Japanese. Tea: How to order tea and how to  pronounce  different types of tea. Time: How to express the time of day and ask and answer questions about time. Travel: Words and expressions youll need when youre on the move. Useful Expressions: Simple yes, no, thanks, and other basics. Weather: How to talk about what its doing outside. Adjectives: from near to far, clean to dirty, youll want to know these modifiers. Adverbs: From always to never, together to separately.