Reflux Still For Small-Scale ETOH Reproofing

That’s all I’m after. Any tips on column size for a 200l boiler?

Would 6 in by 24 in schools be better also would I need a filter plate for the bottom to hold the packing and maybe a sight glass on top to witness the reflux?

essentially just a column with packing and you use a deflag to control reflux?

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Yes exactly. Packing provide hypothetical plates rather than physical plates. With hypothetical plates you can achieve many more plates than with physical plates in the same column height. I think my 48" column packed with SPP has the equivalent of over 40 plates, though I’d have to look up the numbers again. Physical plates are good for flavored products like whiskey, rum etc.

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Depending on the packing, you can use a filter plate. I tried running a filter plate underneath SPP packing but it caused the column to flood. I ended up using a big stainless scrubbie as a packing retainer.

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Do you think two 6" x 24" spools packed with spp would be sufficient? What size condenser should I be looking for ?

Any ideas where to find a 5" or 6" borosilicate cyliner to use as a column?

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Minimum order is 10.

If you have a 6” sight glass to tear apart to see the maximum OD of the glass, also how the seal works.

Problem I have found with 6” columns is sourcing the correct size packing. From the information I have read packing needs to be 1/12 the width of the column. Finding SPP this size has been a challenge. raschig rings could be an inexpensive option, although I have heard they are less effective.

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Ya 10 is a bunch lol.

I could use scrubbies instead of spp I guess

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You can also use a combination of plates and packing as well.

Diameter of column will determine your plate vs packing. You’re going to have issues with a packed column over 4" diameter. It’s hard to keep the packing even especially with scrubbies.

You might need to switch to raschig rings for the 4" column if you don’t want plates. But then you’ll need to decide if you want a giant 4" tube filled with raschig rings which is kind of a bitch to assemble/dissasemble/clean. You could also run a hybrid with raschig rings on the bottom then plates above that.

You’ll have to play around with desired output, desired input, and desired takeoff rate to decide what your column will look like.

**Edit if you’re just reproofing you can do it easily on a 2" column with scrubbies and still get a good takeoff. Going from 90-96 is easy. If you’re going from 10%-96% then it’s a whole different monster.

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Is it possible to reproof with a rotovap ?

The idea is to have a simple easy to clean and run system that can handle reproof and single pass from 10% to azeo

I’d say a 24-36" length packed with ceramic raschig rings topped with plates might do the trick, but height might still be an issue. Might have to buy and try.

How many plates after the packed column? Should I be looking at a 6" for a 200L boiler

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So the takeoff rate is a function of column Width and heat. If you’re limited by roof height I’d go smaller column (3") with higher surface area packing. Especially if you’re trying to make your own ethanol. The wider column would be fine for reproofing.

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6" is about as wide as you’d go for 200L. 3-4" is probably better

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I run a 160L base with 4x 4" bubble plates and maxes out at 92.8%. I’d need 2 more plates to hit the right abv. A raschig ring setup for the first 24-36" with 2 plates above it would probably work perfectly.

**Edit, it says inconclusively on the internet that the packed portion should go above the plates? I’m not sure tbh

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Quartz.com is where I get mine

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Last I read (and it’s been a while) 4" was maximum size for the SPP being produced at the time. Someone has probably designed SPP for larger columns by now.

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For reflux, just pick one for your column diamater: StackPath

For product condenser probably the 2", long version would do: StackPath . I haven’t ever built a 6" column though so you might get a 3" to be safe.

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