Behavior of various impurities in simple distillation of aqueous solution of ethanol

Abstract

Equilibrium ratios of 29 impurities in aqueous solution of ethanol are expressed as functions of the concentration of ethanol. The constants of these functions have been determined by use of the vapor-liquid equilibrium data in the literature. A mathematical model of a pot-still is presented, in which open-steam heating, partial condensation and the passing of live steam are taken into consideration. The simultaneous differential equations are solved numerically and the distillation curves of the impurities are obtained. It is shown that the curves have characteristic shapes according to the type of minor component and are affected mostly by the concentration of ethanol in the charge. The calculated distillation curves are compared with the observed ones, which were obtained from papers on the production of distilled spirit. © 1975, The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan. All rights reserved.