How to choose distillation column

MikeGanja

Well-Known Member
I need a distillation system for solvent recovery (ethanol and possibly hexane) and for distillation of alcohol for QWET. Being a non chemist I'm not sure what to buy. My guess is that a fractional condensor would give better quality but also need longer time and consume more energy to process. I searched the web and found that 24/40 is a normal standard for joints. On ebay condensors 200 mm and 400 mm seems to be what people use.

What would you recommend?
 

Fadedawg

Well-Known Member
Ummm, how much do you need to process in one batch? I mostly use 1 to 2 litre boiling flasks for most of my needs, and use a 5 gallon bucket of ice water with a submersible pump to chill it, so I sized the condenser accordingly.

Here is a dirty peecture of the original SPR set up in my garage using a Graham condenser and a Allihn condenser to reflux under vacuum for perspective, but for simple recovery, I would suggest a Liebig, which is a straight tube inside a straight tube, and a distillation elbow at the top, so that the Liebig condenser discharges down at an angle into the collection flask.

I have a Liebig, but don't see a picture in the archives, so suggest Googling Liebig for one, if you aren't familiar with one.
 

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MikeGanja

Well-Known Member
I will follow the procedure described on skunkpharm: https://skunkpharmresearch.com/qwet-extraction/

I would say no more than one liter each batch. So perhaps 2 litre boiling flask would be fine? I'll start with the Liebig as you recommend, looks simple to use and they are not as expensive as the other models.

Really nice lab you got there! :)
 
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