Produção de álcool hidratado concentrado em escala piloto a partir de descartes de uísque

Abstract

There are many ways of producing hydrated ethanol, among them, there is the distillation of alcoholic waste to produce concentrated alcoholic mixtures. In this study, whiskey blends provided by the Brazilian Federal Revenue were used for the reuse of their alcoholic content. The objective was to obtain concentrated hydrated alcohol through the distillation of these alcoholic wastes in an experimental pilot column for the production of disinfectant and sanitizing solutions, with an alcohol content greater than 60 °INPM or 66 °GL. The methodology used was the operational monitoring (time, temperature and volume of the distillate) and the physical-chemical properties (alcoholic concentration, pH and density) of the solutions involved during the distillation process. The adsorption in a column of active carbon in a laboratory bench was applied to the product with an alcohol content lower than desirable. 180 liters (L) of the whiskey mixture was used and the distillates obtained were divided into three sets for mixing and producing three types of hydrated alcohol: more concentrated product (78 °GL or 73 °INPM), less concentrated product (71 ° GL or 65 °INPM) and residual product (57 °GL or 51 °INPM). The most concentrated alcohol had the highest volumetric amount (53 L, 72.2%), followed by less concentrated alcohol (10.5 L, 16.5%) and residual alcohol (8.25 L, 11.3%). The physicochemical characteristics of the most concentrated alcohol demonstrated its adequate commercial quality for use as a disinfectant for surfaces and materials, it is colorless, has a characteristic aroma of ethanol, has a density similar to the ethanol-water mixture, pH equal to 6.2 and alcohol content greater than 70°INPM. The less concentrated alcohol had an alcohol content for use as a sanitizer (alcohol content greater than 60 °INPM), its pH was slightly acidic (pH 5.74), it was colorless and its density was close to the ethanol-water mixture. The residual alcohol was subjected to adsorption, which increased its pH, made it colorless and reduced the whiskey aroma. The operating yield of extracting anhydrous alcohol from the whiskey mixture in the distillation was desirable and equal to 72%. The distillation of whiskey mixtures in the experimental pilot column was presented as a route of alcoholic production of hydrated ethanol for the production of disinfectants and sanitizers that will be used by the local community.