Plate column: advantages, what it should be, formula for calculating the height + a selection of schemes

Plate column - a type of distillation devices for the production of home brew.

It is a vertical cylinder, inside of which horizontal partitions (plates) are placed at a certain distance, through which the liquid product flows during distillation.

Allows you to get a fairly high-quality alcohol even with a single distillation due to the repeated contact of liquid and gas.

Advantages of a plate column

1. Good purification from toxic impurities (the more partitions - the higher);

2. Design variability (you can change the characteristics of the distillate by reducing or increasing the number of plates);

3. No dependence on water pressure or voltage drops (unlike nozzle-type devices);

4. High performance (enhanced by a larger cylinder diameter).

Plate columns are made of copper, steel, glass and fluoroplastic. Copper versions are popularly called "flutes" because of their resemblance to a musical instrument.

Columns differ in the type of holes on the plates. They can be cap, sieve, lattice, plate, disk.

For the production of high-quality homemade alcohol, cap versions are best suited, as they are characterized by high performance and ease of operation.

However, they are quite complicated to assemble and require expensive components. Therefore, most often such devices are used for the manufacture of noble drinks: whiskey, cognac, bourbon.

If you wish, you can assemble a cheaper analog of the cap column yourself.

What should the plate column be like

The body of the device is usually made of stainless steel, but glass models are more visible.

The diameter depends only on the heating power: you can increase it at your discretion, thereby increasing the efficiency of the device.

The degree and degree of purification of the beverage is enhanced by adding plates inside the cylinder.

Columns with 5-10 partitions are most often used (distillate strength range is from 88 to 95%).

For sealing floors use conventional silicone disks.

Optionally, you can supplement the column with an intermediate sampling unit or a thermometer fitting.

Approximate parameters of the elements:

1. The area of steam tubes is about 10% of the column cross-section;

2. The area of the slots is 70-80% of the area of the steam tubes;

3. Drainage area 1/3 of the total area of the steam tubes (diameter - about 18-20% of the pipe thickness).

Formula for calculating the height of a plate column

Where h is the distance between the plates, z₁ is the distance between the upper baffle and the column cover, z₂ is the distance between the lower baffle and the column bottom, N is the number of plates.

The lower partitions are made with a larger hole cross-section and phlegm level (as retaining), the upper ones - with smaller parameters (as separating).

Caps are selected from available sizes (e.g., 28 or 22 mm diameter caps).

The shape of the holes in the plates does not play a special role, but it is better to make them as narrow as possible so that the vapor is divided into small bubbles, thereby increasing the contact area of the phases. A larger number of caps will also benefit.

The device can be improved by placing steam pipes (of a higher height than the drain pipes) instead of holes in the plates and covering them with caps with slots. Phlegm divided into fractions will remain on the partitions even after the heat is turned off.

Download the schematic of the plate column

To download the archive with drawings click on the picture below, or this is the link.

Update: 16.01.2020

Category: Vodka an Moonshine