Easy solution to that. Just pass the vapor from the double boiler through a still pipe and you'll get your alcohol back =)
100 percent grain alcohol is anything BUT good alcohol though =P I've had moonshine before, hideous stuff.

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Heh! So have I. Yeah, it's not very good. I prefer Tennessee whiskey, which is really just moonshine that goes through some processing.

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You don't need a quadraphonic Blaupunkt -- you need a curve
ball.

 

Whiskey and moonshine are really the same thing, moonshine is straight from the still, whiskey goes into charred wood barrels. As Google is my friend I looked it up, I guess what makes it "Tenessee" whiskey is it gets filtered through maple charcoal before they put it in the aging barrel.

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That's correct. I live only a few miles from the Jack Daniel's distellery. I've had the tour several times. The filtering and aging turns the awful moonshine into a very good product.

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You don't need a quadraphonic Blaupunkt -- you need a curve
ball.

 

Where did yo see that sucrose was soluble in pure ethanol?

According to this:http://old.iupac.org/publications/pa.../7703x0559.pdf

sucrose is not soluble in pure ethanol. The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (61st ed) does not list it as being soluble in ethanol, but it does not say it is insoluble. Another Handbook (Lange's) shows it as being very slightly soluble in methanol, but not soluble in ethanol. A little water does increase its solubility substantially, hence you can make mixed drinks with 100 proof whiskey and sucrose.

John

 

It was an improper assumption. I guess water and alcohol are probably better but it will still dissolve salt.

Questions like this always irk me, because they're worked from the back end up it doesn't solve a real world problem. Aside from microscopic examination of each crystal piece I doubt there's any true way to guarantee you've separated the two again once they're mixed, unless it was something covered in a previous chemistry lesson in the class that had the teacher that came up with the problem in the first place. It serves no purpose other that to test the knowledge of people that were in the class.

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Actually, it is a real-world problem in type, i.e., how to separate mixtures of solids. Gold and other metal mining and diamond mining are just two examples. Separation based on buoyancy, either with shakers, fluidized beds, or high-density liquids is used quite often in the process. Bromoform, which has quite a high specific gravity, is widely used for the flotation methods. I initially thought chloroform or carbon tetrachloride might work, but on checking, they do not have high enough S.G., industrial cleaning fluid (perchloroethylene) does.

If you are into history, Louis Pasteur, who is also know for his accomplishments in microbiology and immunology, was the first person to separate a racemic mixture into its optically active isomers. It was a real-world problem, and he accomplished the feat by separating a mixture of solids using the very laborious method of separating crystal types based on their symmetry.

John

 

The post was made in the chit-chat forum of an electronics website... I thought _I_ took things too seriously sometimes =P

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In a Intro chem class that I took awhile back, we had a similar lab. We massed out a portion of sand and salt, mixed it into water. We then had to seperate the sand and salt from the water. The sand was simple we pour the solution through a filter, the sand remained in the filter, we then evaporated the water and the salt was left behind. We then massed out the sand and salt to confirm how much of each was lost.

The salt and sugar mixture has me a bit perplexed. What I am thinkig is that sugar is less soluable in cold water than salt, we can then bring the mixture temp down thus re-crystallizing the sugar, at this point we just run the solution through a filter, the sugar would remain on the filter, then we just evap the water to get the salt.

Well that is my guess. When do we get the right answer?

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Pay it forward.

 

If we already know the answer how do we enter ?

I remember this from the late 1950's early 1960's. The old "Mr. Wizard" TV show!

Cary

PS. This is a electrical forum

 

Hi 'shortbus' ,

Yes this is an Electronics forum you are quite right

Every once in a while I throw this question out into the wild it's a good indicator of common sense and an excelent teacher of practical problem solving.

It's not about learning facts, but learning how to learn itself....
the difference being seldom understood..

If you must know the answer you have a choice:

a> Go back and LOOK at the problem again, tip..don't assume anything, find out!
b> Google for it

One person had a novel solution, another was so close that it 'irked' me that they could not make the connection because they were almost there.

For those that are really struggling or think thay ahve an answer..

the solution has nothing to do with Chemistry.

 

The Mad Professor, could you please private message me the correct answer? I'll be discrete with it, but at this point I'm more interseted in your version of the correct answer.

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Hi Mad Professor, instead of "PS." I should have said "hint" this is an electrical forum.

Since you didn't seem to understand what I was getting at, is it OK to post the old answer to this question? It doesn't seem to be the same as yours.

Cary

 

Sort through each grain and seperate them.

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Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Flame Effect Transistor

 

I guess that some kind of a shaker table may do the job.

The thought also occurs to me that the idiot who mixed the salt and sugar deserves a good kick up the arse!

JimB

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Experience is directly proportional to the value of the equipment ruined.