Activated Carbon aka Charcoal Filter

Drunkas

I'm looking at making my self a carbon filter with a old 50lt keg and some spear SD parts I got laying around. I know how I am going to build it but what I was wondering is. Say I want to filter 20lt of 40% how much charcoal would I need for that.

cunnyfunt

I think there is few factors that come into play here mate. There is an excellent pdf written by a fellow named gert I have seen posted here a few times about carbon. Can't find it atm with these beer goggles.

You have different grades of carbon, washed or unwashed, that will make a difference about how much carbon you will need.

When I was filtering, my tube is about 1m long and about 30mm in diameter. It holds about 300g? of carbon and I could only filter about 5L of the shittiest turbo wash neutral known to man. Back in the day when I knew not much about carbon, plated stills or cuts.

These days I don't even filter. I just sit it on carbon. About 500g of washed carbon in about 25L of 40% which is probably overkill.

Read the pdf mate. It's a good read. It helped me a lot

punkin

@Philter may chime in here. He designed and uses the SD Carbon Philter that's on my web site.

http://www.stilldragon.com.au/dragon-philter-1-2/

Philter

@Drunkas, some good info and links here.

The link to Gert Strand's pdf is among the comments.

I used 4x lengths of 2" x 510mm TC pipe in a U-shape configuration, and from memory used approx. 2 kG of Activated Carbon for both the riser and dropper combined.

There wasn't much information about when the AC is spent though...

Drunkas

OK thanks guys I have been reading up on it stand by for questions in a day or so.

captainshooch

Another bit I found about activated charcoal filtering:

Changes in Quality Parameters of Vodka Filtered through Activated Charcoal (PDF)

Note this in the summary:

The results of these analyses, similar to the results of the sensory evaluation, surprisingly showed that, within the range tested, the use of higher flow rates during the filtration process does not reduce the adsorption efficiency of the filtration device. This means that the duration of the process as a part of the production operation can be significantly reduced.

Interesting stuff.

brewsmith

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but I was wondering if anyone had any input as to building an activated carbon filter like @Philter out of copper. I have a bit of 2" copper from my retired packed column, but wasn't sure if it would impart any flavors or create adverse reactions in to the finished spirit. Thanks in advance

Lloyd

I'd hoped others with more experience would chime in but here's my two cents for what it's worth, I suppose about $0.02? :))
I'd think that you would want something more inert than copper for your carbon filter housing, stainless steel or glass perhaps.
There is debate about using copper on the downstream side of the still, OK in the column but not so OK on the downhill side. Metals have virtually no chance of making their way up a column with the vapors but can easily leach out into the distillate on the condenser side of the still.
With copper being a reactive metal I'd think it would not be the best choice for your filter housing.

CothermanDistilling

I am going to try this trub strainer I have on my first production vodka, filling it with the Norit Rox .8

CothermanDistilling

it is 1/5" TC, I have seen them in 2", but waaaaay more than the $120 for this one...

Myles

I do have to ask WHY you want to do this.

I have done it before myself, but now don't bother. You need a specific reason to carbon filter and most folks can achieve simmilar results with good fermentation and carefull cuts.

Do you really want absolutely pure neutral with no flavour components at all? Thats about the only reason to use carbon - and there are other ways to get the same result.

grim

Seems a bit small, and expensive. The 1.5" tc is nice, but is not at all indicative of the flow rate. Contact time is king, and the smaller carbon volume means you'll need to run it slow.

No matter what you'll need to polish before bottling, so who cares if you get some carbon dust through.

CothermanDistilling

I have a 3x20 section and perf filter screens also... that is what Rusty used in the class I took in Seattle, recirculating hundred or more gallons in a tote with a pump for 24 hours I think... we are going to be recirculating 10 gallons in a tank at first, did I mention we were 'small'?

Sunshine

May I say, that more and more small distilleries tend to not filtering at all? It is trendy to keep everything simple and people who for example like to buy organic food for top money, can sure understand the benefits of unfiltered spirits. It's not a bug, it's a feature...if you know, what I mean... ;)

CothermanDistilling

I know of place that carboned, polished with .45 and then .22micron filters, then had floaties in the vodka bottles from the cardboard fuzz left in the bottle from the case... fix? use a homebrewers faucet mounted bottle rinser hooked to a nitrogen tank for a purge... I saw wineries do it to...

grim

No filtration? At a minimum, most I know do a 1 or 2 stage polishing filtration prior to bottling, potentially pre-filtration of barrel char for aged products somewhere in the process prior to final gauging. Fresh dump whiskey looks like you threw a handful of dirt into it. I think final polishing is a must, consumers are going to view this as a flaw, and while you might make a case in a one-on-one situation, most consumers would pass by a bottle if they saw a layer of junk at the bottom, or worse, filled with floaties.

Chill filtration I'd agree that the jury is out. However, recognize that it's still only a small subset of whiskey drinkers that are accepting of chill haze. Most consumers would view this as a flaw.

I wouldn't call carbon filtration at all, but rather treatment. And I view this as another tool available to the craft distiller to use at his or her discretion in achieving the flavor and quality they are looking for. Look, I agree, if you need carbon to correct for your fermentation and distillation flaws, you need to address the source of the problem, but I also believe that it can be used effectively, in many different ways, to further refine a product.

Good example of the latter is a barrel aged white rum, or a corn whiskey, where you might use carbon to remove the pee-yellow coloration from the spirit, knowing full well that this light coloration would turn off a consumer. Perception of the product would be better as a sparkling clear white spirit, with the flavor profile that comes from some time on oak. How could you fault a craft producer for this?

Sunshine

I know, that customers still want to buy clear spirits, but I am just saying, there is a trend in the other direction. Just saying. I can only name Austrian distillers, who don't filter, but those who don't are really good ones who are very recommended. They don't want to compare themselves to the big companies, they do their own thing, and the crowd more and more likes it. (I like it too.. ;)

punkin

I wish i could filter my ujsm and other brown spirits effectively, i'd do it in a flash. There is no way i could market my product to anyone as it gets an awful haze and floaties at times.

Filtering and water treatment would be as important to me as recipe development if i was to venture commercial.

Fucked if i can see a benefit in NOT doing it.

grim

Put a $300 price tag on it and call it Punkin Van Winkle's Distillers Family Reserve!

punkin

Algae Soup Bourbon.

Myles

Ok there was slight missunderstanding on my part.

Filtering itself I can agree with, there are reasons to do it. It was the filter media that I was objecting to. ACTIVATED CARBON is created specifically (in many different types) for removing chemical impurities. Now this doesn't mean it can't be used as a physical filter also, its just the assosciation with activated carbon and chemical treatment is deeply ingrained.

Anytime anyone mentions carbon filtering I immediately flash back to the whole easy still and carbon issue from years back.

grim

Yeah I'm with you there, even worse is using low grade regenerated carbon that is so tainted with impurities the end result is even worse than what you had before. I've seen folks recommend brands of carbon that were pretty questionable in my opinion. Also agree that it's too easy and tempting to use it as a band-aid, and if you need it as a band-aid, it's probably not going to help.

brewsmith

Anyone care to post up sources in the US for recommended carbon brands?

FloridaCracker

I downloaded an "e-book" back in the 90's by Gert Strand that detailed the carbon filtering and I just read it again last night. I used to do this and really lost almost all of the flavor. Using a hybrid of the same still now and I WILL NOT filter anymore. I know it has its purposes but for me, no more.

Oh and in that old Strand book it tells the reader to us a 2" PVC tube to hold the carbon :-O . From what I understand, that is a no-no. Didn't notice off flavors back then but didn't really think it through.

Cracker

FloridaCracker

@brewsmith said: Anyone care to post up sources in the US for recommended carbon brands?

Check with your local water softening company. Mine is called Atlantic Filter and the stuff is NOT cheap.

Cracker

Myles

The activated carbon filter did work to make (sort of) drinkable booze from poor quality equipment. However anyone that has tried to regenerate it will tell you the smell is terrible.

Basically it adsorbed the nasty stuff that you then have to clean off in the oven or by steam. I did it once in my range cooker and SHMBO was very eloquent in describing what she would do to me if I ever tried to do it again. Imagine boiling heads and tails!!

There are a lot of different activated carbons available so you really do need to specify what you want it to do, because there are so many variations available.

Smaug

I have had a few bottles of the premium rum Papas Pillar.

They are a blending outfit. Not the distiller. They offer a "blond rum" that is quite pale. As if they took a Puerto Rican white from the spent barrel and bi passed the filtration process. There were solids at the bottom of the bottle and one could easily see bits of char from what I assume were crumbs from the barrel. The black char crumbs seem to give it an air of authenticity.

They put it in a really nice package and sell the heck out of it.

Not sure if the solids at the bottom was an isolated batch mistake? I'll have a look when I visit the liquor store next.

Anyway. I am undecided about the char bits but do like the blond rum concept.

Sunshine

Well this Austrian whisky distiller (winner of the World Spirits Award with one of his Whiskys) was one of the first, who did not filter. He lives in the "Highlands" of Austria, he claims his products to be natural, organic and authentic. He cannot produce the amount, he could sell, the bottles are priced about 50 EUR for 0,75 l - the whisky is cloudy, but the taste is really outstanding. It is all about the story telling, when selling such products.

CothermanDistilling

what are the EU standards to be called Vodka? I ask because I do not think that would fly with US 'standards of identitiy'.

Sunshine

As far as I recall from our MOB class, you would need 32 plates in the column to be allowed do call the spirit vodka. We have one "vodka of the year" at the World Spirits Awards made in Austria.

rossco

Sorry to chime in later in the discussion but I have been away working. I use carbon filtering for agave based spirits. They are so harsh in their raw form that it is necessary. The Mexicans mainly don't admit to it but the better distilleries carbon filter their products. Rossco