ZimDist Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Good Evening, We ran our Ethanol through our carbon, for some reason there was a lot of carbon dust, so the final product was dark. We decided t filter this through 1micron 20" filters x 4 , we got most of the darkness if not all out of it. However now its slightly cloudy . Would anyone shed some light as to why this would of happened? And how to correct it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAndy Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Did you rinse the filter first? Did you rinse the carbon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 You didn't get all of the carbon out. Submicron carbon will make the spirit look cloudy. 1 micron is not sufficient to remove small carbon fines. We use powdered activated carbon for decolorization, and it requires filtration down to .2 or even .1 micron to regain a bright, sparkling, clear appearance. Rinsing carbon is critical to remove sub-micron fines, which are very, very difficult to filter. It will never settle out, so don't bother. If all you have are 1 micron filters, you can try filtering with brand new filters, at a very slow flow rate. However, the better fix is to filter again with smaller pore filters (.2 or .1 micron). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 Silk you mention various micron sizes. What efficiency are these.... Nominal ?? <99% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 Nominal < 99%, that's the reason for the lower sub-micron sizes. You could probably use a .45 micron absolute rated filter if you had sufficient pre-filtration to not trash the filter cartridges in a single batch. I usually use Millipore Polygard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZimDist Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 6 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said: You didn't get all of the carbon out. Submicron carbon will make the spirit look cloudy. 1 micron is not sufficient to remove small carbon fines. We use powdered activated carbon for decolorization, and it requires filtration down to .2 or even .1 micron to regain a bright, sparkling, clear appearance. Rinsing carbon is critical to remove sub-micron fines, which are very, very difficult to filter. It will never settle out, so don't bother. If all you have are 1 micron filters, you can try filtering with brand new filters, at a very slow flow rate. However, the better fix is to filter again with smaller pore filters (.2 or .1 micron). Thank you I found out I can get .45 micron filters would they work? My question is if I get slightly larger carbon 6 x 8 or 8 x12, the supplier will wash and dry them for me. Would it be necessary to get these filters, as the project will cost me another $2000 as I need to purchase a 20plate filter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rum Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 We use granulated carbon. We rinse it well with r/o water first. You can also get calcium carbonate forming (little white strings) if you don't rinse it well. {edit} Meant to type granulated, not powdered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patio29Dadio Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I ordered this. Have not used it yet. https://envirosupply.net/products/20x50-prewashed-coal-activated-carbon-for-liquid-filtration-1-lb-20-lbs?variant=14052584751139 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 use .22u filters for vodka only. if you can use a step down system = 5u then 1u then .22u for vodka, whiskey is different. we get some of our filter from St. Pats. We filter about 160,000 gallons of vodka, and about 50,000 gallons of whiskeys last year so........... I know what I am doing... just sayin. carbon is the easy part.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZimDist Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 15 hours ago, Dehner Distillery said: use .22u filters for vodka only. if you can use a step down system = 5u then 1u then .22u for vodka, whiskey is different. we get some of our filter from St. Pats. We filter about 160,000 gallons of vodka, and about 50,000 gallons of whiskeys last year so........... I know what I am doing... just sayin. carbon is the easy part.. thank you. What type of filters do you use?(brand) we have just ordered the PALL filtration system form Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 15 hours ago, ZimDist said: thank you. What type of filters do you use?(brand) we have just ordered the PALL filtration system form Germany. I have several PALL filters. They were modified when I first got them. It would be easier to show you a pic, nothing fancy. GW Kent, and ST Pats sells there same style for way cheaper. It is the socket that makes it all work. give me a call some time and Ill go over it with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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