How to Build a Home Steam Distillation System

The process of distilling involves seperating liquids that have different boiling points, or "fractionating", or removing impurities from a liquid such as water by boiling off and condensing the liquid, leaving the impurities behind.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• large pot with a tight fitting lid
• Drill
• Duct tape
• Copper Tubing
• Heat Source (Stove or Burner)

1. 
   DIY distillation setup

   Find a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Drill a hole in the lid so that a length of copper tubing will fit snuggly into it. Bend the copper tubing into a coils (see Image)

2. Fill the pot with water or other liquid that you want to distill

3. (Optional)Route the tubing from the pot lid through some type of cooling medium, a sink full of cold water will work.

4. continue the tubing to a location where it can discharge the condensate into the container you plan to "catch" it in.

5. Turn the stove or burner on with which you are going to heat your "still". Heat the water slowly so that it does not boil too rapidly, this will cause pressure to form inside the pot, and could potentially blow the lid off.

6. Watch the end of the tubing where the condensate should begin to drip out. With normal tap water, you will have very little chemical "boil off", in the form of chlorinating chemicals or other products the utility provider adds to the water.

7. Keep the still heated to a temperature that gives a constant flow of liquid from the condensate discharge tubing, with little or no steam or water vapor venting out at this location. This flow should not be near the capacity of the tubing, or pressure may build in the pot, causing a dangerous situation. A steady "trickle", or slow flow is what you are looking for.

8. Boil the contents of the "still", or pot, until the liquid is almost gone, but do not boil the pot dry or you will risk evoporating the impurities and damaging the pot.

Tips & Warnings

• Drilling and tapping threads for a tubing connector will give you a better seal, preventing steam from escaping.
• You may want to drill and tap threads for a pressure gauge and thermometer if you plan to use this process for more scientifically exact purposes.
• Distillation is a process that can be used to seperate liquids with a substantial difference in boiling points or vapor pressures, or to seperate liquids from solutions with solids suspended in them.
• Because the lid to the still is not mechanically attached to handle pressure, do not stand over it or allow anyone near it during the distillation process.