ethanol hand sanitizer

[sounder_4]

The CDC says that 60% ethanol hand sanitizer kills covid-19 virus. I searched this topic but came up empty. I was wondering if a simple sugar wash would be the easiest/best way to get a batch sufficiently high % to make sanitizer. Anyone doing this?

[MtRainier]

Whatever the cheapest and easiest ferment. If you're just going to do sanitizer you could even consider a wash that wouldn't taste as good and load up the SG and yeast nutrient to maximize the percentage. You're just putting it on your hands, not drinking it, after all. You'll need a reflux column to get up to 60 percent or could maybe do a couple of runs, I guess.

I made some with feints and a reflux column to get up to 95% and then diluted back down, but I guess if you just distilled up to 60-70 that would work.

[Just 4 Fun]

I did a batch a few weeks ago for wifey, just used my most reliable recipe “raisin bran sugar head”.

And ran it as I always do for drinking “once through the big pot still then once through the small pot with a thumper” usually get around 80% when I’m done stilling.

For sanitizing I watered down to 65% and if I want to drink it I can just temper to 45% for consumption.

[sounder_4]

Thanks. I have a column pot still and when running a corn sugar wash I get 85% heads which taper off to the keeper hearts and then the tails. Is it correct that the hearts are a more pure ethanol than the nasty heads and foul tasting tails? Should I avoid adding these volatile alcohols in a hand sanitizer?

None of this will be for drinking. I've got an 8 gal still and 1 run should yield enough hand sanitizer to last a long time. Just not clear on the importance of the cuts.

[Just 4 Fun]

If not drinking I wouldn’t worry about heads and tails.

[sounder_4]

A Clawhammer Supply table shows 15 lbs of sugar in a 5 gal wash will yield 17.7% ABV. That's about twice as much sugar as I run for drinking stuff. I'm gonna try it and see how much it will bump up the run ABV. If I'm not drinking it and don't care about taste, why not? I'm mixing with aloe vera gel for the sanitizer and need to dilute down to 60% minimum. I figure the higher the distillate ABV the more aloe vera I can add to get to 60%. Wifey likes it creamy

[NZChris]

There have been other threads on this. Look them up. In one, it was noted that the Aloe stunk up sanitizer made with heads. I threw some of of mine out it was so bad, then used glycerin for the next batch.

Whoops
That was Glycerol, not glycerin

[MtRainier]

I did a 20 gallon sanitizer batch of Shady's Sugar Shine with 50 lbs of sugar. Fermented it dry in a week and used fores, heads, hearts, and tails for my last batch of sanitizer. Everything that came off my 4 foot column at 94+ went in to the jug for sanitizer since I wasn't drinking it.

The fores and heads often smell good anyway, but they give you a headache, so I figure I was kind of denaturing it as well. That gave me well over a gallon of 95% which turns in to a ton of sanitizer in a spray bottle when diluted down to 70% and some glycerin added to help it stick to the hands.

Spray bottle is kind of needed for the WHO recipe of ethanol, glycerine, water, H2O2. It's very liquid.

I don't know much about the gel additions.

[sounder_4]

I read that the glycerine is made from palm oil and leaves your hands greasy. What type of glycerine did you use?

[sounder_4]

Decided it was too much work...Gonna spend $15.95 US on a fifth of 190 proof Everclear and mix with glycerol and water...WHO recipe.

[Bushman]

Where are people purchasing their aloe vera and at what price.

[NZChris]

I bought Aloe vera gel at the supermarket. Two days later there was none left, but it's back in stock at $8 for 230g.

[Expat]

Picked up a gallon off Amazon before things got crazy, haven't needed it so I guess it's ready for the next apocalypse.

[Saltbush Bill]

Been buying it at a local heathfood shop......in tubes but not cheap.$12.00 a tube from memory. It goes a fair way though.

[NZChris]

My latest is batch is 80% abv, glycerol, juniper and coriander. It smells a lot nicer than the Aloe. I suspect something in Aloe vera reacts with one of the heads components.

[Tummydoc]

I've used almond extract (1oz) with 80% ethanol ABV (2 liters) and glycerin (1 oz). Smells great and the glycerin leaves you hand comfortably smooth but not greasy. But I love Chris' use of juniper and coriander. I'll try that next batch.

[MtRainier]

I'd put a little bit of peppermint extract in mine. It also combined weirdly with heads and tails. I should try juniper and coriander. That sounds like a winner.

[peteturbo]

i got some heads at 90 per cent, chucked in 20-30% aloe vera and about a teaspoon tea tree oil. and some lotus essence i had lying around - a few drops.
Will be about 70% alcohol, smells nice and evaporates as expected.
the aloe hasnt all diluted and the texture is very thin and liquid, but it 'must' work and smells nice.
its really nice on your hands.

But,

I prefer soap and water if that works too.

[Yummyrum]

Whoops
That was Glycerol, not glycerin

Glycerol is the name of the molecule. Glycerine often called Glycerin is the commercial name for it . Apparently Glycerine in only about 95% pure Glycerol.

They can be considered the same thing for most applications .

[Saltbush Bill]

Thanks for clearing that up Yummy , Ive been doing some head scratching over that my self.
Fwiw this is the aloe I've used...it's not produced any off smells that I can tell.

[WithOrWithoutU2]

The glycerol is mainly used to protect the hands. Without it, your hands can become dry, cracked and chapped from the alcohol. This would actually leave you more exposed to infection. You should boil your water to sanitize it and then a little hydrogen peroxide to completely sterilize the water. Let is sit sealed in a jar to work its magic before using it. Personally, I like to add a couple drops of "Thieves" essential oil. It is made from cloves, cinnamon, etc and reportedly has antiseptic properties of its own. I just like it because it smell amazing.

I also make a batch of the same stuff without the glycerol and essential oil. I use this to spray any object that has been handle by others that I might eat. For example, I use it to spray down my oranges, apples, or even take out food bag/containers.

Link to World Health Organization recipe and protocol for Ethanol based hand sanitizer. https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_ ... uction.pdf