Testing ethanol for unknown contaminants/adulterations?

[CuriousGuy]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie, in, possibly, a unique circumstance.

Before diving in and fermenting my own,I had planned to begin my homemade spirits journey simply by buying commercially made neutral spirits and infusing them.

By coincidence I saw a hemp oil extraction company that had gone out of business was selling off its assets, including several jugs of 190- and 200-proof food-grade ethanol from a local distillery, so I bought them.
When I picked them up, I found that all of the containers appear to have been opened (I spoke to the distillery that made them, and they said that the containers, 5-gallon HDPE plastic jugs, leave the distillery without any "factory seal" other than a small sticker... so it's really impossible to tell if they have been opened or not).

I know that the hemp oil extraction company was using other chemicals in the same manufacturing space (methanol, heptane, acetonitrile, and possibly others), so while I have no reason to believe this is the case, I am concerned about the possibility that the containers of ethanol, after they left the distillery that made them, could have been contaminated with other chemicals.

Having read a fair amount here on the HD forums, I know that there is no easy at-home test for methanol, and I also know that there are chemists and lab scientists who are members here.

I am wondering if anyone knowledgeable on the subject could tell me what kind of testing I might be able to have done (I understand lab testing is expensive; I am willing to pay within reason) to determine if the ethanol I bought is safe for consumption.

I have read threads here about gas and liquid chromatography, for example, and another acquaintance has said that mass spectrometry might be able to answer my question.

Any knowledgeable advice is appreciated!

[jonnys_spirit]

For safety's sake if it's unknown I wouldn't use it for anything other than solvent or fire starter. Unless you send it off to get tested.

I think it's worthwhile to throw some charred oak into some commercial product and see what you get after a year+ but I can cut to the chase and suggest that you'll probably like it. Might as well get started stillin! ( it's not too hard btw but does require fermenting and distilling, maybe mashing some grains )

Cheers,
jonny

[NormandieStill]

If there's enough ethanol to make it interesting, a mass spec will tell you what else is in there other than ethanol, and how much of it. If you live near a university, you might be able to get a post-grad to run a sample for you. I did some programming work a while back to operate some old GC/MS machines, and we did a bunch of test runs with no suggestion that it was an expensive process. It's more the time involved.

[CuriousGuy]

If there's enough ethanol to make it interesting, a mass spec will tell you what else is in there other than ethanol, and how much of it. If you live near a university, you might be able to get a post-grad to run a sample for you. I did some programming work a while back to operate some old GC/MS machines, and we did a bunch of test runs with no suggestion that it was an expensive process. It's more the time involved.

Thank you so much. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

The solutions should be pretty close to 95% ethanol-5% water v/v for the 190-proof and 100% ethanol for the 200-proof.

I do live quite near one university, and I happen to be acquaintances with a chemistry lab instructor (my old chemistry professor!) at another, my alma mater. Maybe I'll email her and ask if I can mail in some samples.

Thank you so much!

[Yummyrum]

We have Absolute undenatured Ethanol at work .
Obviously I was curious and have had a smell and taste . Even though it is extremely pure , there is something “chemical” about the smell and taste that I don’t like compared to the Neutral I make at home .

I’m not saying that yours may be like that , but I would not enjoy drinking the stuff we have at work even if I had it tested so be sure .

Maybe dilute some down to 30% and have a taste before you go to the bother of getting it tested . A small taste ( a few mls and spit it if you prefer than swallow) won’t hurt you even if it has got methanol and other shit in it .

[Saltbush Bill]

200 proof food grade?...its kinda hard to get that high proof as far as I know.

[Yummyrum]

I know it sounds weird Salty but we have it at work . It’s called Absolute Ethanol . It is sold at 100% abv . Probably made in a Vacuum still .I’ve never actually tested it’s ABV but I recon it would absorb water and drop to 96 when opened . I have no idea how long that would take .

[Saltbush Bill]

That was kind of my point Yummy, once opened a couple of times what is the actual ABV.?
Best you test next time you have the opportunity.

[Yummyrum]

That was kind of my point Yummy, once opened a couple of times what is the actual ABV.?
Best you test next time you have the opportunity.

It’s a good question Salty and one I don’t know the answer to .
You got me curious . I even googled it and got answers from immediately to if you just pour some out and recap it , it should last a very long time .

Maybe someone clever like BritishChemist might actually know .

[CuriousGuy]

We have Absolute undenatured Ethanol at work .
Obviously I was curious and have had a smell and taste . Even though it is extremely pure , there is something “chemical” about the smell and taste that I don’t like compared to the Neutral I make at home .

I’m not saying that yours may be like that , but I would not enjoy drinking the stuff we have at work even if I had it tested so be sure .

Maybe dilute some down to 30% and have a taste before you go to the bother of getting it tested . A small taste ( a few mls and spit it if you prefer than swallow) won’t hurt you even if it has got methanol and other shit in it .

Hi Yummyrum,
This is the product:
https://culinarysolvent.com/products/food-grade-ethanol

I haven't tasted it yet (again, worried about possible adulterants... but you make a good point that a small sip likely won't hurt, especially if I spit it out), but I have smelled it, and it smells... very fruity. It's a very strong smell... I wouldn't describe it as chemical-ly, but it's definitely strong.

From the prices quoted on that site, you can understand why I'd be willing to go through a bit of effort in order to be able to avoid having to throw out seven of the 5-gallon jugs.

200 proof food grade?...its kinda hard to get that high proof as far as I know.

Hi Saltbush Bill,
Indeed, from everything I've read getting to 200 proof is incredibly difficult through anything resembling traditional distillation.

From what I read on the manufacturer's website, they use traditional distillation to get it to something like 190 proof, then run that through what's called a "molecular sieve," which means pumping it through a media designed to absorb water molecules, leaving nothing but the ethanol.

But you both make a very good point about it absorbing water through the air... hopefully the containers have been kept closed. When I can I'll measure the ABV.

[Steve Broady]

If it was me, I wouldn’t worry too much about the alcohol absorbing water from the atmosphere. Unless you have a need for 100% ethanol for some specific chemical reaction, I presume you’re going to dilute it anyway.