Testing ethanol for unknown contaminants/adulterations?

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CuriousGuy
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Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2025 12:47 pm

Testing ethanol for unknown contaminants/adulterations?

Post by 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!

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