Distillation Danger - Periodic Table of Videos

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  • Опубликовано: 2 янв 2025

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  • @810nclvv4732
    @810nclvv4732 12 лет назад +23

    Once again I am struck by the depth of knowledge and feeling the prof conveys as he talks about chemistry and humanity.

  • @jeebersjumpincryst
    @jeebersjumpincryst 13 лет назад +4

    wow... masterful diplomacy and sensitivity Professor Poliakov.

  • @WhiteTiger333
    @WhiteTiger333 13 лет назад +6

    Interesting video, as always! Reminds me of when I worked with extruded rubber. We had to be so careful around the toluene at the production level. And, yes, we had an explosion once, which was contained, partly due to an alert employee, in the explosion-proof room. Felt like an earthquake in the lab and made a very impressive hole in the floor and the roof of the containment room.

  • @GeFlixes
    @GeFlixes 10 лет назад +34

    Ethanol flames are amazing.
    We destilled alcohol at school and tried if the destilled alcohol would burn (that would indicate a high purity of that distillat), but I seemed like nothing happend. I wanted to put the watch glass with the liquid in it away, but the glass was hot. There was no visible flame, just wavering hot air above the glass, because the ethanol burned with no residiues. It was quite fascinating.

  • @EdwinHenryBlachford
    @EdwinHenryBlachford 10 лет назад +32

    a failure[explosion] in a still would signal massive incompetence in the design. it should be remembered that all stills were originally simply air cooled. And yes I know the % yield was lower then, but the vapour still held alcohol. I would guess the Boston explosion was a result of a lack of proper pressure relief on a pressure vessel. this is a common cause of explosion in domestic water heaters and is massively powerful since pressure builds until the yield point of the vessel is reached, then yield is rapid by virtue of the materials of construction. this also impels metal shrapnel

  • @hawkeye0248
    @hawkeye0248 12 лет назад +4

    Two classical mistakes when doing a distillation:
    1. No boiling stones or inactive boiling stones in the distillation flask. Mixture overheats and then suddenly starts to boil explosively shooting out the themometer at the top, fill the room with vapour and the vapour somewhere finds an ignition source - often the heating mantle.
    2. People do not inspect the distillation flask for hairline cracks, which may develop during a distillation and start leaking some of the contents inside - boom!

  • @TheRostbart
    @TheRostbart 10 лет назад +68

    Don't drink and destillate, eh?

  • @High_Priest_Jonko
    @High_Priest_Jonko 10 лет назад +24

    How could you be unaware that your distillation unit isn't condensing the vapor properly, and unaware for long enough to allow the room to fill up to a dangerous amount? Did they just set up the distillation unit and start the reaction then go into the next room to have lunch, or something?

  • @Firesoar13
    @Firesoar13 13 лет назад +2

    You should do a video about the different kinds of alcohols and the dangers of ingesting the wrong forms.
    Bootleg stills often don't separate out the different kinds and (especially during the US prohibition when moonshiners were making stills out of anything they could find) can cause serious harm to the consumer of these spirits.

  • @Nikolaii2571
    @Nikolaii2571 11 лет назад +2

    I think that the professor is a dude who makes chemistry a fun subject to learn.

  • @Bryan6446
    @Bryan6446 13 лет назад +1

    I was so scared when I saw this on the news and on your channel because I had just finished my first batch of home brewed spirits!

  • @pmarceau
    @pmarceau 11 лет назад +1

    The Boston, Lincolnshire mentioned in the video is in England.

  • @BuickDoc
    @BuickDoc 13 лет назад

    Explosions such as this are fairly common in the US. Usually the people involved are making 'crack' cocaine or methamphetamine, both processes requiring extraction with ether or hydrocarbon solvents, which can explode under proper conditions. We rarely see injuries making alcohol, since that is usually done in the woods with good ventilation. I have personally seen 5 people badly burned in the former circumstance.

  • @ImMADasAMeatAxe
    @ImMADasAMeatAxe 11 лет назад +6

    every hydrocarbon distillation system should have a water valve at the end of the system to stop spark or flames entering the system

  • @technicianofgod
    @technicianofgod 12 лет назад +1

    Prof. Poliakoff, We love you.

  • @DevilMaster
    @DevilMaster 13 лет назад

    @lexichronicle2 He wrote "a VENT fan". Not one that recirculates air inside a room, but one that blows air OUT of a room.

  • @cpovey1
    @cpovey1 12 лет назад +1

    Hate to disagree, but my dictionary says that flammable has been used since the early 19th century. I doubt that there were a lot of safety organizations 200 years ago.

  • @Stormrunner0002
    @Stormrunner0002 13 лет назад

    Good reminders professor. I enjoy a good batch of homemade rum myself once in a will, and I do know that the more you do something like that the more we let the safety standards go. We become overconfident in our abilities. Then an old girl friend phones and forget to shut the pot still off. BOOM.

  • @somegeezer
    @somegeezer 12 лет назад

    The "in" within "inflammable" is a much older prefix, meaning "in", rather than the "in" prefix we often use today to mean "not". As the prof is fairly old, it makes sense that he uses the now confusing inflammable, over flammable. But both words still mean the object can be ignited easily.

  • @SapphireSiren
    @SapphireSiren 12 лет назад +1

    Now I'm wondering about the meth labs that explode. Is this due to essentially the same reasons, that the equipment is usually hot and not working properly, thereby causing an explosion from fumes in the air?

  • @NotJames1
    @NotJames1 13 лет назад +1

    I like how the screensaver goes across both screens

  • @pamukovich
    @pamukovich 13 лет назад

    @quaxk he mentioned that you probably can't smell the vapor because of other smells in the room, if you're already making alcohol maybe the smell will already be there during the process, i don't know because i've never been at a distillery but it would make sense

  • @punishedexistence
    @punishedexistence 13 лет назад +1

    @quaxk Yeah, I know the characteristic smell of ethyl acetate...I usually buy by alcohol when I so desire it. I did countless distillations in lab class and certainly, you want to make sure your condenser and receiving vial are kept very cold. The Prof is a man that sound be elected as world president. He goes beyond mere countries as a man who knows his stuff and as a genuine person. To be able to shake his hand would not be just a pleasure but an honor. All hail Professor Poliakoff!!

  • @garryentropy
    @garryentropy 13 лет назад

    not only dangerous through explosions, blindness or death if its not done right.

  • @TheAllSeeingToe
    @TheAllSeeingToe 13 лет назад

    @zythepsarian Its because the first few batches have a dangerously high methanol content, which is extremely poisonous and can cause blindness if you drink enough of it, hence the term ''blind drunk''

  • @BaberJacks
    @BaberJacks 10 лет назад +84

    specialist meaning Ukrainian or Russian

  • @quaxk
    @quaxk 13 лет назад

    I assure you professor, ethanol vapor has a very strong smell, and even the best reflux still carry some of the other alcohols from the brew which tend to smell like nail polish, not that I would know anything about this, but a big vapor leak like you describe would stink up the place quickly, beside, only idiots would distill in a non ventilated area, and a failing condenser would cause the reflux temperature to rise and stop the flow, two things a distiller has to monitor constantly

  • @benner2000
    @benner2000 12 лет назад

    He says Boston to the East of Nottingham. So, if you look in the description it tells you he is talking about Boston, Lincolnshire, not Boston, Massachusetts.

  • @b77007
    @b77007 12 лет назад +1

    petroleum refineries are basically complex distilleries and even they (professionals) have failures and explode from time to time

  • @werothegreat
    @werothegreat 13 лет назад

    I love how Boston is a small town in the UK.

  • @47f0
    @47f0 13 лет назад

    @eggroll9000 - as it turns out, water is contributory to the oxidation of some of our fundamental building materials. When your bridge fails due to rust, it's probably dangerous. But, perhaps, having been through three hurricanes I have an exaggerated respect for water.

  • @painxtreme
    @painxtreme 13 лет назад

    @quaxk So, vodka, which has no smell, does indeed have an odor in production? That is something I was unaware of.

  • @top2percent
    @top2percent 13 лет назад +1

    Excellent video, as always.

  • @maekern
    @maekern 13 лет назад +1

    I love nearly every video from every series you do... but you should be aware that your videos are REALY quiet compared to other RUclips videos. For example, this video is very hard to hear on an iPad with RUclips volume and system volume turned up to maximum. It might be good to raise the volume a bit in future videos.

  • @FurkanKhan100
    @FurkanKhan100 13 лет назад

    @Gmc42082 nop because in liquid form, it doesnt have a lot of oxygen around it, so it cant burn fast enough. while in vapou form, it has alot of O2.

  • @rageagainstthebath
    @rageagainstthebath 13 лет назад

    @zythepsarian Probably because methanol, the poisonous kind of alcohol, evaporates quicker than ethanol. That's why it comes in the first batches, and there is almost none in the following bottles. This danger could have been discussed as well, by the way.

  • @singlespies
    @singlespies 13 лет назад

    Is alcohol vapor intoxicating? Seems like it would be much faster (and more dangerous) than drinking.

  • @muzzlevelocity2012
    @muzzlevelocity2012 11 лет назад +2

    Very well explained, thank you for this information!

  • @painxtreme
    @painxtreme 13 лет назад +1

    @painxtreme of course it's nothing Ive spent much time thinking about, until seeing the video.

  • @Smallie07
    @Smallie07 13 лет назад

    we did distillation and fractional distillation last year in school! its quite fun.

  • @BuickDoc
    @BuickDoc 13 лет назад

    @BuickDoc As a child, however, I did witness a neighbor's chicken house explode from an illegal still. There were no injuries.

  • @skudzer1985
    @skudzer1985 12 лет назад

    I know it's irrelevant but I can't help wondering; does he pick his hair out in the morning or does it just fray out like that naturally?

  • @Goilste
    @Goilste 12 лет назад

    it's good to see some wise men sharing wisdom with us here on youtube
    not the usual nonsense or fail compilations or just those people trying get some money with their pathetic drivel
    No. This Man sure wants no money for this video.
    Thank you, professor :)
    And all the other teaching channels here on youtube like Vsauce, MinutePhysics and so on - thank you!

  • @marcuc89
    @marcuc89 10 лет назад

    I don't know about out in the UK, but here in the States propane is used to make moonshine. You run mass amounts of propane at full bore and it freezes the pipes then boom.

  • @WarMasterX6
    @WarMasterX6 13 лет назад

    So many things can be dangerous that people see as no big deal such as storing grain or sawdust. Lots of flammable things out there.

  • @SykeMed
    @SykeMed 11 лет назад

    If you brew 'moonshine'... you can only get up to 15% concentration of ethanol from natural fermentation (ie. wine) before the yeast start to die. To get to whiskey/vodka levels you must distill it down to 35-40%.

  • @AliciaBurrito
    @AliciaBurrito 12 лет назад

    I've watched these videos on my iPad before... they aren't quiet at all unless you are in a loud room so you can't hear it

  • @Bobajobimus
    @Bobajobimus 13 лет назад

    Wise words professor.

  • @DevilMaster
    @DevilMaster 13 лет назад

    @PBDPBD The same with "habitable" and "inhabitable".

  • @kuni45
    @kuni45 13 лет назад +2

    Amateur Brewing and distillation is NOT as dangerous as you say. I've worked with my dad distilling homemade moonshine for 5 years now and he's been at it even longer. As long as you're using a proper still in a well ventilated area AWAY FROM ANY HEAT SOURCE OR OPEN FLAME you're more likely to get blown up driving your kids to soccer practice.

  • @draoi99
    @draoi99 13 лет назад

    In Ireland, the poteen makers always distilled their mountain dew outdoors. I guess they might have had a few explosions until they learned to do that.

  • @GMCLabs
    @GMCLabs 13 лет назад

    @Paxmax no,no nobody gets it, i though it sounded funny b/c the way he worded it , it would be like saying " i'm on earth,because im not on mars". the way he started the statement, i though he was going to explain why gases are more flammable than liquids, rather than just saying gases burn explosively while liquids don't. i mean i do understand the reason why, i just though he was going to explain why.

  • @painxtreme
    @painxtreme 13 лет назад

    @bamboo4tameshigiri I respect the "Shiners" a lot. You can legally brew beer, or make wine, but the Treasury guys cant have people who have honed a process through generations. Do accidents happen? Hell yes, they do in a lab too.
    That sounds like it gives the Shine a good flavor to the kickback. Does it give it a whiskey-ish color? Ive had actual Shine just once in northern Georgia. I dont remember the ratio, but it was only a tiny % watered, and it was like a load of hay fell on me...hoo boy!

  • @rkshirey
    @rkshirey 12 лет назад

    Other than being an apple, whats wrong with an ipad?

  • @coolliger
    @coolliger 13 лет назад +1

    Very informative video

  • @gh0stmast3r
    @gh0stmast3r 12 лет назад

    so the biggest danger for distillation isn't just the act of doing it without a proper license, but is in fact doing it inside a room where the vapors can build up for an explosion and not outside where it can move away...

  • @monkeytail2002
    @monkeytail2002 13 лет назад

    @Bryan6446 Be carefull telling people that. Distilling without a license is illegal in the U.K.

  • @bratwurst_addict
    @bratwurst_addict 12 лет назад +1

    regardless - irregardless is another nice example :)

  • @ReasonableMe
    @ReasonableMe 13 лет назад

    What does the screen saver say? "Current Chemistry!!!", "Green Chemistry!!!", or something else?

  • @rageagainstthebath
    @rageagainstthebath 13 лет назад

    Okay Brady, I asked you several times about this but now i'm really disapponted. This video has so silent sound I can barely hear The Professor speaking on my lappie, even when I maxed out all the volume regulators. Why can't you make your videos as loud as all the others on RUclips?

  • @nofacee94
    @nofacee94 13 лет назад

    @Ormaaj You're probably right, but i've seen them make huge (unfair) mistakes before so I don't trust them.

  • @akashashen
    @akashashen 13 лет назад

    Usually when I hear about illegal activities resulting in an explosion, it involves a far more interesting product than a make-your-own-wine kit as Tesco (note: I know, shining and all, but this enhances the never-doing-it concept). Coincidentally, when I hear illegal production activities just setting something on fire, it's often a far more popular and far less lethal product.

  • @Zolbat
    @Zolbat 12 лет назад

    to be honest, before you mentioned it, I didn't know what it was. But I looked it up, and I have to say, that this is a VERY specific and rare application of a tablet. I still don't get where you need a tablet for this, wouldn't a cheap computer or smartphone just do the trick?
    Also, if you don't want to drag something around, use something small, like a smartphone, and those come in quite a range of sizes too. I have yet to hear a real reason other than chic and bragging for buying one of those

  • @cpovey1
    @cpovey1 12 лет назад

    Glad to hear it.

  • @FrancisCWolfe
    @FrancisCWolfe 13 лет назад

    Amateur distilling is a legal hobby in New Zealand. I've never heard of anyone blowing himself up doing it.
    I think we should wait for the official reports on what happened in Boston.

  • @Bryan6446
    @Bryan6446 13 лет назад

    @monkeytail2002 It didn't, I just happened to read it on the BBC website.

  • @GaiatheSage
    @GaiatheSage 13 лет назад

    Why is the NFPA 704 health diamond a 1 with methanol and a 2 with ethanol? When Around 10 ml of methanol will cause permanent blindness And 30 ml Death!?

  • @Oakley2256
    @Oakley2256 12 лет назад

    thisislincolnshire article May 2012 points towards a lit cigarette triggered the blast

  • @233kosta
    @233kosta 11 лет назад

    Isn't that in Lancashire? Or have I messed up my geography completely?

  • @PatGunn
    @PatGunn 13 лет назад

    @bamboo4tameshigiri In my family tree, there was at least one instance of people brewing cider or wine (before prohibition) and blowing up their house. As far as I can tell, this was not a particularly rare thing. Likewise, I have friends whose families homebrew alcohol in Russia, some of whom have had serious health problems relating to that homebrew.
    I am not a fan of prohibition of alcohol. That said, these instances had nothing to do with American prohibition.

  • @cpovey1
    @cpovey1 12 лет назад

    I agree with you 100%. One of the worst words in the English language. English is a hard enough language as it is, but the stupidity of flammable and inflammable meaning EXACTLY the same thing is beyond belief.

  • @quaxk
    @quaxk 13 лет назад

    oh, another thing, I have yet to read about an explosive accident involving ethanol distillation, the only ones reported are incendiary, you just can't fill a room, there's just not enough ethanol in a batch, and the outflow is insufficient for a normal, porous construction, it just ain't going to happen, ever

  • @MrSuednym
    @MrSuednym 12 лет назад

    Distillation is so useful... And safe if done correctly, but if you don't know what your doing... Just like almost anything in chemistry, you're probably going to hurt yourself or others.

  • @mynameismatt2010
    @mynameismatt2010 12 лет назад

    Actually it was just a mistake. he said earlier in the video that the liquid was inflammable, meaning that it doesn't burn, and when he was talking about the vapor he mistakenly used the prefix again.

  • @ThePeaceableKingdom
    @ThePeaceableKingdom 13 лет назад

    One of our local (legal) vodka distilleries exploded a year or two ago, from a welder working in the stillhouse. And there's hardly a distillery in Scotland that hasn't had a disatrous explosion or warehouse fire in its history...
    (By the way, the professor mentions vodka and brandy. I can understand, giving his location, why he might not mention tequila, but you know there is a bit of whisk(e)y made in the U.K. Just sayin'....)

  • @ThePeaceableKingdom
    @ThePeaceableKingdom 13 лет назад +1

    @PBDPBD "Inflammable means flammable? What a country!" --- Dr. Nick Riviera on the Simpsons

  • @NorthForkFisherman
    @NorthForkFisherman 13 лет назад +1

    Amazing how often a good fume hood and 78% nitrogen atmosphere will save your ass. You can do a lot of things with a lot of volatiles but the environment must be very carefully controlled. EYEBROWS DO NOT GROW BACK QUICKLY. You walk around looking surprised all the time.

  • @HaileISela
    @HaileISela 12 лет назад

    I think the results of these "nice drinks" are amongst the worst things we do to ourselves. alcohol is the most dangerous and awful drug used in our societies. it's a shame we keep ignoring that so effectively.

  • @MrSillypuddy29
    @MrSillypuddy29 11 лет назад

    An explosion in Boston? This is news to me!

  • @ztveng
    @ztveng 11 лет назад

    Listening on a desktop PC, RUclips at max, but Windows sound not even at 25%, and speakers themselves around 33%.

  • @mycamguy
    @mycamguy 13 лет назад +2

    "Inflammable means flammable?!" -Dr.Nick

  • @deelean
    @deelean 13 лет назад

    In the UK it is perfectly legal to produce up to 2500 Liters per year for use as "bio-fuel"

  • @rickysmyth
    @rickysmyth 10 лет назад +2

    The explanation was on myth busters

  • @integralmath
    @integralmath 13 лет назад

    @chocomalk: unfortunately, this is a live probability. Alas, it's an odd paradox that those who are best qualified to run a world are--by the thing that makes them qualified--too busy trying to find out what runs a universe.

  • @painxtreme
    @painxtreme 13 лет назад +1

    @chocomalk we need to have a spectrum of professions in Congress. Is having a Scientist in govt worse than Attorneys, Businessmen and Bankers? That's what you got now. How about some Engineers, Plumbers, Teachers,Truck Drivers, Software Guys, and a few Economists for Pete's sake? How about we have people who actually know what they are talking about when they make decisions that can be HUGE in our lives. Yes people's experience is huge in leadership, wanna be led into battle by a Ballet Dancer?

  • @monkeytail2002
    @monkeytail2002 13 лет назад

    @Bryan6446 Fair enough then :D I didn't realise it had made the news outside of the U.K.

  • @integralmath
    @integralmath 13 лет назад

    @chocomalk: they're too busy making the world into something worth being lead. Besides which, they are leaders of the world; they just don't need to call a press conference and demonize someone every time they have a plan of something or another.

  • @Saitothesushi
    @Saitothesushi 12 лет назад +1

    Boston is in UK not the American city.

  • @painxtreme
    @painxtreme 13 лет назад

    @BacklTrack The purest, highest quality Wodka is supposed to have no odor, or impurities, but impurities are the distinction between elite Vødkas, being a nuance, hard to differentiate to all but professional tasters in many cases. I had a bandmate, (RIP 2004) that swore by the perfection of Ketel One, which, though Premium, isn't an Elite, as served in Ice Bars in Russia and Scandinavia. Does it has a smell? Kinda, cuz impurities are never 100% gone. Detectable by human Olafactory? Mostly not.

  • @MrLorum
    @MrLorum 13 лет назад

    at 0:10 are thath behind you quartz

  • @lisapratt1
    @lisapratt1 13 лет назад

    thanks again for the great video.

  • @JJ4eva2
    @JJ4eva2 13 лет назад +1

    @ajuk1 Inflammable and flammable both mean the same thing :). One of the stranger things in the world! (Though I think Inflammable might mean 'more' flammable than the other!)

  • @dirtjumpingfarmer
    @dirtjumpingfarmer 11 лет назад

    I was going for the 'water boy' theme...but I guess most people have forgotten that joke now....I was hoping someone would :/ however its pretty much the same difference....

  • @thewiseowl
    @thewiseowl 13 лет назад

    @FHomeBrew Use a heating mantle not a Bunsen burner. You'd be foolish to heat a flammable mixture using an open flame like that.

  • @oBCHANo
    @oBCHANo 13 лет назад

    Short awnser : Alcohol is flamable, the fumes from it can explode, it's dangerous.
    Although, I have no idea how anyone wouldn't know that.

  • @oBCHANo
    @oBCHANo 13 лет назад

    People really asked why distillation is dangerous? Really? People really can't think for themself can they....

  • @QuaziGNRLNose
    @QuaziGNRLNose 13 лет назад

    @PBDPBD Also the fact that knowing the difference could mean life or death, how many times could a sign with inflammable be misinterpreted :P

  • @233kosta
    @233kosta 11 лет назад +1

    See until I watched this, I was fully in favour of getting together with a few mates and distilling our own rakia _somewhere_, but now it seems we'll have to find some place better than their kitchen... then again we could just scale down the operation to a few litres at a time, and not the whole 100l flagon. Guess it'll take longer than anticipated :/

  • @vlasktom
    @vlasktom 12 лет назад

    It really depends on the context. If I say "insane", I mean not sane. If I say "ingenious", I mean very genius.
    I work at power plants, I see lots of danger signs. I work around materials and gasses that can very easily kill you. The Liquid Oxygen, Natural Gas, and Propane tanks are all marked "Flammable." The Syngas, Liquid Hydrogen, and Hydrogen Sulfide lines are all marked "Inflammable"

  •  13 лет назад

    Everyone is an amateur in the beginning
    You can only get professional by doing it to get experience.
    Amateurs usually do two things wrong (usually due to stupidity and lack of proper basic research know-how that a good school will teach you, Thats right kids, schools is good for you!):
    1. Not researching the process of how to do it right way.
    2. Buying or making cheap equipment without said needed knowledge.