Is it harmful and how to clean the moonshine with potassium permanganate

In recent years, home brewing has become popular. The reason is that alcohol sold in stores is not always of good quality. Yes, and the devices are on sale. But homemade alcohol has a lot of impurities that need to be removed. There are different ways, many people are interested in the benefits and harms of cleaning moonshine with potassium permanganate.

Do I need to clean the moonshine

Moonshiners are well aware that without cleaning, homemade alcohol is harmful, since it contains many impurities that are dangerous for the body:

• fusel oils;
• acetaldehyde;
• methyl and amyl alcohols;
• formic and acetic acids.

This list can be supplemented with substances that can lead to poisoning or intestinal upset. Having drunk unrefined moonshine, you can, at best, end up in a hospital bed. The worst punishment for drunk unrefined moonshine is death.

All of this suggests that homemade alcohol needs to be refined. There are different ways: chemical and biological, double or triple distillation, filtration and infusion. When cleaning, it is necessary to remove from the moonshine not only impurities that are harmful to health, but also the unpleasant smell of the drink.

Most often, potassium permanganate is used to cleanse homemade alcohol, as a completely affordable and inexpensive remedy. True, in recent years it has not always been possible to buy it at a pharmacy. But the question of whether the purification of alcohol with potassium permanganate brings benefits or harm, you need to figure it out.

Why is it useful to cleanse moonshine with potassium permanganate

Now we need to figure out why it is manganese-sour potassium that people consider useful for purifying moonshine and have been using it for many decades. Although opinions differ about this substance.

In order not to cause harm, you need to know in what proportions potassium permanganate is taken for cleaning, as well as its properties. A small amount of the substance will help rid the raw alcohol of impurities and fusel odor.

The use of potassium permanganate is that it:

• saponifies ethers;
• helps to neutralize acids;
• oxidizes aldehydes and unsaturated compounds.

The impurities present in household alcohol, after adding potassium permanganate, end up at the bottom of the container in the form of a precipitate (flakes). Already after the initial cleaning, there are fewer impurities in the raw material. These properties work in favor of the use of potassium permanganate, and prove its effectiveness.

Is there any harm from purifying moonshine with potassium permanganate

What is the use of potassium permanganate for obtaining pure and harmless homemade alcohol is understandable. And now we need to figure out whether this substance can be harmful when cleaning moonshine.

During dissolution, potassium permanganate reacts with ethyl alcohol, and harmful acetaldehydes are formed.

An incorrectly selected amount of potassium permanganate can form substances that oxidize alcohol.Due to the reaction of potassium permanganate and ethanol, a fruity aroma may appear.

How to properly clean moonshine with potassium permanganate

A drink expelled on a moonshine still is actually more useful than surrogate vodka if it is cleaned of harmful impurities and an unpleasant specific smell. But for this you need to follow the procedure correctly.

There is nothing difficult in cleaning raw alcohol at home. The main thing is to choose the required dosage and follow the recommendations of experienced people.

First, moonshine is purified with potassium permanganate from fusel oils, then filtered:

1. Homemade alcohol should be mixed with potassium permanganate and put in a dark place for 12 hours.
2. At first, the liquid will be dark crimson, then it will brighten, as in the photo below.
3. The sediment at the bottom of the container will contain impurities and fusel oils.
4. Now you need to filter the liquid. To do this, use a household water filter. In the cartridge, harmful substances from the moonshine will remain and are absorbed.

After such purification and filtration, homemade alcohol will get rid of suspended matter, soften and lose the fusel smell.

Purification of moonshine with potassium permanganate and soda

Any person can make moonshine, but it is impossible to drink it right away in any case, so as not to harm health. In short, you need to take care of the purification of the drink.

To make raw alcohol useful, it is not necessary to use only potassium permanganate, you can combine this substance with other means: milk, salt, soda, rye bread.

Most commonly, a mixture of manganese and baking soda is used. This powder:

• partially neutralizes acetic acid;
• refines moonshine, improves its taste;
• removes fusel odor.

Soda gives this effect only together with manganese, this method is safe.

Moonshine purification scheme with potassium permanganate in combination with soda:

1. For 1 liter of moonshine, 2 g of potassium permanganate will be required.
2. Soda is dissolved separately, too, based on 1 liter of alcoholic liquid. 10 g of sodium bicarbonate must be dissolved in 10 ml of water.
3. Raw alcohol is poured into the container and substances are added, depending on the amount. First, pour in a solution of baking soda, then potassium permanganate.
4. Mix the contents thoroughly and put in the sun for half an hour.
5. After that, they are removed for 12 hours in a dark room.
6. When a precipitate appears at the bottom of the container, the liquid is carefully drained and filtered.

Moonshine turned yellow after cleaning with potassium permanganate

The yellowing of alcohol is a natural process after cleansing with potassium permanganate. This means that the substance was added within the acceptable limits. Some harmful impurities and other substances still remain in the homemade drink. For complete cleansing and obtaining transparent homemade alcohol, you need to distill the alcohol-containing liquid 2 times.

What are the ways to purify moonshine

Home-made moonshine must be made safe for health. It is possible to purify raw alcohol not only with manganese-sour potassium, but also in other ways:

• using fresh rye bread, you can get rid of the fusel smell;
• you can use skimmed or powdered milk;
• baking soda;
• sunflower or olive oil;
• oak shavings;
• egg yolk.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of cleaning moonshine with potassium permanganate are still not fully understood. But most people are leaning towards this method. After all, the main task is to make homemade alcoholic drink safe, to get rid of impurities and fusel smell.