Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am trying to make ethanol from corn and yeast/water. It becomes pasty and I can't seem to extract any liquid. What am I doing wrong?

Hi,

Since your experiment is the classic way to make alcoholic beverages you should have success. The only thing to think about that comes to mind is, are you adding enough water? Even if everything else is perfect the fermentation will stop when the alcohol concentration reaches about 10-15 % max. To get a higher concentration of alcohol, you must distill it off.

You might find this site to be of interest:

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_lib ... meCh3.html


Best regards,

Barrett Tomlinson

here is a website I found about making ethanol: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Make_Ethanol
There are different links on the website about different processes involved in making ethanol.
Just a reminder DO NOT DRINK THE ETHANOL and DO NOT PUT THE ETHANOL ANYWHERE NEAR A FLAME.

good luck,
scienceexpert123