Water Distillation Using Copper Stills: Applications and Safety
Water distillation is a process that can bring numerous benefits, especially when conducted using high-quality copper stills like the ones our company produces. Although distillation is primarily associated with alcohol production, it's important to note that distilled water has a wide range of applications in various areas of life. In this article, we will explore how distilled water can be used and why it's crucial not to consume it.

Applications of Distilled Water
Distilled water is water that has been stripped of almost all impurities, minerals, and salts through the distillation process. As a result, it has many uses:

Automotive Batteries and Radiators: Distilled water is ideal for topping off car batteries and radiators because the absence of minerals prevents the buildup of scale and other deposits that can damage these devices.
Cleaning Delicate Surfaces: Distilled water does not leave streaks or residues, making it perfect for cleaning delicate surfaces such as computer screens, glasses, and musical instruments.
Homemade Cosmetics: Distilled water, being a pure and uncontaminated base, serves as an excellent foundation for homemade cosmetics. Combining it with natural essential oils, such as lavender obtained through distillation, allows you to create cosmetics that are not only effective but also completely natural. Using homemade ingredients ensures full control over the quality and composition of skincare products, leading to healthier and more beautiful skin.
Why Distilled Water Shouldn't Be Consumed
Although distilled water is incredibly pure, it is not intended for consumption. The distillation process removes not only impurities but also essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which are crucial for the body. Drinking distilled water can lead to deficiencies of these minerals, which in the long term may negatively affect health.

Water Distillation Process and Cooling
Water distillation differs from alcohol distillation in many ways, with one key aspect being the need for more cooling water.

When distilling water, which boils at 100°C, the process requires more cooling to condense the water vapor and obtain the distillate. The higher vapor temperature necessitates more intensive cooling, which in practice means that more water is needed in the cooling circuit to condense the vapor.

To condense water vapor, the cooling water must be able to absorb more heat. More heat in the system means that the cooling water needs to be used in larger quantities or at a lower temperature to achieve adequate cooling and vapor condensation.

Water has a significantly higher heat of vaporization than alcohol. The heat of vaporization is the amount of energy required to turn one unit of mass of liquid into vapor at a constant temperature. For water, it is about 2260 kJ/kg, whereas for ethyl alcohol, it is only about 841 kJ/kg. This means that more energy (heat) is released during water condensation, which in turn requires more intensive cooling.

Water vapor contains more energy per unit volume compared to alcohol vapor, which also increases the cooling demand during the condensation process. You can also observe this during alcohol distillation—when you finish collecting all the alcohol from the still, the temperature of the collected distillate suddenly rises, and steam is often visible on the walls of the vessel—this is water vapor. However, we usually do not distill for so long, except in special cases (e.g., phenols in whiskey, which often pass over only at this point).

Conclusion
Water distillation using copper stills opens up many possibilities in various fields, from the pharmaceutical industry to everyday domestic applications. However, remember that distilled water, despite its purity, should not be consumed due to the lack of essential minerals. The distillation process also requires more cooling water, which is important to keep in mind when planning such activities.

We invite you to explore our range of copper stills, which will not only ensure high-quality distillate but also reliability and durability.