Distillery Equipment Manufacturer

MUSKEGON — A lakeshore fabrication shop wants to capitalize on the craft distilling boom by offering custom Michigan-made stills. Scott Whitaker, a pipefitter who works at NexGen Mechanical Solutions LLC, has already found a niche in serving West Michigan distilleries.

Manufacturer of standard & custom distillation equipment including evaporators. Types include thermal, rotary vacuum, mechanical vapor compression & circulating flash evaporators. Serves pharmaceutical, food & transportation industries.

Water Distillation Equipment

Water distillation equipment uses heat to boil contaminated water and steam. It removes inorganic minerals and large non-volatile organic compounds from the water, while inactivating bacteria, viruses and protozoan cysts. As the vapor cools, it condenses back to liquid water and flows into a storage container. The distilled water is filtered for the removal of any remaining impurities, which are then discarded.

Distillation systems can be connected to a water line and controlled by electronics or float valves to continuously create distilled water. They can be used for PCR, DNA sequencing, protein research, media prep, pharmaceutical manufacture, and other applications.

A water distiller requires periodic maintenance, including emptying mineral deposits from the boiling chamber and cleaning of the evaporator coils. The use of appropriate commercial cleaners is recommended, as strong mineral acids can damage stainless steel and aluminum parts. A 50 percent solution of vinegar or another weak organic acid may be used as a cleaning agent. The distiller also should be regularly checked for sufficient cooling water, that the boiling flask is not empty (it is often protected with a shut-off feature) and that the reservoir is full.

Vacuum Distillation Equipment

This lab glassware kit includes a vacuum distillation apparatus to separate liquids by vaporizing and condensing them. The equipment is ideal for organic chemistry, as well as separating essential oils from the plant material they come from.

Manufacturer of laboratory and industrial stainless steel distillation equipment. Products include agitated and continuous-feed distillation systems, column components, steam ejectors and vacuum pumps. Custom fabrication and process modeling are also available. Serves the chemical, oil/gas and pharmaceutical industries.

A VDU separates heavy hydrocarbons from atmospheric distillation residue by reheating and evaporating the crude at a lower temperature range than a fractional distillation column. VDUs are available with dry or wet design. Dry designs don’t inject steam into the tower; they are more suited to gas oil and fuels production. Wet design VDUs inject steam in the tower vapor heater and reboiler to achieve the same level of evaporation as a fractional distillation column at lower temperatures.

Laboratory Parts & Supplies

Manufacturer of laboratory Distillery equipment manufacturer for life science, combinatorial chemistry and analytical labs. Features include kjeldahl distillation, arsenic limit test and continuous liquid extraction apparatus. Also provides distillation heads, chromatography systems and diazomethane generators. Services offered include engineering, design, fabrication and field installation. Serves the medical, pharmaceutical, food, beverage and oil/gas industries.

Custom manufacturer of metal fabricated products for processing applications, including storage, mixing, chemical reactions and distillation boiling and receiving vessels. Fabrication capabilities include coppersmithing, pipe and tube bending and welding. Stainless steel, aluminum and Inconel(r) alloys used. Ships to customer locations worldwide.

Besides the distillation equipment, other essentials are high quality pumps. Haas recommends getting a higher end industrial pump, saying it can handle the abuse and is worth spending more for. He says he ripped up 4-5 pumps before he bit the bullet and invested in a better one, which has worked well so far. He also recommends a high quality vapor return system for the stills to prevent leaks and reduce water use. This allows the distiller to recycle the vapor back into the process for reuse, which saves money.

Flasks

The best flasks will serve you well on a camping trip, a hiking adventure or an evening spent sipping your favorite drink with friends. They are made of sturdy stainless steel and will stand up to all the jostling that comes with being in a backpack or hanging in a tree. Some are even designed to hold multiple drinks, making them perfect for sharing.

Distributor of standard & custom laboratory glassware including borosilicate and high-temperature glassware. Products include cylinders, bottles & jars in round or flat bottom, Erlenmeyer, boiling and kjeldahl flasks. Other items include retorts, jugs, beakers, spherical flasks and condensers. Services offered include fabrication, machining, design and modification. Suitable for laboratory, industrial and research applications.

After working for other mechanical contractors, Jedd Haas decided to start his own company. He began offering mechanical services to local distilleries and breweries, then started doing new equipment installations. He now works on projects for companies across the nation. He says that he is seeing more interest from craft distillers as they begin to realize the need for custom equipment and automation.

Spiral Sheet Heat Exchangers

Distillery equipment manufacturers offer a wide variety of heat transfer solutions, including spiral sheet heat exchangers. This type of heat exchanger consists of two long metal strips with welded-on spacer studs, which are coiled or rolled around a center mandrel to form a spiral body that contains two evenly-spaced single-passage channels. Typically, the center mandrel has a tubular center but it can be a bar, pipe or rod.

The spiral’s design allows for very low pressure drop on the vapor/mixture side, and it has an extremely large flow cross-section. This means that it is well suited to duties where one side is much cooler than the other, such as some fermentation coolers.

In addition to specialized distillation equipment, distilleries also need industrial and commercial pumps, which must be capable of handling heavy processes with high fouling potential. Celebration distiller Haik says that investing in a high quality pump is important because it’s used all the time and can be ruined if it fails. He recommends purchasing pumps that are designed for use in the oil and gas industry, which are more durable.