Alcohol Recycling FAQs: Lowering Costs and Reusing Resources

If you work with alcohol, you know how expensive it can get. Continually purchasing new stock for your business can quickly add up. However, there is a way to help reduce costs, recycling your alcohol. 

Alcohol recycling units can purify the alcohol waste you produce, allowing you to reuse your stock and significantly lower your overall alcohol supply costs. 

In this blog post, we will cover the basics of alcohol, the recycling process, and answer your critical questions about alcohol recycling.

What is Alcohol?

Alcohol is an organic compound that typically appears as a colorless liquid. There are several types of alcohols, including isopropyl alcohol, butanol, ethanol, and methanol. Each type of alcohol can vary in scent, taste, and viscosity. Some alcohols are safe to ingest, such as ethanol and glycerol. 

Others, such as isopropanol, methanol, and ethylene glycol, are toxic and should not be consumed. Alcohol has many uses in various industries, including as a solvent, fuel, and feedstock for industrial processes.

What Happens During Alcohol Recycling?

Alcohol recycling is the process of removing impurities from alcohol waste and returning it to a level of purity that allows it to be reused in your operations. Alcohol recycling is typically done through distillation. 

The process starts by heating the waste alcohol to its boiling point, causing it to vaporize. As the alcohol evaporates, impurities from the waste mixture are left behind. The alcohol vapor then travels into a condenser, where it cools and condenses back into a liquid.

Fractional distillation can improve the separation of waste from the alcohol solution, providing a higher purity of the final product and aiding in the separation of more complex mixtures. 

Fractional distillation uses a fractionating column with trays lining the inside. As the alcohol waste is heated, alcohol vapor rises and condenses on the trays. The condensed liquid alcohol then travels down to be heated once again, turning into vapor. This cycle creates increasingly concentrated vapor that eventually travels to the condenser to be turned back into pure liquid alcohol.

What is the Purity of the Recovered Alcohol?

When using Maratek equipment, the recovered alcohol is 99.9% pure, allowing it to be used as if it were brand new. This means that you can continue using the same formulation in your operation that you have been using.

What Quantity of Alcohol Can be Expected?

The recovery rate of Maratek recycling equipment is 85% or more. This means that for each liter of alcohol waste that you process, you can recover up to 850 mL. The recovery rate is affected by several factors, such as the starting purity of your waste and what type of compounds must be removed from it.

How Much Does it Cost to Recycle Alcohol?

The cost of alcohol recycling units varies depending on size and features. Maratek offers affordable alcohol recovery solutions to help you start saving money right away. We also offer different payment options, such as renting and contract-free rental programs.

Maratek provides a free lab analysis of your waste stream to ensure that our recycling systems will provide you with the best results possible. We will work with you to ensure you are provided with a system that is adaptable and future-proof. For some more complex waste streams, a custom engineered unit may be necessary. Custom engineered units come with a variety of valuable additional features to better serve your needs.

How Can I Start Recycling My Alcohol?

The easiest way to start recycling your alcohol is by contacting Maratek. We would be happy to help you find the perfect alcohol recycling solution for your business, whether it’s buying or renting a system. Maratek has you covered for all your recycling and recovery needs.

Alcohol recycling is a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution that can help your business save money and reduce its environmental impact. By recycling your alcohol, you can also reduce the amount of waste your business produces.

If you are interested in alcohol recycling, contact Maratek to learn more about our recycling equipment and solutions.