How is Alcohol Made?

Ethanol is produced commercially through the process known as fermentation. There are a lot of alcohols that can be made through this process. But more likely, they are to be produced by synthetic routes, which is from natural gas, coal or oil.

Fermentation is the process in which the sugar is broken down by yeast into carbon dioxide and alcohol. Yeast is known as tiny single-celled fungi containing the special enzymes that are responsible for this kind of reaction.

Carbon dioxide gas emit bubbles of the fermenting solution into the air as it leaves water and ethanol mixture. It is very significant that there is no air present or that the ethanoic acid is produced by the yeast. Ethanoic acid is the kind of chemical that is contained in vinegar.

Barley, water, hops and live yeast produce lagers and beers. The sugar from the mixture comes out from the spouting barley. Stout, bitter and ale use top fermenting yeast while those that are a bit larger make use of variety drops to the bottom.

In wine making, the sugars are produced from the flesh of grapes that are crushed. This type of wine produced largely depends on what type pf grape is being used in the process.
Yeast can hardly survive in higher alcohol levels and in order to create stronger spirits the process of distillation is necessary. Fermented drinks go through the process of distillation to creating rum, vodka and other spirits. The process of distillation relies on the ethanol that has lower boiling point compared to water. When heating the fermented drink, the ethanol vaporizes at around 78.5 degrees, leaving the water behind. Then the ethanol gas is caught and then cooled down in order for it to condense into stronger density of the ethanol liquid.

There are other several uses of fermentation like in bread making. The yeast is combined with the dough and they are kept warm. The fermentation process produces carbon dioxide, making the bread dough rise and the alcohol to evaporate. This is how important fermentation is, especially in the process of producing alcohol.