Every more or less experienced moonshiner knows that moonshine needs to be cleaned (filtered) from harmful impurities and fusel oils before use. At home, the arsenal of means is small, chemical methods are mainly used. It is about one of them that I will tell further. You will learn how to clean moonshine with potassium permanganate without health consequences.
Маргацовка (potassium permanganate) are dark purple crystals that, on contact with water, form a crimson solution. Due to its general availability (potassium permanganate is sold in any pharmacy), it is used more often than other chemicals to filter moonshine or vodka.
Wood activated charcoal (pharmaceutical, made from animal bones is not suitable) and baking soda are also used. Both of these methods can be combined with the addition of potassium permanganate.
Technology for cleaning moonshine with potassium permanganate
For 1 liter of the finished product with a strength of 40 degrees, add 1-2 grams of potassium permanganate, mix well. Leave the jar in a dark place at room temperature for 10-12 days. After the liquid brightens, and a sediment appears at the bottom, you can start filtering. This can be done with a home water filter or the old fashioned way – through a layer of cotton wool. The first method is better, because filters remove more foreign impurities than ordinary cotton wool.
Attention! Potassium permanganate does not remove all fusel oils and harmful impurities. It acts targeted, that is, it converts only some substances into an insoluble precipitate, many others will remain.
The solution to this problem is to combine several cleaning methods at once, for example, coal and soda. But in any case, chemical methods do not completely remove fusel oils. You can improve the quality by re-distilling moonshine, this is the most effective solution.