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Graphene Water Filter Turns Whisky Clear

posted by martyb on Wednesday November 15 2017, @03:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the everclear-er dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Sacrilege!

Previously graphene-oxide membranes were shown to be completely impermeable to all solvents except for water. However, a study published in Nature Materials, now shows that we can tailor the molecules that pass through these membranes by simply making them ultrathin.

The research team led by Professor Rahul Nair at the National Graphene Institute and School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science at The University of Manchester tailored this membrane to allow all solvents to pass through but without compromising it's ability to sieve out the smallest of particles.

In the newly developed ultrathin membranes, graphene-oxide sheets are assembled in such a way that pinholes formed during the assembly are interconnected by graphene nanochannels, which produces an atomic-scale sieve allowing the large flow of solvents through the membrane.
...
Prof. Nair said, "Just for a fun, we even filtered whisky and cognac through the graphene-oxide membrane. The membrane allowed the alcohol to pass through but removed the larger molecules, which gives the amber colour. The clear whisky smells similar to the original whisky but we are not allowed to drink it in the lab, however it was a funny Friday night experiment!"

Minute control over the sheets of graphene allow them to tailor filters for exact purposes like desalinization.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by captain normal on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:24AM (14 children)

    by captain normal (2205) on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:24AM (#597144)

    Why take all the flavor compounds out of a good whisky after you've labored to run it through peat and aged aged it in charred oak wine barrels?
    Now if one wants to make fresh water by filtering the salt out, that's a very good use.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:36AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:36AM (#597151)

    Smells like the original.

    IE it probably filtered out all the stuff that would give you a hangover without filtering out the smaller stuff that gives it flavor.

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:05AM

      by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Wednesday November 15 2017, @07:05AM (#597184) Homepage
      The ones you can smell are more likely to be more volative small molecules. Things in the taste, such as tannins, are more likely to be filtered out.

      Then again, I'm not sure this is a huge and radical leap forward - I remember removing the colour from raw sugar solution using nothing but graphite nearly 40 years ago. There's a reason that charcoal filters are a thing.
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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:40AM (3 children)

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:40AM (#597155) Journal

    The filtered components could be used somewhere else, such as a food additive. Maybe it could be shipped around the country (lower weight because no water and alcohol) and used to infuse barrels or go directly into beers.

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    • (Score: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:50AM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:50AM (#597161) Homepage

      Or perhaps those compounds contribute to hangovers. And everclear has some pretty nice hangovers, with the exception that you wake up in jail for fighting cops, and it had everybody at the party crawling and passing out on the front lawn by 8 p.m. last night.

    • (Score: 2) by chromas on Wednesday November 15 2017, @08:12AM (1 child)

      by chromas (34) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 15 2017, @08:12AM (#597204) Journal

      Just get yourself some vodka and stir in a packet o' Folgiers® Instant Whiskey™ Crystals™.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:41AM (7 children)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:41AM (#597157)

    Why take all the flavor compounds out of a good whisky after you've labored to run it through peat and aged aged it in charred oak wine barrels?

    Just to show that you can. They probably didn't use the most expensive whiskey.

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:52AM (6 children)

      by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:52AM (#597162) Journal

      I wonder.. does the clear stuff left over from doing this to cheap whisky taste like cheap potato vodka?

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      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday November 15 2017, @09:51AM (5 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 15 2017, @09:51AM (#597234) Journal

        Is there any expensive potato vodka?

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