The electrostatic issues with alcohol
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I’d like to ask the experts: what is the resistivity of 95% (by volume) alcohol? If, in the process of distilling alcohol at atmospheric pressure, the piping at both the inlet and outlet of the condenser is made of plastic, could this lead to the accumulation of static electricity?
Alcohol is a polar substance, so static electricity does not accumulate easily; conductive gaskets can be used to eliminate static electricity
Alcohol is a conductive substance; in my opinion, no electrostatic protection is necessary
Who said alcohol can conduct electricity? Molecular polarity and the electrical conductivity of a substance are two different things. Alcohol is not an electrolyte; it contains no ions and therefore does not conduct electricity.
Pure alcohol certainly does not conduct electricity. The conductivity of 95% alcohol depends on the amount of electrolyte impurities present, but its conductivity is definitely not very good
I suggest the original poster get a resistivity meter to do a measurement
Polarity does not mean that alcohol conducts electricity easily; rather, it means that it does not accumulate static electricity easily
If you don’t understand, don’t draw hasty conclusions. Diethyl ether is also a polar molecule. The resistivity of gasoline, benzene, diethyl ether, and similar substances ranges from 10^11 Ω·cm to 10^14 Ω·cm, which makes it easy for static electricity to be generated and accumulated in these substances. Experiments have shown that liquids with a resistivity of around 10^10 Ω·m are most prone to generating static electricity ； Liquids with a resistivity of 10^8 Ω·m or less tend to have strong leakage and therefore do not accumulate static electricity easily ； Liquids with a resistivity of over 10^13 Ω·m do not easily generate static electricity due to their weak molecular polarity. The resistivity of oil and heavy oil is below 10^8 Ω·m, so the risk of static electricity is very low ； The resistivity of petroleum products, benzene, and some other solvents is generally in the range of 10^10 – 10^12 Ω·m, resulting in a high risk of electrostatic spark discharge. The resistivity of ethanol is approximately 1.9X10^5 Ω·cm, and since its resistivity is below 10^8 Ω·m, static electricity does not easily accumulate. Whether static electricity can be generated depends on the resistivity; if it is too high or too low, it is difficult to accumulate static electricity. rather than being determined by polarity or non-polarity.
Ethanol has a low resistivity, so static electricity does not accumulate easily in it. Generally, solvents with a high polarity have a large dielectric constant. For liquids, a high dielectric constant results in a low resistivity, and a low resistivity makes it less likely for static electricity to accumulate. . . . . . . . .