Abstract: Heated distillation still for separating ethanol-water mixtures divided into an upper solar absorbent vaporization section and a lower pre-heating section by a vaporization floor, float means to automatically control the ethanol-water feed to the lower portion of the preheating section when distillation is taking place, means to evenly distribute the ethanol-water mixture on the vaporization floor, means to heat the ethanol-water mixture in the distillation chamber, and means to remove or recycle residual aqueous liquid from the lower end of the vaporization section.

Abstract: An electrically and/or solar heated distillation and fractionation system for separating ethanol-water mixtures comprised with an insulated inclined vaporization chamber divided into an upper solar absorbent vaporization section and a lower pre-heating section by a vaporization floor, float means to automatically control the ethanol-water feed to the lower portion of the preheating section when distillation is taking place, means to evenly distribute the ethanol-water mixture on the vaporization floor, means to heat the ethanol-water mixture in the distillation chamber, a packed fractionation column through which the vapors from the distillation chamber must pass, means to control the temperature at the top of the fractionation column-condensing means to recover and/or recycle distillate exiting to the upper portion of the distillation column and means to remove or recycle residual aqueous liquid from the lower end of the vaporization section.