Distillation in history

Distillation is the recovery of a valuable component from a liquid phase by variation and condensation, usually in several stages.

The first distillation system was used by Babylonian alchemists in Mesopotamia, in 2000 BC. Large scale distillation was practiced by Greek alchemists in 100 AD.

Thales of Miletus on the 6th century BC recorded his belief that fresh water resulted from the filtration of sea-water through the earth and the same view was among those mooted by Aristotle.

The first description of sea water distillation seems to be due to Alexander of Aphrodisias in the 3rd century, in his commentary on Aristotle’s Meteorologica. He articles of ‘condensing and collecting the vapor in appropriate covers’. He mentioned that the sailors at sea boil sea water and suspend large sponges from the mouth of a bronzen vessel to imbibe what is evaporated. In drawing this off the sponges, they found it to be sweet water.

During 900 AD, a Persian Rhazes was the first to distill petroleum for the purpose of separating kerosene and in 1100AD Avicenna invented steam distillation.

In 1500, German alchemist Hieronymus Braunschweig published Liber de arte destillandi (The of the Art of Distillation) the first book solely dedicated to the subject of distillation, followed in 1512 by a much expanded version.

In 1651, John French published The Art of Distillation the first major English book on the subject.
Distillation in history

Wine fermentation during ancient time

Winemaking is one of the most ancient of man’s technologies and is now one of the most commercially prosperous biotechnological processes.

Winemaking could have started by accident when natural yeast fermentation occurred in overripe grapes stored in a container. Historians believe that wine was being made in Caucasus and Mesopotamian as early as 6000 BC.

During Paleolithic time, in fermentation process, whole grape clusters are piled into vat and the accumulated weight of the grapes above crushed those below.

The free run juice then begins to ferment because of the natural yeast present, setting up an anaerobic, carbon dioxide-rich environment that triggers the whole grapes to alert their metabolism and to break down their sugar reserves into alcohol.

Wine was an everyday commodity to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Cretans, Romans, and the Mediterranean peoples several thousand years before Christ.

Improvements in the traditional method were handed down through generations.

The making of wine was practiced in the eastern Mediterranean long before the first Greek speakers arrived, circa 2100 BC.

The ancient author Pliny the Elder describes how the ancient Greeks used partly dehydrated gypsum before the fermentation of wine.

Pliny goes on to say that a type of lime was added to the wine after fermentation to reduce acidity.

Unlike modern winemakers, the Greeks could not halt the natural fermentation. Therefore, Greek wines had to be consumed within three or four years.

By the 500 BC the Greeks had perfected their wine production to the point where Greek wines were an important export item, prized throughout the Mediterranean.

Evidence suggest that the first wines produced from grapes were imported into Egypt from the eastern Mediterranean around 3150 BC, but within 200 years, Lower Egypt had a strong grape growing tradition and wine pressers appear in tomb paintings.

Yeasts are found naturally as white powder deposits on grape skins, so fermenting begins only hours after grapes are picked if any are crushed.

Some grapes were crushed by groups of workers treading on them with bare feet in large vats, while others were squeezed in a sack press.

The ancient Romans developed technology vastly to improve the creation and the preservation of wine. The use of barrels for fermentation, aging and transportation were also created during Roman’s time.
Wine fermentation during ancient time