Issue
Is an apparatus consisting of a cyclonic evaporator, a separator, and a condenser, a still as defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act 1901 (Distillation Act)?
Decision
Yes, the apparatus is a still as defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act.
Facts
An entity operates an apparatus consisting of a cyclonic evaporator, a separator, and a condenser.
The apparatus has the capability to concentrate alcohol.
The entity feeds a solution containing a certain level of alcohol by volume into the apparatus. The stream undergoes evaporation, and condensation. Two streams are produced, being a water stream and a spirit stream.
Reasons for Decision
A still is defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act as: Still means any apparatus for or capable of distilling spirits and any part thereof and any apparatus connected or used in connexion therewith.
Based on this definition, any apparatus capable of distilling spirits is a still.
Distillation is not defined in the Distillation Act, but for convenience in interpreting that Act, section 5 outlines the ordinary course of distillation. Subsection 5(iii) of the Distillation Act states: The wash is distilled in a still by heating to evaporation and condensing the vapour. The liquor product is spirits and the residue of the wash is spent wash...
The Macquarie Dictionary 2001 Revised Third Edition defines 'distil' as: 1. to subject to a process of vaporisation and subsequent condensation, as for purification or concentration.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in Carlton & United Breweries Ltd & Chief Executive Office of Customs (1996) 42 ALD 321 when considering the evidence of Dr G Stevens, a reader in chemical engineering and an acknowledged international expert in distillation processes noted in paragraph 6: Dr Stevens gave a broad definition of "distillation", quoting from a standard text as follows: "The function of distillation is to separate, by vaporisation, a liquid mixture of miscible and volatile substances into individual components or, in some cases, into groups of components. The separation of a mixture of alcohol and water into its components....are examples of distillation." From an interchange between Dr Stevens and Mr R. Gillham of this tribunal during the hearing, it is plain that distillation processes extend over a broad range - from the unsophisticated pot still to the very sophisticated processes used in the distillation of petroleum products. However, despite the sophistication of some of the processes, the basic element remains constant, namely separation by vaporisation and subsequent condensation. Consequently, Dr Stevens regarded the DAB process, which involves separation by vaporisation, as being a process involving distillation.
The operation of the apparatus meets the requirements of distillation as defined above, namely separation by evaporation and subsequent condensation of the vapour.
The process used by the apparatus is distillation, and the apparatus is being used to distil spirit (in the form of ethanol). Therefore the apparatus is a still as defined in section 6 of the Distillation Act.