Can iron be removed from solution?

[Delaney]

Hi,

I have 120L of cider which I stupidly decided to ferment in a 55gallon steel drum. The inside of the drum rusted like crazy, and now my cider has a profound iron after taste. It's unpallatable as is.

Is there any cheap or simple remeder to this problem, or did I just ruin this batch?

Cheers,

Delaney.

 

[Delaney]

would it even be safe to drink?

 

[ajdelange]

The obvious solution is to see if you can chelate it with EDTA but I could not in good conscience recommend doing that as EDTA, though it is avaialable in FCC grade, does carry a health hazard level 1 warning. Clearly it is used in foods but I'm not qualified to advise what levels are safe. If you can find someone who is you might pursue this further with that person.

Furthermore, I am assuming that it would have a preference for iron as opposed to to calcium, magnesium etc. That might not be the case. A simple experiment would tell.

 

[mjo81]

Maybe try some method of electroplating? It might coat the anode (or is it cathode) with iron therefore removing it from solution. I have no idea if this would work since I've never done it.

Another idea would be to filter it slowly with a fine filter like a coffee filter. That may get rid of some of it.

It might be easier to find another use for the alcohol besides cider.