Refine/brewery/distilled

Dear Dr English,

There is one Thai word used to describe the process of purifying crude oil, water
and whiskey; that word is ÒglunÓ. In English, different words are used to describe
these processes. Could you explain? Many thanks.

Mana Mungkijkasem

English uses different words because they are different processes.

We turn crude oil into petrol by removing unwanted materials. This process is to ÒrefineÓ the crude oil to purify it and separate certain elements such as benzene. The factory where the refining process takes place is a refinery. Syrup from sugar canes is also refined to make sugar.
ÒThe demands for petrol all over the world have increased so much in the last few years that many refineries cannot refine enough crude oil.Ó

Distillation is another process of purifying liquids. To distil is to make a liquid stronger or purer by heating it until it changes to a gas and then cooling it so that it changes back into liquid again, as when we distil water and whiskey. A factory where strong alcoholic drinks are produced by the process of distilling is called a distillery.
ÒCould you fetch me a bottle of distilled water from the petrol station up the road?Ó

Since we are talking about the process of distilling whisky, you might want to know about how we make two other alcoholic drinks, namely beer and wine. We brew beer. The company or factory that makes beer is called a brewery. The
process of making wine is fermentation. Grape juice is fermented with yeast.
ÒDavid was not very successful trying to brew his own beer at home.Ó
ÒIn science class, students did an experiment on fermenting wine.Ó

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