Ethanol Production: Is My Yield Limited to 13%?

[Unstoppable13]

So for an experiment I must make ethanol from sugar using yeast. I've read that yeast dies at around 13% concentration of alcohol. So does that mean that my experiment is limited to a 13% yield?

 

[DDTea]

Yes, give or take. There will always be some bacteria in the mix that are hardier than the rest, but once your yeast is dead, it's not going to be making anymore ethanol for you. Maybe if you can find a way to distill off ethanol as you go so that it doesn't build up too much, you can increase your overall yield.

 

[Borek]

A lot depends on the yeast strain, some are able to survive higher concentrations. 15 seconds googling yielded this comparison chart:

http://www.winemakermag.com/guide/yeast