Determination of the %Ethanol Present in Alcoholic Beverages
Determination of the %Ethanol Present in Alcoholic Beverages
Department of Chemistry, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
Abstract
Given a 25.0 mL commercial alcoholic beverage, the group is expected to be able to compute for its alcohol content with the use of their background and recently-taught knowledge of the process of distillation, which is the technique that is to be applied for the experiment .Knowing ethanol’s, which is the chemical present in all alcoholic drinks, boiling point as 78%, the students are to collect the distilled and separated ethanol into a test tube with a marker indicating that it contains 1.0 mL of the sample from the distillation set-up. The collected distillate is then subjected to a flammability test in order to know in which volume the ethanol content is high (in which most of the groups’ results are in between 11.0 – 12.0 mL). The collected data and results are then computed for the percent ethanol, in which in this group appeared to be as 48%.
Introduction
Ethanol is a primary alcohol; it is a compound that is a clear liquid, commonly referred to as “alcohol,” found in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol (CH3CH2OH), also referred to as grain alcohol, is obtained from the fermentation of grains or fruits, a process that has been widely used for thousands of years. Industrially, ethanol is prepared via the acid-catalyzed hydration of ethylene. All alcoholic drinks contain a certain amount of ethanol, which is the safest form of alcohol that is to be ingested by human. Though regarded as ‘somewhat’ safe, still, alcohol consumption is to be always observed in order to not have unwanted effects. Alcohol is prepared by fermentation, in which microorganisms assist in chemical breakdown of a substance. In production of alcoholic beverage, addition of yeast to previously prepared mixture is an example of fermentation. The yeast mixed with sugar turns it into alcohol during the process that last from several days or even
Department of Chemistry, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
Abstract
Given a 25.0 mL commercial alcoholic beverage, the group is expected to be able to compute for its alcohol content with the use of their background and recently-taught knowledge of the process of distillation, which is the technique that is to be applied for the experiment .Knowing ethanol’s, which is the chemical present in all alcoholic drinks, boiling point as 78%, the students are to collect the distilled and separated ethanol into a test tube with a marker indicating that it contains 1.0 mL of the sample from the distillation set-up. The collected distillate is then subjected to a flammability test in order to know in which volume the ethanol content is high (in which most of the groups’ results are in between 11.0 – 12.0 mL). The collected data and results are then computed for the percent ethanol, in which in this group appeared to be as 48%.
Introduction
Ethanol is a primary alcohol; it is a compound that is a clear liquid, commonly referred to as “alcohol,” found in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol (CH3CH2OH), also referred to as grain alcohol, is obtained from the fermentation of grains or fruits, a process that has been widely used for thousands of years. Industrially, ethanol is prepared via the acid-catalyzed hydration of ethylene. All alcoholic drinks contain a certain amount of ethanol, which is the safest form of alcohol that is to be ingested by human. Though regarded as ‘somewhat’ safe, still, alcohol consumption is to be always observed in order to not have unwanted effects. Alcohol is prepared by fermentation, in which microorganisms assist in chemical breakdown of a substance. In production of alcoholic beverage, addition of yeast to previously prepared mixture is an example of fermentation. The yeast mixed with sugar turns it into alcohol during the process that last from several days or even
References: Fessenden, R., Fessenden, J., & Feist, P. (2001). Organic Laboratory Techniques (3rd Edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Ault, A. (1983). Techniques and Experiments for Organic Chemistry (4th Edition). Newton, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, Inc. Klein, D. (2012). Organic Chemistry. Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Laboratory Manual for Organic Chemistry Retrieved from: http://www.brynmawr.edu/chemistry/Chem/mnerzsto/Experiment1.htm