University Presentation Showcase: Graduate Poster Gallery
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Creation Date
Spring 2016
Major
Chemistry
Department
Chemistry
Degree
Graduate
Mentor
Darrin L. Smith
Mentor Department
Chemistry
Abstract
Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions which were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given the results based on NMR data and NaCl additions, intermolecular hydrogen bonding is not the direct cause of the ethanol retention. However, a direct correlation between increasing pH and increasing accuracy exists, indicating the disruption of some interaction by the addition of NaOH. The final chapter of this work contains ideas to better understand the fundamental chemistry of these interactions, eventually leading to more robust measurements for ABV determination.
