Validation of a method for the determination of volatile compounds in spirituous beverages using contained ethanol as a reference substance
2025-09-24
Authors: Charapitsa SV, Sytova SN, Sabalenka L, Kavalenka AI, Kavalenka AN, Kolesnov A IVES Conference Series, 2025: 45th World Congress of Vine and Wine, France, Dijon, 14-18 Oct. 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58233/72FFNcSH Abstract:
The article details a single-laboratory validation study on the gas chromatographic method for determining volatile by-products of alcoholic fermentation, such as acetaldehyde, methanol, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, propan-2-ol, propan-1-ol, 2-methylpropan-1-ol, butan-1-ol, and 3-methylbutan-1-ol in beverages with ethanol content ranging from 9.9 to 96.0 %ABV (including wine, sake, liquor, tequila, vodka, grappa, bourbon, scotch, calvados, rakia, rum, brandy, whiskey, gin, and rectified ethyl alcohol). The method, validated in
accordance with ISO 5725, utilizes ethanol present in the beverages as a reference substance for the quantitative
determination of these compounds. Precision and accuracy of the method were evaluated under repeatability and
intermediate precision conditions. The analysis of 15 commercial ethanol contained beverages using this method
revealed acetaldehyde content ranging from 1.86 to 666 mg/L of absolute ethanol, methanol from 3.31 to 12.231
mg/L of absolute ethanol, and other volatiles from 1.52 to 4.221 mg/L of absolute ethanol. Additionally, the
study employed the UniChrom software for processing chromatographic data, which significantly streamlined
the analysis process. UniChrom facilitated the automated transfer of chromatographic data into Excel tables,
enhancing data accuracy and consistency. Importantly, the validation and implementation of this method did not
require any additional material, financial, or labor costs, making it an efficient and cost-effective solution for
routine analytical settings.
References (related articles): [9] The intelligent use of ethanol for direct determination of methanol in wines. S. Charapitsa, et al., 44th World Congress of Vine and Wine. BIO Web Conf., 68, 04001 (2023).doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20236804001 [10] Proposals for the improving of the existing GC FID methods for determination of methanol and volatile compounds in alcoholic beverages. L. Sabalenka, et al., J. Food Meas. Charact., 17, 3207–3217 (2023).doi.org/10.1007/s11694-023-01868-x [11] Interlaboratory study of ethanol usage as an internal standard in direct determination of volatile compounds in alcoholic products. S. Charapitsa, et al., BIO Web Conf., 15, 02030 (2019).doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20191502030 [Additional reference] Development of a quality control material for the analysis of volatile compounds in alcoholic beverages. S. Charapitsa, et al., ACG Publications. J. Chem. Metrol,(2021).[additional reference]
