DETERMINATION AND EVALUATION OF METHANOL, ETHANOL AND HIGHER ALCOHOLS IN LEGALLY AND ILLEGALLY PRODUCED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Year 2019, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 21 - 28, 15.05.2019

Orhan Destanoğlu , İsmail Ateş

https://doi.org/10.18596/jotcsa.481384

Cited By: 14

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrated the results of ethanol, methanol and
higher alcohols contents of the legally and illegally produced alcoholic
beverage samples after analyzing headspace gas chromatographic methods
conducted in Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), Department of Chemistry,
Istanbul, TURKEY between years 2015-2017. Fast and
reliable analysis of the alcoholic beverages, especially in terms of methanol
concentration, has vital importance primarily due to the cases of death arose from metabolic
acidosis after consumption of illicit alcoholic beverages with high
concentration of methanol produced in clandestine laboratories. 96 Turkish Rakı samples, 8
beer samples, 1 wine sample, 101 other strong drink samples, totaling to 206
samples, and 2 industrial ethanol samples were thoroughly investigated. An
HS-GC-MS system was utilized for qualitative analysis of the higher alcohols and for scanning
any volatile compound, whereas the determination of ethanol and methanol
concentrations HS-GC-FID system was performed. So, after all results were
investigated in detail, mentioning the key points for evaluations, it was
clearly described whether the drinks comply with criteria set by Turkish Food
Codex Communiqué on Distilled Alcoholic Beverages. 89 of 96 Rakı samples and 90
of 101 strong alcoholic beverages were not definitely compliant with the
Communiqué since they contained either high concentration levels of methanol or
tert-butanol, which is a denaturant.

Keywords

Analysis, Gas Chromatography, methanol poisoning, alcoholic beverages, Forensic Chemistry

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