Quantitative analysis of alcohol, sugar, and tartaric acid in alcoholic beverages using attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy

Abstract

Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance (ATR) mode was used for quantifying ethanol, sucrose, and tartaric acid in alcoholic beverages. One hundred synthetic samples were prepared with different ethanol, sucrose, and tartaric acid concentrations. Experiments were carried out on Bio-Rad 175 C FTS using an ATR accessory. Spectra were recorded in the wavelength region 600-4000 cm-1. Calibration was performed using partial least squares (PLS) algorithm. Commercially available alcoholic beverages (gin, rum, vodka, etc.) were experimented and concentration of ethanol in these samples was predicted using the developed calibration model. Chemical analysis of these commercial samples was carried out in order to compare the results. The agreement between ATR results with those of chemical analysis revealed good reliability and repeatability of the technique used. Copyright © 2006 R. Nagarajan et al.