Alcohol determination

A rapid method has been developed for detecting ethyl carbamate (EC) in alcohol.¹ EC is present in a range of alcohols and is potentially carcinogenic to humans.

The team extracted EC using liquid-liquid extraction technique. They then silylated with bis-(trimethylsilyl)trifuoroacetamide and finally analysed the sample by GC–MS. Isopropyl carbamate was used as the internal standard for quantitative analysis of the sample. The optimum extraction conditions of pH = 9 and ethyl acetate as the solvent were used. A derivatization reaction temperature of 80 ºC and a duration of 30 min was also employed.

The study was carried out on 35 kinds of alcoholic samples and it was concluded that the technique was a fast, reliable and low-cost method for the determination of EC in alcohol.

1. Y. Hu et al., Journal of Separation Science, doi:10.1002/ jssc.201100526 (2012).

This story originally appeared in The Column. Click here to view that issue.