Alcohol Specifications

Ireland


Carbery Milk Products

Neutral Spirit Specifications
(Modified from the European Union Specifications.)

Characteristic

Specification

GENERAL

 

 

 

 

Description:
A clear, colorless, mobile and volatile liquid, boiling at approx. 78°C.

Odour & Taste:

Characteristic mild spiritous aroma and burning taste. Clean and free from foreign notes. Average score 8.0 on Carbery's organoleptic-test scale. *

Source:

Fermentation of lactose.
Assay:
96 - 97% v/v ethanol at 20°C.
Dry Residue (non-volatile matter):
10 p.p.m. maximum.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

 

 

Esters (as ethyl acetate):
10 p.p.m. maximum.
(Normal average 4 p.p.m.)
Aldehydes (as acetaldehyde):
5 p.p.m. maximum.
(Normal average 2 p.p.m.)
Methanol:
10 p.p.m. maximum.
(Consistently achieve < 10 p.p.m.)
(Normal average 5 - 6 p.p.m.)
Higher Alcohols (as Isobutanol) (excluding propanol):
5 p.p.m. maximum.
(Normal average 1 - 2 p.p.m.)
Propanol:
5 p.p.m. maximum.
(Normal average 3 - 4 p.p.m.)
Furfural:
None detectable.
Diacetyl:
200 p.p.b. maximum.
(Normally < 100 p.p.b.)
Alkalinity (as NH3):
5 p.p.m. maximum.
(Normally 1 p.p.m.)
Acidity (as acetic acid): 15 p.p.m. maximum.
(Normally 10 p.p.m.)
Permanganate time 30 minutes minimum.

* The Carbery organoleptic-test scale runs from 0 to 10, but the scoring is very conservative, so that even the very highest-quality products from any source in the world would not normally be scored above 8.5.


ADDITIONAL TESTS AND SPECIFICATIONS.

These tests are run for various customers, but are not part of the standard Carbery neutral-spirit specifications.

Test

Specification

1.

Clarity.

Clear.

2.

Ketones as acetone.

Passes test (< 8 p.p.m.).

3.

Miscibility in water.

Passes test (completely miscible).

4.

Benzene (Atomic adsorption).

Absent (< 1 p.p.m.) *

5.

Heavy metals.

Passes test (< 1.2 p.p.m.)

6.

Iron.

< 1 p.p.m.

7.

Chloride.

Passes test.

8.

Identity test.

Burns with blue, smokeless flame.

9.

Substances darkened by sulphuric acid.

Passes test.

10.

Volatile impurities.

Passes test.

11.

Absorbence at 270 nm.

< 0.1

* No benzene is used in any plant process.


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