Alcohol content quantification method

Abstract

The invention provides an alcoholic strength quantification method, which comprises the following steps of: i, providing pure alcohol, and carrying out segmented dilution by using distilled water; wherein the segmented dilution comprises a plurality of segments; ii, taking a plurality of drops of alcohol for each section, measuring the alcoholic strength of the section by using an alcohol meter, and measuring the refractive index of the section by using a refractometer; iii, marking the alcoholic strength on an abscissa and marking the refractive index on an ordinate to draw an alcoholic strength curve graph; and iv, measuring the refractive index of a to-be-measured wine product, and substituting the refractive index into the alcoholic strength curve graph to obtain the alcoholic strength of the to-be-measured wine product. According to the alcoholic strength quantitative method, the refractometer is used for measuring the alcoholic strength, so that the sample consumption and the measurement time can be saved, the error rate of the alcoholic strength obtained by the method is within 0.3%, and the method is a rapid and accurate quantitative method.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a quantitative method, particularly a quantitative method for alcohol content; however, the invention is not limited thereto. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of brewing or research on alcoholic beverages, alcohol content determination is an indispensable task. A common method involves placing the distilled spirit in a special collection bottle and then measuring its alcohol content with an alcohol meter as a basis for classification. This classification is then done according to production needs, separating the spirit into heads, heart, and tails—separate sections with different alcohol contents. However, this method is quite complex and requires a significant amount of time and labor to classify spirits with different alcohol contents.

[0003] On the other hand, experienced operators can determine the alcohol content by observing the bubbles in the hops; this method is called "bubble picking." Specifically, it uses the state of the bubbles to roughly determine the alcohol content, which then serves as the basis for determining the fraction of distilled spirit. However, this method is not something that ordinary operators can perform; it requires skilled individuals, and the standards for fractionation may vary from person to person.

[0004] Another common method is the specific gravity method, which is based on Archimedes' principle. It involves immersing the object in a solution of known mass to measure its density. However, specific gravity meters are typically made of glass, and other glass components, such as alcohol meters, graduated cylinders, and thermometers, are prone to breakage. Furthermore, this method requires a flat surface and requires a large volume of alcohol for each test, making it particularly unsuitable for small samples. Larger samples, on the other hand, can lead to excessive alcohol evaporation due to over-sampling. Therefore, the specific gravity method has several drawbacks and is unsuitable for measuring alcohol content. Consequently, there is a lack of convenient technology and devices for measuring alcohol content on the market. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention summary is to provide a simplified overview of the invention so that the reader can have a basic understanding of it. This summary is not a complete summary of the invention and is not intended to identify key / critical elements of the embodiments or define the scope of the invention.

[0006] In view of the need for alcohol content measurement, the inventors of this case discovered that a refractometer can be used as a tool for measuring alcohol content, in addition to measuring sugar content. By measuring the sugar content of a solution using a refractometer and combining this with the fact that different liquids have different refractive indices, the refractometer can be used to measure alcohol content, and the alcohol content can be effectively calculated, further serving as a basis for distinguishing different alcohol content ranges.

[0007] Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for quantifying alcohol content, comprising: i. providing alcohol and diluting the alcohol in stages using distilled water; wherein the staged dilution includes multiple stages; ii. taking several drops of the alcohol in each stage and measuring its alcohol content using an alcohol meter and its refractive index using a refractometer; iii. plotting the alcohol content on the horizontal axis and the refractive index on the vertical axis to plot an alcohol content curve; v. measuring the refractive index of a wine sample to be tested and substituting the refractive index into the alcohol content curve to obtain the alcohol content of the wine sample to be tested.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the alcohol is 96% alcohol.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of segments include an alcohol content range of 0 to 30%.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of segments include an alcohol content range of 30 to 70%.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of segments include an alcohol content range of 70 to 95%.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the alcohol content is measured at a temperature range of 25 to 30°C.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the refractometer is a handheld refractometer.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the refractometer includes an automatic temperature adjustment device.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, step iii above further includes an error rate comparison step.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the alcohol content error rate obtained by the error rate comparison step is less than 0.5.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the alcohol content error rate obtained by the error rate comparison step is less than 0.3.

[0018] This invention has the following advantages:

[0019] 1. The alcohol content quantification method of the present invention has a low error rate, preferably within 0.3%.

[0020] 2. The method of the present invention has no limitations on the working environment, is easy to carry, and does not raise concerns about damage to experimental equipment.

[0021] 3. The method of this invention can be used by various wineries or laboratories to determine the alcohol content.

[0022] 4. Only a small number of samples are required for the determination, saving more than 90% of the sample volume compared to traditional methods.

[0023] 5. The time required to determine alcohol content is less, saving more than 70% of the time compared to traditional methods. Attached Figure Description

[0024] The various technical features of this application and their relationships will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are exemplary; some technical features are not shown to scale, and some drawings may omit technical features commonly used in the art to which this application pertains that are not essential for understanding and implementing this application, or additionally show technical features that are not essential for understanding and implementing this application. In other words, the combination of various technical features shown in the drawings is not intended to limit this application. Furthermore, throughout this application, the same reference numerals refer to the same things. Specific descriptions of the drawings are as follows:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a distillation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 This is an alcohol content curve of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 This is an alcohol content curve of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a graph showing the error rate comparison results of the alcohol content curves in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached diagram: 100-distillation apparatus; 110-glass bottle; 120-beaker; 130-conduit; 140-graduated test tube; 150-heating plate; 160-reflux bulb. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The detailed description and technical content of this invention are now explained in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, for ease of explanation, the drawings in this invention are not necessarily drawn to actual scale, and these drawings and their scales are not intended to limit the scope of this invention; this is stated in advance.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The following terms, used throughout this application, shall have the following meanings.

[0032] Unless otherwise stated, "or" means "and / or". "Comprising" means that the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, operations, or components to the described component, step, operation, or component is not excluded. The terms "comprising", "including", "containing", "encompassing", and "having" as used herein are interchangeable and not restrictive. The singular forms "a" and "the" as used herein and in the appended claims include multiple referred objects unless the context indicates otherwise. For example, the terms "a", "the", "one or more", and "at least one" are used interchangeably herein.

[0033] As used herein, the “refractometer,” “saccharimeter,” and “refractosaccharimeter” mentioned herein can be used interchangeably and are used to measure the refractive index of liquids.

[0034] As used in this article, the terms "alcohol content", "alcohol percentage", "alcohol percentage", and "alcohol concentration" can be used interchangeably, referring to the concentration of ethanol contained in the alcoholic beverage.

[0035] This invention provides a method for quantifying alcohol content, comprising the following steps. Step i: Providing alcohol and diluting it in stages with distilled water. The alcohol may be pure alcohol, more specifically, alcohol of concentrations of 96% or 95%, but this invention is not limited thereto; in a preferred embodiment, the pure alcohol is 96% alcohol; the amount of distilled water added is appropriate as needed, so that the alcohol concentration of the pure alcohol slowly decreases to the desired alcohol content. The staged dilution includes multiple stages, each stage of which is separated by a certain degree of alcohol content, for example: alcohol is collected after dilution to 90%, diluted to 70%, diluted to 50%, etc.; according to an embodiment of this invention, the multiple stages include an alcohol content stage of 0 to 30%, an alcohol content stage of 30 to 70%, and / or an alcohol content stage of 70 to 95%.

[0036] Next, in step ii, several drops of alcohol are taken from each segment to measure its alcohol content using an alcohol meter. For example, 50 drops of alcohol are taken from the segment with an alcohol content of 0 to 30%, and these 50 drops of alcohol contain alcohols with alcohol contents of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%, respectively. The refractive index of these alcohols is then measured using a refractometer. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the refractometer is a handheld refractometer, an Abbe refractometer, or any other refractive device that can be used to measure the refractive index; in a preferred embodiment, the refractometer is a handheld refractometer. Step iii: The different alcohol contents of the wines obtained above and their corresponding refractive indices are plotted in a graph; the alcohol content is plotted on the horizontal axis, and the refractive index is plotted on the vertical axis to create an alcohol content curve. Step iv: The refractive index of a wine to be tested is measured, and the refractive index is substituted into the alcohol content curve to obtain the alcohol content of the wine to be tested.

[0037] The inventors of this case discovered that since distilled spirits are mostly composed of alcohol and water, their refractive index changes with the ratio of alcohol to water. Therefore, the inventors applied a refractometer, conventionally used for measuring sugar content, to measure alcohol content. By plotting a refractive index curve, the inventors substituted the refractive index of the spirit being tested into the curve to calculate its alcohol content, thus obtaining a convenient and effective method. Furthermore, different types of spirits have different refractive indices; therefore, different alcohol content curves can be plotted for different types of spirits, allowing users to adjust the curve to suit their needs.

[0038] In spirit distillation, the distillate can be divided into heads, heart, and tails based on the distillation order. Heads are the first distillate to be collected; heart is the middle section; and tails are the last section. Heads, being the first distillate, have a higher alcohol content; conversely, tails, being the later part of the distillation, have a lower alcohol content due to most of the alcohol evaporating. This invention allows for quick calculation of the alcohol content by inputting the refractometer readings into the aforementioned alcohol content curve, thus distinguishing between heads, heart, and tails. Generally, the distillate collected when the refractometer reading is 19 degrees is considered the heads, containing approximately 500 to 1000 ml of distillate, with the collection volume varying depending on the criteria used. Next, the heart is collected, with a refractive index between 15 and 19. The tails, with a refractive index below 15, can be collected up to a refractive index of 1 or 0, depending on requirements. By using a refractometer to measure alcohol content, the measurement process can be accelerated. This method is particularly convenient for small-scale experiments and is more suitable as a basis for fractional distillation. Furthermore, conventional measurement methods, such as the specific gravity method, mostly use glass equipment, which is easily broken and inconvenient to carry. The refractometer avoids these concerns, is not limited by the working environment, and requires only a small sample for measurement, making it more convenient and effective compared to conventional methods.

[0039] Since temperature variations affect the degree of alcohol evaporation, temperature control is particularly important during alcohol content measurement. According to one embodiment of the invention, the alcohol content measurement temperature range is 25 to 30°C, for example, but not limited to: 25°C, 25.1°C, 25.2°C, 25.3°C, 25.4°C, 25.5°C, 25.6°C, 25.7°C, 25.8°C, 25.9°C, 26°C, 26.1°C, 26.2°C, 26.3°C, 26.4°C, 26.5°C, 26.6°C, 26.7°C, 26.8°C, 26.9°C, 27°C, 27.1°C, and 27°C. The temperatures are 2℃, 27.3℃, 27.4℃, 27.5℃, 27.6℃, 27.7℃, 27.8℃, 27.9℃, 28℃, 28.1℃, 28.2℃, 28.3℃, 28.4℃, 28.5℃, 28.6℃, 28.7℃, 28.8℃, 28.9℃, 29℃, 29.1℃, 29.2℃, 29.3℃, 29.4℃, 29.5℃, 29.6℃, 29.7℃, 29.8℃, 29.9℃, or 30℃. In a preferred embodiment, the refractometer used in this invention includes a self-regulating temperature device, thus controlling temperature variations within 5℃ and avoiding errors in alcohol content due to temperature influence.

[0040] According to one embodiment of the present invention, after the alcohol content quantification method is completed, it further includes an error rate comparison step to measure the error rate of the obtained alcohol content curve. The "error rate" referred to herein is the difference in alcohol content obtained by subtracting the refractive indices of various wines with different alcohol contents and pure alcohol with a standard alcohol content from the aforementioned alcohol content curve after measurement with a refractometer.

[0041] Specifically, the error rate comparison step utilizes different concentrations of alcoholic beverages with known alcohol content, such as sorghum wine and rice wine, for measurement. The refractive index of each beverage is measured, and this measured refractive index is then input into the aforementioned alcohol content curve to obtain the alcohol content of the beverage. The error rate of the alcohol content curve is then compared. In another embodiment, this error rate comparison step can also use different rice wine mash, fruit wine mash, etc., for error correction. After the mash is distilled, its refractive index is measured and input into the alcohol content curve to obtain the error rate shown in this table. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the alcohol content measured by this method has an error of less than 0.5, such as, but not limited to: 0.5, 0.49, 0.48, 0.47, 0.46, 0.45, 0.44, 0.43, 0.42, 0.41, 0.4, 0.39, 0.38, 0.37, 0.36, 0.35, 0.34, 0.33, 0.32, 0.31, 0.3, 0.29, 0.28, 0.27, 0.26, 0.25, 0.24, 0.23, 0.22, 0.21, 0.2, 0.19, 0.18, 0.17, 0.16, 0.15, 0.14, 0.13, 0.12, 0.11, or 0.1. In a preferred embodiment, the alcohol content measured by this method has an error of less than 0.3%.

[0042] Please refer to the above as well. Figure 1 This invention provides a distillation apparatus 100, comprising: a glass bottle 110, a beaker 120, a delivery tube 130, a graduated test tube 140, and a heating plate 150. Specifically, the glass bottle 110 is disposed on the heating plate 150, while the beaker 120 is disposed separately from the glass bottle 110; furthermore, the graduated test tube 140 is disposed inside the beaker 120 and connected to the glass bottle 110 by the delivery tube 130. According to one embodiment of the invention, the glass bottle 110 is a conical flask. According to one embodiment of the invention, the shape of the delivery tube may be straight, spiral, or curved, etc., but the invention is not limited to the shape described herein.

[0043] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the distillation apparatus 100 further includes a reflux ball 160, which is connected to the mouth of the glass bottle 110. During the distillation of spirits, the distillation rate usually needs to be controlled to prevent excessively rapid distillation and subsequent alcohol evaporation; however, adding the reflux ball increases the time for vapor to reflux in the tube, thereby accelerating the distillation rate and eliminating the need for slow distillation.

[0044] The specific method of using the distillation apparatus 100 is as follows: the wine to be distilled is placed in the glass bottle 110, and the glass bottle 110 is heated by the heating plate 150, so that the wine is distilled into vapor and flows along the tube into the graduated test tube; the beaker is filled with cooling water, so that the vapor flowing into the graduated test tube is condensed into liquid to obtain a distilled wine.

[0045] The distillation apparatus of the present invention aims to provide a small-scale distillation device that can conduct experiments without requiring a large sample size; more specifically, the apparatus of the present invention requires only a 10 ml sample volume for distillation. Since the method of measuring alcohol content using a refractometer requires only a few drops of sample, this apparatus 100 can distill a smaller amount of alcohol with a smaller sample volume, which not only reduces waste of alcohol but also shortens the distillation time. Combined with the alcohol content quantification method of the present invention, the alcohol content of a small amount of alcohol can be quickly measured.

[0046] Example

[0047] It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only, and various modifications or changes are suggested to those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application, and such modifications or changes will be included within the spirit and scope of this application and the scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety for all purposes.

[0048] The refractometer used in this embodiment is AO, T / C (Temperature Compensated), Hand Refractormeter Mode 10430 Brix Reading 0-30, Smallest Dispersion 0.2. This refractometer has an automatic temperature adjustment device, thus avoiding errors caused by temperature.

[0049] 1. Drawing an alcohol content curve

[0050] First, 96% pure alcohol was diluted in stages with distilled water, and the diluted alcohol was collected in stages at 5% alcohol content. A few drops of alcohol were then taken from each stage and their alcohol content was measured using an alcohol meter; that is, 95%, 90%, 85%, up to 0%. The obtained alcohol content values ​​were plotted on the x-axis. Next, the refractive index of these alcohol drops was measured using a refractometer, and the refractive indices were plotted on the y-axis to complete the alcohol content curve. The results are as follows: Figure 2 and 3 As shown.

[0051] Please refer to the above as well. Figure 2 . Figure 2The lower horizontal axis represents alcohol content from 0 to 15%, and the upper horizontal axis represents alcohol content from 15 to 30%. Curve I shows the results for alcohol content from 0 to 15%, while curve II shows the results for alcohol content from 15 to 30%. The results show that in the alcohol content range of 0 to 30%, alcohol content and refractive index exhibit a linear trend, indicating that the higher the alcohol content, the higher the refractive index.

[0052] Please refer to the above as well. Figure 3 . Figure 3 The lower horizontal axis represents alcohol content from 30% to 65%, and the upper horizontal axis represents alcohol content from 65% to 95%. Curve III shows the results for alcohol content from 30% to 65%, while curve IV shows the results for alcohol content from 65% to 95%. The results show that in the alcohol content range of 30% to 95%, the alcohol content and refractive index form a slightly curved line, indicating that the refractive index does not increase with increasing alcohol content. This demonstrates that the refractive index varies with the ratio of alcohol to water. Using the alcohol content curve of this invention, the alcohol content of the wine can be calculated simply by measuring the refractive index of a few drops of the sample, making it a convenient and rapid quantitative method.

[0053] 2. Measurement of the error rate of the alcohol content curve.

[0054] To verify the accuracy of the alcohol content curve, the following two methods were used for error detection. The first method involved taking 60.2% sorghum liquor and 51.3% rice wine, and following the steps described above, gradually diluting the sorghum liquor with distilled water to 1.2% and the rice wine to 0.9%. The alcohol content was then measured using an alcohol meter, and the refractive index was measured using a refractometer. After completion, the measured values ​​were substituted into the above... Figure 2 The alcohol content curve was used to measure the error rate of the curve, and the results are as follows: Figure 4 As shown.

[0055] Figure 4 for Figure 2 The alcohol content curve was plotted, and the data points of the sorghum liquor and rice wine measured above were substituted into the graph. The results showed that both sorghum liquor and rice wine of known concentration roughly conformed to the alcohol content curve, and the error rate was within 0.5%.

[0056] The second detection method is to take a rice wine mash or fruit wine mash, distill it according to conventional methods, measure its alcohol content with an alcohol meter, and then distill the same sample again with the distillation apparatus of the present invention. After measuring the refractive index with a refractometer, the refractive index is substituted into the alcohol content curve to deduce the alcohol content. The error rates of the two methods are compared, and the results are shown in Table 1 below.

[0057] Table 1

[0058]

[0059]

[0060] During the distillation of rice wine mash, samples were measured at 60% alcohol content (starting from the first 60% and ending at 1.2%), with an average error of 0.3%. Larger errors were attributed to discoloration or turbidity in the distillate. These experimental results demonstrate that the alcohol content quantification method of this invention has considerable accuracy and can be applied to the determination of rice wine mash or the initial blending of finished wine.

[0061] 3. The distillation apparatus of the present invention

[0062] The distillation apparatus of this invention is implemented as follows: 10 ml of sample mash is added to a glass bottle, and an appropriate amount of water (approximately 5 ml) is added depending on the viscosity of the mash. Distillation is then carried out by heating. Distillation is stopped when 8 to 9 ml of distillate has been distilled out. The distillate is shaken and mixed thoroughly, and its alcohol content is measured using a refractometer. The alcohol content of the sample is then calculated using the following formula. If there is excess distillate, the calculation can still be performed using this formula.

[0063]

[0064] 4. Time and dosage required for measuring alcohol content

[0065] This embodiment compares the time and sample size required to measure alcohol content using the prior art specific gravity method and the method of the present invention. The specific gravity method uses 200 ml of mash containing 12.1% alcohol for distillation, and the alcohol content is measured using an alcohol meter as a comparative example. The quantitative method of the present invention uses the distillation apparatus of the present invention to distill the same sample, but the sample size used in the present invention is 10 ml. After distillation, the refractive index of the sample is measured using a refractometer, and the alcohol content is determined based on this refractive index. Table 2 below compares the time required for the two methods; Table 3 shows the difference in the required sample size.

[0066] Table 2

[0067]

[0068] Table 3

[0069]

[0070] The experimental results show that when 200 ml of mash containing 12.1% alcohol is distilled, and the actual distillate reaches 100 ml, the refractive index of the distillate measured at the outlet is 0.5. At this point, the total alcohol content in the distillate is over 98% of the total alcohol content in the mash, which should be sufficient for analyzing the alcohol content of the mash. Therefore, theoretically, when the refractive index of the distillate measured at the outlet is 0.5, the measurement can be stopped. At this point, the relative alcohol content is approximately 1.36%, indicating that the residual alcohol content is extremely low. Therefore, according to the conventional gravity method, only half of the sample volume (100 ml) needs to be distilled (alcohol content below 10%). However, the device of this invention only requires distilling 5 to 6 ml to achieve the same effect, which is time-saving, labor-saving, and energy-saving.

[0071] In summary, the alcohol content quantification method of the present invention utilizes a refractometer to measure alcohol content, which not only saves sample volume and measurement time, but also yields a low error rate, making it a rapid and accurate quantification method. Furthermore, this quantification method is not limited by the working environment, is portable, and eliminates concerns about equipment damage, making it suitable for use by personnel in various wineries or laboratories.

[0072] The present invention has been described in detail above. However, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the patent coverage of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of quantifying alcohol content, characterized by, The method comprises: i. providing an alcohol and diluting the alcohol with distilled water in segments; wherein the dilution comprises a plurality of segments; ii. taking a drop of the alcohol in each segment to measure the alcohol content by an alcohol meter and the refractive index by a refractometer; iii. plotting an alcohol content graph with the alcohol content on the horizontal axis and the refractive index on the vertical axis; iv. measuring the refractive index of a sample to be tested and inputting the refractive index into the alcohol content graph to obtain the alcohol content of the sample to be tested.

2. The alcohol content quantification method according to claim 1, characterized by, The alcohol is a 96% alcohol.

3. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 1, wherein The plurality of segments comprises a 0-30% alcohol content segment.

4. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 3, wherein The plurality of segments comprises a 30-70% alcohol content segment.

5. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 4, wherein The plurality of segments comprises a 70-95% alcohol content segment.

6. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 1, wherein The alcohol content is measured at a temperature range of 25-30°C.

7. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 1, wherein The refractometer is a handheld refractometer.

8. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 7, wherein The refractometer comprises a temperature automatic adjustment device.

9. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 1, wherein The step iii further comprises an error rate comparison step.

10. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 9, wherein The alcohol content error rate obtained by the error rate comparison step is 0.5 or less.

11. The method of quantifying alcohol content according to claim 10, wherein The alcohol content error rate obtained by the error rate comparison step is 0.3 or less.

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