Correlation of the presence of acrolein with higher alcohols, glycerol, and acidity in cachaças.

Acrolein is a toxic aldehyde that can be present in various beverages, such as cachaça and other distilled spirits from sugarcane. The objective of this work was to detect and quantify acrolein in samples of cachaça produced by different processes in all regions of Brazil and to evaluate the possible routes of formation of this contaminant from the correlation with other secondary compounds present in the beverage using principal component analysis. Approximately 27.0% of the samples analyzed were outside the limit established by Brazilian legislation for this contaminant, with an average acrolein concentration of 14.01 mg 100 mL-1 anhydrous alcohol (aa). In the other samples, the average concentration was 0.97 mg 100 mL-1 aa. After selecting the variables that most closely correlated with the presence of acrolein in beverages, a positive correlation was found with the presence of butan-2-ol, propan-1-ol and volatile acids, and a slight correlation with the presence of phenolic compounds. Therefore, the presence of acrolein in cachaça can be associated with contamination of the fermentation must by bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus, as a result of the chemical degradation and enzymatic conversion of the glycerol produced during fermentation.

Kinetic, thermodynamic and physical-chemical study of the removal of copper from cachaça using coconut fibers.

The use of coconut fiber as a copper adsorbent in cachaça was optimised, and changes in the chemical quality of the beverage were observed by analytical techniques. The influence of the adsorbent mass and copper concentration parameters was investigated using the Central Composite Design, and the optimum condition was obtained through the use of Response Surface Methodology. The equilibrium of the adsorption reaction was obtained within 120 min. The kinetic data were better adjusted for the Elovich model (Elovich and Zhabrova 1939) and the isotherm data for the Sips model (Sips 1948). The maximum adsorption capacity was 1.38 mg g-1. Slight changes in the physicochemical quality of the beverage were observed, including a decrease in volatile acidity and alcohol content. Copper levels in cachaça decreased from 8.57 mg L-1 to 4.97 mg L-1 after adsorption. Therefore, the use of biomass as a metal ion adsorbent in beverages can be successfully employed.