Prediction of Ethanol Content and Total Extract Using Densimetry and Refractometry

Abstract

This study investigated the interrelationships between the parameters of density, optical refraction, the volume fraction of ethanol and the total extract, using model solutions and samples of wine materials. The regularities of changes in refractometer readings in the process of alcoholic fermentation have been studied. The functional dependence of the value of the volume fraction of ethanol in the finished wine products on the density and scale of refractometer values has been established. A technique is proposed for controlling the process of alcoholic fermentation of grape must, based on the use of refractometry. Finally, we present an algorithm to calculate the composition (volume fraction of ethanol, mass concentration of the total extract) of the fermentation product from its physical properties (density, refractive index), the coefficient of determination was R2 = 0.975.

Keywords

• densimetry
• refractometry
• process control
• ethanol content
• sugar content
• refractive index