Search: fat content

A water sample is run through an ion exchanger in which all of the cations are replaced with hydrogen ions. The sulfate is determined through titration in the presence of a previously prepared barium chloride solution, of which a known amount in excess of that required is added in advance. The quantity is measured by complexometric titration. The difference between the initial concentration of barium chloride and the amount determined by back titration corresponds to the sulfate content.

In many cases, particularly at higher contents, an alternative and sufficiently accurate measurement is possible, called the “negative m value” or the “total mineral acid value” (without carbonic acid). This is achieved through titration. Subsequently, the mval values for the anions (Cl^-, NO₃^-, NO₂^-, PO₄^3-) are subtracted from the result.

In the presence of barium chloride, sulfate ions form barium sulfate, which is only slightly soluble in water. The turbidity produced by doing so is determined with a photometer.

Barium chloride sulfate is precipitated as coarse crystalline barium sulfate. The precipitate is determined gravimetrically:

SO₄^2- + Ba²⁺ → BaSO₄
 

The sample is extracted with petroleum ether in a Soxhlet apparatus equipped with a reflux condenser; the solvent is evaporated and the crude fat residue weighed.

Many basic dyes (e.g. methylene blue) behave in a similar way to cation-active substances. Methylene blue forms a complex with dodecyl sulfate (anion-active surfactant), for example, which is soluble in organic solvents such as dichloromethane with blue colour. By adding quaternary ammonium compounds (QAV), this complex is decomposed and the methylene blue migrates from the dichloromethane into the aqueous phase. When titrating quaternary ammonium compounds with dodecyl sulfate, this process takes place in the opposite direction, i.e. the methylene blue migrates from the aqueous to the dichloromethane phase. The end point of the titration is reached when the aqueous and dichloromethane phases have the same colour depth.

Or to put it in other words:

Methylene blue (water-soluble dye in cationic form) forms a complex with dodecyl sulfate (anionic surfactant), which is soluble in organic solvents, e.g. dichloromethane, with blue colour. On the other hand, QAV also forms a complex with dodecyl sulfate, so that the indicator migrates into the organic phase once the equivalence point has been exceeded.

The high molecular weight proteins are precipitated by magnesium sulfate, and the nitrogen content in the sediment is determined, e.g., according to Kjeldahl.

In order to measure the portion of the high molecular weight protein fractions in wort and beer, precipitation with magnesium sulfate is recommended. Through gel chromatography it has been established that magnesium sulfate precipitates nitrogenous compounds possessing molecular weights of approximately 2600 Da and higher [2]. A strong correlation between the nitrogenous substances precipitated by magnesium sulfate and beer foam has also been observed [3, 4].