Answer to Question #100027 in Organic Chemistry for Jane

Question

Sample 10 is the spectrum recorded for an ethanol sample destined for dilution with various additives and water to give a fine flavoursome alcopop. However as the spectrum demonstrates the sample has been contaminated with two chemicals both of which you have encountered in this exercise previously and both of which are irritants (to the eyes, skin and through ingestion). In order to prevent the ruination of further batches of alcopops you are required to:
(a) Identify the two unknown compounds and assign the signals of the ethanol to the chemical structure.
(b) Calculate the relative proportions (as a ratio) of the three compounds in this ‘chemical cocktail’

Answer 1

As far as the question contains no numerical information as for the titled spectrum we can only propose the main so-called congeners, which are common for the most of alcoholic beverages.

They usually include carbonyl compounds, other then ethyl alcohols, esters, acids and acetals. Acetaldehyde can be marked as the most toxic alcohol metabolite, which can be formed in the alcohol during the ageing. Methanol in the drinking alcohol can be formed via the splitting of methoxyl group from the pectin of the crushed fruits. Ethyl acetate is the result of the bacterial action under unfavorable conditions and provides lowering of the organoleptic characteristics of the given alohol. These are also other two important contaminants: Ethyl carbamate and Benzene.