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How do forensic chemists check if alcohol has illegally been added to a product?

  • Ethanol used in drinks industry is produced by fermenting sugars and this will contain all 3 naturally occurring isotopes of carbon. Industrial ethanol can be manufactured from crude oil, but this will not contain the radioactive isotope of carbon-14. Use examples of carbon to explain the meaning of isotopes and suggest how forensic chemists could use this information to check whether industrial alcohol has been illegally added to a product.

  • Answer:

    In a forensic laboratory a forensic chemist would most likely check this taking a sample and running it through a GC-MS (Gas chromatograph- Mass spectrometer)

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Actually I want to ask you to clarify. Do you mean that the product is supposed to contain ethanol, but it contains the wrong kind (industrial)? I assume industrial alcohol would be toxic to drink, or it's a much cheaper, inferior alternative in a commercial application other than liquor to drink? I am a retired forensic scientist, but I don't know how to test for the isotopes of carbon. But it should be easy to differentiate because there will be certain byproducts of the production process in the industrial alcohol that will not be present in ethanol to drink. The amounts will be very small, but as mentioned in a previous answer, GC/MS would be able to detect the difference. Sample preparation would be a critical step, and the most difficult step in the analysis. You would also need known standards for comparison. I am wondering if you want to know because of poisoning or product liability.

By using paper chromatography, the distance of the alcohol on the chromatogram will be noticed by the chemist and therefore they will know if there is any foreign substance needed

Actually I want to ask you to clarify. Do you mean that the product is supposed to contain ethanol, but it contains the wrong kind (industrial)? I assume industrial alcohol would be toxic to drink, or it's a much cheaper, inferior alternative in a commercial application other than liquor to drink? I am a retired forensic scientist, but I don't know how to test for the isotopes of carbon. But it should be easy to differentiate because there will be certain byproducts of the production process in the industrial alcohol that will not be present in ethanol to drink. The amounts will be very small, but as mentioned in a previous answer, GC/MS would be able to detect the difference. Sample preparation would be a critical step, and the most difficult step in the analysis. You would also need known standards for comparison. I am wondering if you want to know because of poisoning or product liability.

In a forensic laboratory a forensic chemist would most likely check this taking a sample and running it through a GC-MS (Gas chromatograph- Mass spectrometer)

Jason

By using paper chromatography, the distance of the alcohol on the chromatogram will be noticed by the chemist and therefore they will know if there is any foreign substance needed

Joshua

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