Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions and the influences of these additives on ABV were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given the results based on NMR data and NaCl additions, intermolecular hydrogen bonding is not the direct cause of the ethanol retention. However, a direct correlation between increasing pH and increasing accuracy exists in some cases, suggesting that intramolecular forces may be the more dominant interactions affecting ABV determination. The final chapter of this work contains ideas to better understand the fundamental chemistry of these interactions, eventually leading to more robust measurements for ABV determination.
","abstract_html":"<p>Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions and the influences of these additives on ABV were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given the results based on NMR data and NaCl additions, intermolecular hydrogen bonding is not the direct cause of the ethanol retention. However, a direct correlation between increasing pH and increasing accuracy exists in some cases, suggesting that intramolecular forces may be the more dominant interactions affecting ABV determination. The final chapter of this work contains ideas to better understand the fundamental chemistry of these interactions, eventually leading to more robust measurements for ABV determination. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McFadden, Armanda Fae"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Chemistry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z","subjects":["Chemistry","Distillation","Ethanol","Flavored Spirits","Sugar","Food Chemistry"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2016 Armanda Fae McFadden"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/398","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McFadden, Armanda Fae"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Chemistry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Chemistry","Distillation","Ethanol","Flavored Spirits","Sugar","Food Chemistry"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2016 Armanda Fae McFadden"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/398"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions and the influences of these additives on ABV were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given the results based on NMR data and NaCl additions, intermolecular hydrogen bonding is not the direct cause of the ethanol retention. However, a direct correlation between increasing pH and increasing accuracy exists in some cases, suggesting that intramolecular forces may be the more dominant interactions affecting ABV determination. The final chapter of this work contains ideas to better understand the fundamental chemistry of these interactions, eventually leading to more robust measurements for ABV determination.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Unprecedented Research Project into the Alcohol Retention Variation of Flavored Spirits"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["McFadden, Armanda Fae"],"dc:description.abstract":["Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions and the influences of these additives on ABV were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given the results based on NMR data and NaCl additions, intermolecular hydrogen bonding is not the direct cause of the ethanol retention. However, a direct correlation between increasing pH and increasing accuracy exists in some cases, suggesting that intramolecular forces may be the more dominant interactions affecting ABV determination. The final chapter of this work contains ideas to better understand the fundamental chemistry of these interactions, eventually leading to more robust measurements for ABV determination.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/398"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2016 Armanda Fae McFadden"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Chemistry","Distillation","Ethanol","Flavored Spirits","Sugar","Food Chemistry"],"dc:title":["An Unprecedented Research Project into the Alcohol Retention Variation of Flavored Spirits"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Chemistry"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z"}