Analytical Methods exploiting digital images and optoelectronic arrays to evaluate the quality of cachaça and distillation process

• Grant number: 22/05785-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Rodrigo Piovezani Rocha
• Grantee: Gabriel Martins Fernandes
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cachaça is a product obtained through the alcoholic fermentation of sugar cane juice with an alcohol content between 38 and 48%. Produced exclusively in Brazil, it is the most consumed distilled beverage in the country, requiring strict quality control to ensure that the product has the necessary sensory characteristics. The most used method for quality control of cachaça is gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector which, despite being robust, does not allow in-situ analysis and has a relatively high operating cost. Due to inherent characteristics, such as portability and low cost, optoelectronic devices and methods exploring digital images become a viable option for monitoring the production process and quality control of cachaça. In this project, we propose the development of these devices exploring the 3D printing technique associated with arrays of colorimetric sensors using paper spots as support for different classes of colorimetric reagents. These sensors will be used to monitor volatile compounds in the headspace of cachaça (ethanol, ethyl acetate, methanol, volatile acids, aldehydes, and, higher alcohols), with monitor distillation process, classification according to geographic origin and control of product quality.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FERNANDES, GABRIEL M.; ALCARDE, ANDRE R.; ROCHA, FABIO R. P.. Kinetic determination of ethyl carbamate in sugarcane spirits exploiting digital videos. Talanta, v. 292, p. 7-pg., 2025-03-12. (22/05785-5)

SOARES, SAMARA; FERNANDES, GABRIEL M.; ROCHA, FABIO R. P.. Smartphone-based digital images in analytical chemistry: Why, when, and how to use. TRAC-TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, v. 168, p. 10-pg., 2023-09-25. (22/05785-5, 18/07687-5)