Analysis of alcohol

Liquor is normally known as a mixture of water and alcohol. The term alcohol is
often used for ethyl alcohol.
The liquor is manufactured by the fermentation process in which carbohydrates
are fermented in presence of enzymes as per their specifications given in Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS).
Country made liquor is alcoholic product usually prepared from fermentation of
carbohydrates present in cereals, jaggery, fruits, mahua, palm, molasses etc. The
liquors are sold in the market in various brands and covered under Excise Act.

The possession, sale, transportation of liquor is allowed only as per
the Rules and Regulations of Excise and Prohibition.
Many times these liquors are being smuggled from one State to
another State, illegal possession, transported without proper valid
documents.
These samples are seized by the Police and submitted to the
Forensic Laboratory for their examination.

The liquor is examined in the laboratory for two purposes:
firstly, for Excise purpose where, mainly the presence of alcohol
plays an important role and accordingly the examination of
liquor samples for the qualitative and quantitative analysis is the
main purpose of the investigation.
Secondly, the liquor is examined for quality control/duplicate
samples, which are being sold in the market in which the
examination is carried out for other parameters also apart from
alcohol contents.

Qualitative Analysis of Liquor :

Test for Ethyl Alcohol : The following tests are to be carried out for the
detection of ethyl alcohol in the exhibits.
(a)Iodoform Test:
Take about 1 ml or appropriate of sample (distilled or as
such depending upon the nature of sample and concentration of ethanol)
and add about 1 ml of 5% sodium hydroxide solution and then add
iodine solution
(20 gm Potassium iodide + 10 gm Iodine in 100 ml water) drop-wise
with shaking until the liquid becomes persistent dark brown in colour.

Keep it for 2-3 minutes.
If the iodine colour disappears add more drops of iodine solution until
persistent brown colour of iodine.
Add few drops of dilute sodium hydroxide solution to remove extra
iodine. Add equal volume of water, keep it for ten minutes.
Yellow crystalline precipitate indicates the positive test for the presence
of ethanol.

(b) Dichromate Test :
To about 1 ml or appropriate amount of sample (distilled or as
such depending upon the nature of samples and concentration of
ethanol) is added about 0.2 ml of 2% potassium dichromate
solution followed by about 1 ml of concentration sulphuric acid.
The yellow colour of the dichromate changes to green or blue
indicates the presence of ethanol.

Test for Methanol :
a)Chromotropic Acid Test :
Take about 1 ml or appropriate amount of sample (distilled or as such
depending upon the nature of sample and concentration of methanol) in a test
tube add about 2 ml of potassium permanganate solution (3 gm potassium
permanganate and 15 ml of phosphoric/ortho phosphoric acid in
100 ml distilled water) and shake well.
Now add few crystals of sodium bisulphate with shaking till disappearance of
colour (potassium permanganate colour) of the solution.

Add about 1 ml of chromotropic acid (5% of aqueous solution of
sodium salt of chromotropic acid) and add concentrate sulphuric acid
slowly with inner sidewall of the test tube to the extent of 15 ml.
Appearance of violet colour indicates the presence of methanol.

b) Schiff’s Reagent Test :
Take about 4.5 ml of sample (distilled or as such depending upon the
nature of sample) in a test tube and add 0.5 ml of ethanol (if
the concentration of ethanol is high in the sample, the sample is fortified
accordingly so that 5 ml volume should contain only 0.5 ml ethanol.
Add 2 ml of 3% Potassium Permanganate solution and .2ml of
phosphoric acid. Keep it for 10 minutes.
Add 1 ml of 10% oxalic acid followed by 1ml of concentrated sulphuric
acid. The contents are cold at room temperature.

Now add 5 ml of Schiff's reagent, keep it for half an hour and observe
the colour.
Appearance of purple colour indicates positive test for the presence of
methanol.
The parallel experiments may also been carried out with control sample
containing 0.5 ml solution (0.5% methanol in rectified spirit/ethanol)
mixed with 4.5 ml of water and a blank sample having 5 ml water.

Test for Copper & Iron :
Take about 5 ml or appropriate amount of sample add 1 drop of Nitric acid and 1 ml
of 0.025 M potassium Ferrocyanide solution.
Prussian blue colour indicates presence of iron and chocolate colour indicates the
presence of copper.
Test for Furfural :
Take about 5 ml or appropriate amount of sample (distilled or as such depending upon
the nature of sample and concentration of furfural) in a test tube, add about 1 ml
aniline and about 0.5 ml hydrochloric acid and keep it for 15 minutes.
Appearance of red colour indicates the presence of furfural.

Furfural (C4H3O-CHO), also called 2-furaldehyde, best
known member of the furan family and the source of the
other technically important furans. It is a colourless liquid
(boiling point 161.7 °C; specific gravity 1.1598) subject to
darkening on exposure to air.
It dissolves in water to the extent of 8.3 percent at 20 °C
and is completely miscible with alcohol and ether.

Breath Alcohol Testers - Prevents Road Accidents

Absorption of alcohol into the blood stream affects people by
making them intoxicated. Alcohol intoxication in drivers can cause
road accidents.
When is the driver drunk? When is the driver under the influence of
alcohol?
Technically it is determined by the driver's blood alcohol level
called the ‘blood alcohol concentration’ (BAC), which indicates the
degree of intoxication.

In most countries 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood (BAC
0.08) is set as the legal limit beyond which the driver is considered to
be legally drunk.
Any driver with BAC > 0.08 can be considered to be driving under
the influence of alcohol (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI)
and should not be allowed to drive.

Blood alcohol levels may be evaluated by using the Breathalyzer.
There are two ways of measuring BAC
(1) invasively by drawing a blood sample, and
(2) non-invasively via breath, salvia, or urine samples.
The latter is used mainly by law enforcement officials, and the
former is generally performed by specialists at health care
institutions.

How does a person's breath reveal the amount of alcohol consumed?
When a person blows air into a breathalyzer the breath alcohol content
(BrAC) is measured and converted into the corresponding BAC.
In other words, BrAC is correlated with BAC. Continuous mixing of
inhaled and exhaled air occurs in the lungs. Exchange of chemicals and
air occur in the air-sacs called alveoli, which are surrounded by a fine
network of capillary blood vessels.
This is the path via which alcohol enters the blood stream.

The Breath Alcohol Testers
Breath alcohol testing devices were first developed for use by police
in the 1940s. The Breathalyzer was invented by Dr. Robert
Borkenstein of the Indiana State Police in 1954.
Some prefer to classify breathalyzers based on color change due to
alcohol chemical reaction.

The Models
There are four types of breathalyzers.
1. Semiconductor Models (breathalyzer)
2. Fuel Cell Models (alcosensors)
3. Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy Models (intoxilyzers)
4. Gas Chromatography (GC) Models (intoximeter)

A breathalyzer (breath analyzer) is a device for estimating blood alcohol
content (BAC) from a breath sample. The invention of the breathalyzer
provided law enforcement with a non-invasive test providing immediate
results to determine an individual's BAC at the time of testing.
It does not, however, determine an individual's level of intoxication, as
this varies by a subject's individual alcohol tolerance. The BAC test
result itself can vary between individuals consuming identical amounts
of alcohol, due to gender, weight, and genetic pre-disposition.

Breath analyzers do not directly measure blood alcohol content or
concentration, which requires the analysis of a blood sample. Instead,
they estimate BAC indirectly by measuring the amount of alcohol in
one's breath.
There are several types of breathalyzer devices. Regardless of the
type, each device has a mouthpiece, a tube through which the suspect
blows air, and a sample chamber where the air goes.

To measure alcohol in the breath, a suspect breathes into the device.
The breath sample is bubbled into a vial which contains a mixture of
chemicals that react with alcohol.
The reaction of the alcohol results in a color change of the solution in
the vial; the degree of color change is directly related to the level of
alcohol in the expelled air.
To determine the amount of alcohol in that air, the color of the reacted
mixture is compared to the color of an unreacted mixture in another
vial. The breathalyzer device then gives a readout that indicates the
degree of color change and, hence, the level of alcohol in the suspect’s
breath.

The Chemical Reaction Used by the Breathalyzer
Ethanol reacts with dichromate ion in acidic solution
In solution the dichromate ion has an orange color, but the
chromium ion is blue-green. This reaction is easily observed because
the orange color disappears as dichromate ion is used up, and the
blue-green color appears as chromium ion forms.

If there is enough ethanol present to react with all of the dichromate ion
and use it up in the reaction, the orange color will disappear entirely and
the solution will become blue-green.
On the other hand, there may be only a little ethanol present relative to
the amount of dichromate ion present—in other words, there is not
enough ethanol to react with and use up all of the dichromate ion.
In this case, some orange-colored dichromate ion remains after the
reaction, along with some blue-green chromium ion that has formed due
to the reaction with the small amount of ethanol present. This mixture of
orange and blue-green ions will produce a solution that is a golden
yellow color.

Semiconductor Models (Breathalyzer):
These types of units have the main advantage of being
relatively inexpensive. Many semiconductor models are
available and their use has increased rapidly.
Classification involves three levels –
Level I: Novelty Grade,
Level II: Intermediate Grade, and
Level III: Professional Grade.

Fuel Cell Models (Alcosensors):
Among handheld breathalyzers, fuel cell units are the top
standard. People such as police officers, employers, and
substance-abuse counselors use fuel cell units. The units are more
specific towards alcohol detection and their accuracy is
comparable to a professional semiconductor unit. Consequently
there is less chance of false readings from interfering non-alcohol
substances.

The sensor consists of a porous acid-electrolyte material sandwiched
between two platinum electrodes. The platinum oxidizes alcohol
molecules in exhaled air flowing past one side of the fuel cell
producing acetic acid, protons and electrons.

Two free protons and two free electrons are released from the ethanol
molecule when it is oxidized to acetic acid. The two electrons flow
through a wire connected to the platinum electrode of the sensor, into an
electrical-current meter and then to the platinum electrode on the other
side of the cell.
The two protons move through the lower portion of the fuel cell and
combine with oxygen and the above electrons, to form water. The
electrical current produced depends on the number of free electrons,
which in turn depends on the amount of breath alcohol oxidized. A
microprocessor measures this electrical current, computes the total
BrAC and converts it to equivalent BAC.

Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy Models (Intoxilyzer):
These units are extremely accurate and specific. They are often used
as evidential testers in police stations.
It consists of a lamp that generates a broadband IR beam containing
many wavelengths. The IR beam passes through the sample chamber
and a lens focuses it onto a spinning filter wheel made of narrow-band
filters that are specific for the alcohol wavelengths. The photocell
detects the light passing through each filter and converts to an electrical
pulse, which is relayed to the microprocessor that interprets the pulses
and gives the BAC, based on the IR absorption.

Gas Chromatography Models (Intoximeter): These are based
on the chromatographic separation principle. Alcohol peak is
detected and its intensity is determined .
They are called intoximeters.

Field Sobriety Test to Assess Drunk Driving

Field Sobriety Tests are groups of three tests used by police to determine
if a driver is impaired. The tasks assess balance, coordination, and the
ability of the driver to divide his attention to more than one task during
the field sobriety test.
The Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) is a battery of 3 tests that
include the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), the walk-and-turn, and
the one-leg stand tests.
These tests have been scientifically proven to validate legal intoxication
in drivers suspected of drunken driving in 90% of cases if administered
by a trained officer. Results of the test are admissible as evidence in
court.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines
and describes the three parts of the SFST in detail:
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
Horizontal gaze nystagmus is an involuntary "jerking" of the
eyeball which happens to everyone when the eyes are rotated
at high peripheral angles. When a person is intoxicated,
however, the jerking of the eyes becomes more exaggerated
and occurs at lesser angles.

Turning the HGN test, the officer will ask the driver to follow a moving
object, such as a pen or flashlight, slowly from side to side. The officer
looks to determine:
If the eye cannot follow the object smoothly
If jerking is distinct when the eye is at maximum deviation
If the angle of jerking onset is within 45 degrees
If four or more clues appear between the two eyes, the driver is likely to
have a blood-alcohol content (BAC) 0.10 or greater. NHTSA research
shows this test to be accurate in 77% of test subjects.

Walk-and-Turn Test
For the walk-and-turn test, the officer asks the driver to take nine steps, heel-to-toe,
along a straight line, turn on one foot and return nine steps in the opposite direction.
During the test, the officer looks for seven indicators of impairment:
If the suspect cannot keep balance while listening to the instructions
Begins before the instructions are finished
Stops while walking to regain balance
Does not touch heel-to-toe
Uses arms to balance
Loses balance while turning
Takes an incorrect number of steps
If the driver exhibits two or more of the above indicators during the test, there is a
68% likelihood of at BAC level of 0.10 or higher, according to the NHTSA.

One-Leg Stand Test
For the one-leg stand test, the officer asks the driver to stand with one foot about six
inches off the ground and count by from 1,001 (one-thousand-one, one thousand-two,
etc.) until the officer says to put the foot down.
During the next 30 seconds, the officer looks for these four indicators:
Swaying while balancing
Using arms to balance
Hopping to maintain balance
Putting the foot down
If the driver exhibits two or more of the above indicators, there is a 65% chance he has
a BAC of 0.10 or greater, according to the NHSTA.
If the driver fails any of the above field sobriety tests, the officer will then ask the
suspect to take a breath test or a chemical test to confirm their blood-alcohol content.

Alcoholic gaze nystagmus
It can be:
i.Positional nystagmus: Initially, nystagmus is in the direction towards
which the head is turned, but after 5-6 h, the nystagmus is in opposite
direction to which the head is turned. It is detected when the patient is
lying supine and the head turned to either the left or right.
ii. Horizontal nystagmus: Jerky movements of the eyeball when the gaze is
directed to one side.
• Blood alcohol level is 50-100 mg%.
• Other conditions where nystagmus may be observed—
fatigue, emotion, postural hypotension and ingestion of sedatives and
tranquillizers.

CAGE questionnaire:
Developed by Dr John Ewing, CAGE is an internationally used
assessment instrument for identifying alcoholics.
i. Have you ever felt you should Cut down on your drinking?
ii. Have people Annoyed you, by criticizing your drinking?
iii. Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking?
iv. Have you ever had a drink, first thing in the morning, to steady your
nerves or to get rid of a hangover (Eye opener)?
Scoring: Item responses on the CAGE are scored 0 or 1, with a higher
score an indication of alcohol problems. A total score of 2 or greater is
considered clinically significant.

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drunk driving:
Operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol or other drugs
to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired.
• Authorities around the world have laid down their own standards for
permissible maximum BAC.
• In India, according to Motor Vehicles Act 1988, for the first offence,
punishment is imprisonment of 6 months and/or fine of 2000. If a second
offence is committed within 3 years, the punishment is 2 years and/or
fine of 3000. Under this Act, there can be arrest without warrant,
a breath test and a laboratory test can also be carried out.

The government has cleared a proposal to amend the Act.
Drunk driving will be graded according to blood alcohol level. The penalty
remains unchanged till BAC of 60 mg/dl.
In case of BAC 60-150 mg/dl, imprisonment is for 1 year and/or fine 4000.
If offence is repeated within 3 years, imprisonment is for 3 years and/or
8000.
In case of BAC > 150 mg/dl, imprisonment is for 2 years and/or fine `
5000. If the offence is repeated, imprisonment is for 4 years and fine of `
10000, besides cancellation of license.

Widmark's formula is used to estimate blood alcohol level.
a = cpr
where
a – the total amount of alcohol (in grams) absorbed in the body
c – the concentration of alcohol in blood (in g/kg)
p – the weight of the person (in kg)
r – constant (0.68 in men and 0.5 in women)
Alcohol level from urine is estimated with the formula:
a = 3/4 qpr
where q – concentration of alcohol in urine (in g/l)
and ‘a’, ‘p’ and ‘r’ are same as above.

Liquor Consuming Age In India In Different States

State in which liquor consuming age is 21
Chhattisgarh (The Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915 Section 23)
Arunachal Pradesh (The Arunachal Pradesh Excise Act, 1993 section 42)
Andhra Pradesh {The Andhra Pradesh (regulation of Wholesale Trade and Distribution and Retail
Trade in Indian Liquor, Foreign Liquor, Wine and Beer) Act, 1993}
Assam (Rule 241 and 5.10 of the Assam Excise Rule 1945)
Goa (The Goa Excise Duty Act and Rules, 1964 Section 19)
Dadra and Nagar Haveli (THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI EXCISE REGULATION, 2012
Section 24)
Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir Excise Act, 1958 SECTION- 50 B Jammu and Kashmir
Liquor License and Sales Rules, 1984 RULE 11)
Daman and Diu (The Goa, Daman and Diu Excise Duty Act & Rules 1964 section 19)
Madhya Pradesh (The Madhya Pradesh Excise Act, 1915– SECTION 23)
Orissa (THE ODISHA EXCISE ACT, 2005 SECTION 61)

Jharkhand (The Bihar & Orissa Excise Act, 1915 Section 54)
Tamil Nadu {Tamil Nadu Liquor (License and Permit) Rules, 1981 Section 25 rule
XV}
Karnataka (Karnataka Excise Department, 1967)
Uttarakhand {United Provinces Excise Act, 1910 The Uttaranchal (The Uttar
Pradesh Excise Act, 1910) Section 2}
Tripura (THE TRIPURA EXCISE ACT, 1987 SECTION 53)
Telangana (Andhra Pradesh Excise Act 1968- SECTION 36)
West Bengal (Bengal Excise Act 1909 SECTION 51)
Uttar Pradesh (United Provinces Excise Act, 1910 Section 2)

States in which liquor consuming age is 18
Andaman Nicobar islands (Andaman and Nicobar Islands Excise Regulation,
2012 Section 24 Excise Policy RULE 14)
Kerala (Abkary Act, (1 OF 1077) Section- 15A & 15B)
Himachal Pradesh (THE HIMACHAL PRADESH LIQUOR LICENSE RULES,
1986 RULE- 16)
Pondicherry (The Pondicherry Excise Act, 1970 Section 35)
Mizoram {Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) Bill 2014 Section 58}
Sikkim {THE SIKKIM HOME GUARDS BILL, 1992 ( BILL NO. 1 OF 1992 )
SECTION 20}
Rajasthan (Rajasthan Excise Act 1950, SECTION 22)

States in which liquor consuming age is 25
Chandigarh (Punjab Excise Act, 1915 Section 23)
Haryana (Punjab Excise Act,1914– SECTION 29)
Delhi (Delhi Excise Act, 2010 Section 23 Delhi Liquor License Rules,
1976)
Punjab (Punjab Excise Act,1914– SECTION 29)
Meghalaya (EASTERN BENGAL AND ASSAM ACT, 1910)

Dry Days In India
Most Indian states and Union Territories have Dry Days – days when
the sale of liquor is restricted. Consumption of liquor out in the public
eateries and restaurants is banned while individuals can drink in their
homes. Independence Day (August 15), Republic Day (January 26), and
Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) are usually observed Dry Days in all over
the nation. Aside from these, significant celebration days (festival) of
the state are normally Dry Days.

Sec. 85 IPC: Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who at
the time of doing it, by reason of intoxication, is incapable of knowing
the nature of the act, or what he is doing is either wrong or contrary
to law; provided that thing which intoxicated him was administered to
him without his knowledge or against his will.
• Voluntary drunkenness is not an excuse for commission
of crime.
• Sec. 510 IPC: Misconduct by a drunken person in public is
punishable with imprisonment up to 24 h.

Analysis of alcohol

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Analysis of alcohol