Part 14

For sugar work the true 100 gram flask is not usually employed, but one graduated by weighing at 17°.5. These flasks are graduated by first weighing them perfectly dry, filling with distilled water and again weighing fifty and fifty-five, or 100 and 110 grams of water at the temperature named. Since the volume of water at 17°.5 is greater than at 4° the sugar flask in ordinary use has a greater volume by about 0.25 cubic centimeter than the true flask. The observer should always secure a statement from the dealer in respect of the volume of the flask used in testing the scale of the polariscope purchased. In the graduation of a flask in true cubic centimeters, when brass weights are used it will be necessary to correct the weight of each gram of water by adding to it one milligram, which is almost exactly the weight of the volume of air displaced by one gram of water in the circumstances named. If the flask be first counterbalanced and it be desired to mark it at 100 cubic centimeters the sum of the weights placed in the opposite pan should be 100 - 0.100 = 99.900 grams. While this is not a rigidly exact correction it will be sufficient for all practical purposes. A liter of dry air weighs 1.29366 grams; and 100 cubic centimeters of water would therefore displace 0.129 gram of air. But the brass weights also displace a volume of air which when deducted reduces the correction to be made for the water to nearly the one named. For convenience in inverting sugar solutions the flasks used in practical work are graduated at fifty and fifty-five and 100 and 110 cubic centimeters respectively.

=83. Preparing Sugar Solutions for Polarization.=—If sugar samples were always pure the percentage of sugar in a given solution could be directly determined by immediate polarization. Such cases, however, are rarely met in practice. In the majority of cases the sample is not only to be brought into solution but is also to be decolorized and rendered limpid by some one of the methods to be described. A perfectly limpid liquid is of the highest importance to secure correct observations. With a cloudy solution the field of vision is obscured, the dividing line of the two halves, or the double line in the triple field, becomes blurred or invisible and the intensity of illumination is diminished. A colored liquid which is bright is far more easy to polarize than a colorless liquid which is turbid. In fact, it is only rarely in sugar work that samples will be found which require any special decolorizing treatment other than that which is received in applying the reagents which serve to make the solutions limpid. In the following paragraphs the approved methods of clarifying sugar solutions preparatory to observation in the polariscope will be described.

=84. Alumina Cream.=—The hydrate of alumina, commonly known as alumina cream, is always to be preferred as a clarifying agent in all cases where it can be successfully applied. It is a substance that acts wholly in a mechanical way and therefore leaves the sugars in solution unchanged, carrying out only suspended matters. In the preparation of this reagent a solution of alum is treated with ammonia in slight excess, the aluminum hydroxid produced washed on a filter or by decantation until neutral in reaction. The hydroxid is suspended in pure water in proportions to produce a creamy liquid. Although apparently very bulky, the actual space occupied by the amount of dry hydroxid added in a few cubic centimeters is so small as to produce no disturbing effect of importance on the volume of the sugar solution. The cream thus prepared is shaken just before using and from one to five cubic centimeters of it, according to the degree of turbidity of the saccharine solution, are added before the volume in the flask is completed to the mark. After filling the flask to the mark the ball of the thumb is placed over the mouth and the contents well shaken and allowed to stand for a few moments before filtering.

The alumina cream is well suited to use with solutions of commercial sugars of not too low a grade and of most honeys and high grade sirups. It is usually not powerful enough to clarify beet and cane juices, molasses and massecuites.

=85. Basic Lead Acetate.=—A solution of basic lead acetate is an invaluable aid to the sugar analyst in the preparation of samples for polarimetric observation. It acts as a clarifying agent by throwing out of solution certain organic compounds and by uniting with the organic acids in solution forms an additional quantity of precipitate, and these precipitates act also mechanically in removing suspended matters from solution. The action of this reagent is therefore much more vigorous than that of alumina cream. Coloring matters are often precipitated and removed by treatment with lead acetate. It happens therefore that there are few samples of saccharine bodies whose solutions cannot be sufficiently clarified by lead acetate to permit of polarimetric observation.

The reagent is most frequently employed of the following strength: Boil for half an hour in one and a half liters of water 464 grams of lead acetate and 264 grams of litharge with frequent stirring. When cool, dilute with water to two liters, allow to stand until clear, and decant the solution. The specific gravity of this solution is about 1.267.

In a solution of basic lead acetate of unknown strength the percentage of lead acetate may be determined from its specific gravity by the following table:

PERCENTAGE OF LEAD ACETATE CORRESPONDING TO DIFFERENT SPECIFIC GRAVITIES AT 15°.

Percentage of Percentage of Specific gravity. lead acetate. Specific gravity. lead acetate. 1.0127 2 1.2040 28 1.0255 4 1.2211 30 1.0386 6 1.2395 32 1.0520 8 1.2579 34 1.0654 10 1.2768 36 1.0796 12 1.2966 38 1.0939 14 1.3163 40 1.1084 16 1.3376 42 1.1234 18 1.3588 44 1.1384 20 1.3810 46 1.1544 22 1.4041 48 1.1704 24 1.4271 50 1.1869 26

=86. Errors Due to use of Lead Solutions.=—In the use of lead solutions there is danger of errors intruding into the results of the work. These errors are due to various sources. Lead subacetate solution, when used with low grade products, or sugar juices, or sirups from beets and canes, precipitates albuminous matters and also the organic acids present. The bulk occupied by these combined precipitates is often of considerable magnitude, so that on completing the volume in the flask the actual sugar solution present is less than indicated. The resulting condensation tends to give too high a polarimetric reading. With purer samples this error is of no consequence, but especially with low grade sirups and molasses it is a disturbing factor, which must be considered.

One of the best methods of correcting it has been proposed by Scheibler. To 100 cubic centimeters of a solution of the sample, ten of lead solution are added, and after shaking and filtering the polarimetric reading is taken. Another quantity of 100 cubic centimeters of the solution with ten of lead is diluted to 220 cubic centimeters, shaken, filtered, and polarized. Double the second reading, subtract it from the first, multiply the difference by 2.2, and deduct the product from the first reading. The remainder is the correct polarization.

The process just described is for the usual work with beet juices and sirups. For cane juices measured by the graduated pipette, hereafter to be described, and for weighed samples of molasses and massecuites, the following method of calculation is pursued. To the sample dissolved in water, add a measured portion of the lead subacetate solution, make its volume 100 cubic centimeters and observe the polarimetric reading. Prepare a second solution in the same way and make the volume double that of the first and again take the polarimetric reading. Multiply the second reading by two, subtract the product from the first reading and multiply the remainder by two, and subtract the product from the first reading.

Example.—First polarization 30.0 Second polarization 14.9 Then 30 - (2 × 14.9 = 29.8) = 0.2 0.2 × 2 = 0.4 and 30 - 0.4 = 29.6

The corrected reading therefore shows that the sample contained 29.6 per cent of sugar.

=87. Error Due to Action of Lead Subacetate on Levulose.=—In the use of lead subacetate solution not only is there danger of error due to the causes just described, but also to a more serious one, arising from the chemical interaction of the clarifying agent and levulose.

Lead subacetate forms a chemical union with levulose and the resulting compound has a different rotatory power from the left-handed sugar in an uncombined state. By adding a sufficient quantity of subacetate solution, the left-handed rotation of levulose may be greatly diminished if not entirely destroyed. In this case the dextrose, which with levulose forms inverted sugar, serves to increase the apparent right rotation due to the sucrose in solution. The reading of the scale is therefore higher than would be given by the sucrose alone. If the lead subacetate could be added in just the proportion to make the invert sugar neutral to polarized light, its use would render the analysis more accurate; but such a case could only arise accidentally. To correct the error, after clarification, the compound of levulose and lead may be decomposed by the addition of acetic acid according to the method of Spencer. In this case the true content of sucrose can only be obtained by the method of inversion proposed by Clerget, which will be described in another paragraph.

=88. Clarification with Mercuric Compounds.=—Where the disturbing bodies in a solution are chiefly of an albuminoid nature, one of the best methods of securing clarification is by the use of a solution containing an acid mercuric compound. In the case of milk this method is to be preferred to all others. Albuminoid bodies themselves, have the property of deflecting the plane of polarization, as a rule, to the left, and therefore, should be completely removed from solutions containing right-handed sugars such as lactose. For this purpose the mercuric compound is more efficient than any other. It is prepared and used as follows. Dissolve mercury in double its weight of strong nitric acid and dilute the solution with an equal volume of water. One cubic centimeter of this solution is sufficient to clarify fifty times its volume of milk.

=89. Decolorization by Means of Bone-Black.=—Where the means already described fail to make a solution sufficiently colorless to permit of the passage of a ray of polarized light, recourse should be had to a decolorizing agent. The most efficient of these is bone-black. For laboratory work it is finely ground and should be dry if added to an already measured solution. When moist it should be added to the flask before the volume is completed, and a correction made for the volume of the dry char employed. Bone-black has the power of absorbing a certain quantity of sugar, and for this reason as little of it should be employed as is sufficient to secure the end in view. If not more than one gram of the char be used for 100 cubic centimeters of solution, the error is not important commercially. The error may be avoided by placing the char on the filter and rejecting the first half of the filtered solution. The char becomes saturated with the first portion of the solution, and does not absorb any sugar from the second. This method, however, does not secure so complete a decolorization as is effected by adding the black directly to the solution and allowing to stand for some time with frequent shaking.

=90. Remarks on Analytical Process.=—Since large weights of sugar are taken for polarization, a balance which will weigh accurately to one milligram may be used. In commercial work the weighing is made in a counterpoised dish with a prominent lip, by means of which the sample can be directed into the mouth of the flask after partial solution. Where the air in the working room is still, an uncovered balance is most convenient. With a little practice the analyst will be able to dissolve and transfer the sample from the dish to the flask without danger of loss. The source of light used in polarizing should be in another room, and admitted by a circular opening in the partition. In a close polarizing room, which results from the darkening of the windows, the temperature will rapidly rise if a lamp be present, endangering notably the accuracy of the work, and also interfering with the comfort of the observer. The greatest neatness must be practiced in all stages of the work, and especially the trough of the polariscope must be kept from injury which may arise from the leaking of the observation tubes. Dust and dirt of all kinds must be carefully excluded from the lenses, prisms, wedges and plates of the instrument.

=91. Determination of Sucrose by Inversion.=—In the foregoing paragraphs directions have been given for the estimation of sugar (sucrose) by its optical properties. It has been assumed so far, that no other disturbing bodies have been present, save those which could be removed by the clarifying agents described. The case is different when two or more sugars are present, each of which has a specific relation to polarized light. In such cases some method must be used for the optical determination of sucrose, which is independent of the influence of the other polarizing bodies, or else recourse must be had to other methods of analysis. The conversion of the sucrose present into invert sugar by the action of an acid or a ferment, affords an opportunity for the estimation of sucrose in mixed sugars, by purely optical methods. This process rests upon the principle that by the action of a dilute acid for a short time, or of a ferment for a long time, the sucrose is completely changed, while other sugars present are not sensibly affected. Neither of these assumptions is rigidly correct but each is practically applicable.

The sucrose by this process of hydrolysis is converted into an equal mixture of levulose and dextrose. The former, at room temperatures, has the higher specific rotating power, and the deflection of the plane of polarization in a solution of inverted sugar is therefore to the left. The levorotatory power of invert sugar varies with the temperature, and this arises from the optical properties of the levulose. The influence of temperature on the rotating power of other sugars, is not imperceptible in all cases, but in practice is negligible.

This method of analysis is invaluable in control work in factories, in the customs and in agricultural laboratories. Since the rotating power of levulose diminishes as the temperature rises, an accurate thermometric observation must accompany each polarimetric reading. At about 88° the rotatory powers of dextrose and levulose are equal, and a solution of pure invert sugar examined at that degree, is found to be neutral to polarized light.

=92. Clerget’s Method of Inversion.=—The classical method of Clerget for the determination of cane sugar by double polarization before and after inversion, was first described in a memoir presented to the Society of Encouragement for National Industry on the 14th of October, 1846. The following description of the original method is taken from a reprint of the proceedings of that Society, dated Nov. 1846:

Clerget points out first the observation of Mitscherlich regarding the influence of temperature on the rotatory power of invert sugar, and calls attention to the detailed experiments he has made which resulted in the determination of the laws of the variation. From these studies he was able to construct a table of corrections, applicable in the analysis of all saccharine substances in which the cane sugar is polarized before and after inversion. The basis of the law rests upon the observation that a solution of pure sugar, polarizing 100° on the sugar scale, before inversion, will polarize 44° to the left after inversion at a temperature of zero. The quantity of sugar operated upon by Clerget amounted to 16.471 grams in 100 cubic centimeters of liquid. On the instrument employed by him this quantity of sugar in 100 cubic centimeters gave a reading of 100° to the right on the sugar scale when contained in a tube twenty centimeters in length. The process of inversion carried on by Clerget is as follows:

The sugar solution is placed in a flask, marked on the neck at 100 and 110 cubic centimeters; or if smaller quantities are used, in a flask marked on the neck at fifty and fifty-five cubic centimeters. The flask is filled with the sugar solution to the first mark and then a sufficient quantity of strong hydrochloric acid added to bring the volume of the liquid to the second mark. The mouth of the flask is then closed with the thumb and its contents thoroughly mixed by shaking. A thermometer is placed in the flask which is set in a water-bath in such a way that the water comes just above the level of the liquid in the neck of the flask. The water is heated in such a manner as to bring the temperature of the contents of the flask, as determined by the thermometer, exactly to 68° and at such a rate as to require fifteen minutes to reach this result. At the end of fifteen minutes the temperature having reached 68° the flask is removed and placed at once in another water-bath at the temperature of the room, to which temperature the contents of the flask are cooled as rapidly as possible. To make the polarimetric observation a tube twenty-two centimeters in length is filled with the inverted sugar solution by means of a tubulure in its center, which serves not only the purpose of filling the tube but also afterwards to carry the thermometer, by means of which the temperature of observation can be taken. If the sugar solution be turbid, or contain any lead chlorid due to the previous use of basic lead acetate in clarification, it should be filtered before being introduced into the observation tube. This tube being one-tenth longer than the original compensates for the dilution caused by the addition of the hydrochloric acid in inversion.

When reading, the bulb of the thermometer should be withdrawn far enough to permit the free passage of the ray of light and the exact temperature of the solution noted.

The above outline of Clerget’s method of inversion is given in order that the analyst may compare it with any of the variations which he may find in other works. The chief points to which attention is called, are, first, the fact that only a little over sixteen grams of sugar are used for ten cubic centimeters of strong hydrochloric acid, and second, that the time of heating is exactly fifteen minutes, during which time the contents of the flask should be raised from room temperature to exactly 68°.

From the above it is seen that the process of Clerget, as originally described, can be applied directly to all instruments, using approximately sixteen grams of sugar in 100 cubic centimeters. Experience has also shown that even when larger quantities of sugar are employed, as for instance, approximately twenty-six grams, the inversion is effected with practical completeness in the same circumstances. It is advised, therefore, that in all analytical processes, in which cane sugar is to be determined by the process of inversion with an acid, the original directions of Clerget be followed as strictly as possible. Experience has shown that no one of the variations proposed for Clerget’s original method has any practical advantage and the analyst is especially cautioned against those methods of inversion in which the temperature is continued at 68° for fifteen minutes or in which it is allowed to go above that degree.