COMPARISON OF THE
CITRIC ACID
CONCENTRATION
INDEX
[Link]. CONTENTS PAGE NO.
1. INTRODUCTION
2. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
3. TITRATION
4. AFETY, DISPOSAL OF WASTE AND STORAGE
5. EXPERIMENTS
6. PRECAUTIONS
7. SOURCES OF ERROR
8. CONCLUSION
9. BIBLIOGRAPHY
COMPARISON OF THE CITRIC ACID
CONCENTRATION IN FRUITS
INTRODUCTION
Citric acid is a naturally occurring weak organic acid. It is small, very soluble, and
easily manufactured. Although it is naturally occurring it is used as an additive to
many drinks to enhance flavor and increase stability in soft drinks and syrups. It is
also used to prevent color change by oxidation. As they are so easily modified, citrus
juices are subject to alteration by addition of citric acid, a cheap ingredient, used to
improve taste and increase shelf life. Factors that contribute to differences in citric
acid concentrations in oranges include fruit variety, degree of maturity, geographical
location, climate zone, and soil conditions.
Harmful effects of high citric acid concentration:-
It is difficult to determine which juices have additional synthetic citric acid, which
involves the analysis of isotopic forms of the acid, and these higher concentrations
can have unwanted effects on tooth enamel. These effects may be worse than soft
drinks or sugar because the acid affects the whole mouth equally and the effects
cannot be felt like sugar coating the teeth.4 A 2009 study published in the Journal of
Dentistry showed that high levels of citric acid in orange juice reduced the hardness
of enamel by 84%.5.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Knowledge of the citric acid content of beverages may be useful in nutrition therapy
for calcium urolithiasis, especially among patients with hypocitraturia. Citrate is a
naturally-occurring inhibitor of urinary crystallization; achieving therapeutic urinary
citrate concentration is one clinical target in the medical management of calcium
urolithiasis. When provided as fluids, beverages containing citric acid add to the
total volume of urine, reducing its saturation of calcium and other crystals, and may
enhance urinary citrate excretion. Information on the citric acid content of fruit
juices and commercially-available formulations is not widely known. We evaluated
the citric acid concentration of various fruit juices.
TITRATION
Citric acid contains three carboxylic acid functional
groups and has a molecular formula of H3C6H5O7.
Industries manufacturing juice products must know the
amount of juice, both for regulatory purposes (FDA) and
for their own manufacturing specifications. They can
quantitatively determine the amount of juice by
measuring the amount of citric acid. The procedure
commonly used to do this takes advantage of the known reactivity of citric acid with
sodium hydroxide and is known as a titration.
❖ A titration is a means of quantitative analysis in which the substance to be measured
(in a liquid solution) is reacted stoichiometrically with another reagent (called a titrant)
until it has completely reacted.
The end of the reaction is usually signaled with the appearance of a
color from another non-interfering substance called an indicator.
In the case of the citric acid titration, a known amount of orange
juice is measured into an Erlenmeyer flask with an indicator
solution containing phenolphthalein (the indicator).
Sodium hydroxide, at a known concentration, is then carefully
added into the sample until all of the acid has reacted. When all of
the acid has completely been neutralized, the addition of 1
additional drop of the sodium hydroxide solution, the titrant,
causes the solution to become basic. The basic solution will be
marked by the appearance of a pinkish color in the solution of orange juice.
The device used to add the titrant (NaOH) to the juice sample is called a buret. It allows us
to measure the exact amount of solution added during the titration. Knowledge of this, the
concentration of NaOH solution in moles/liter, and the known stoichiometry of the
reaction allows us to calculate the citric acid concentration in the juice sample.
SAFETY, DISPOSAL OF WASTE AND STORAGE
Citric acid is a relatively strong weak acid, but no special precautions are required for its
use. Citric acid powder is sold for home use with no restrictions. The pH of 0.033 M citric
acid is about 2.2, which is slightly higher than that of lemon juice. The 0.1 M sodium
hydroxide and the phenolphthalein indicator are more hazardous. Handle and clean up
solid citric acid as you would solid sodium hydroxide.
Titrated solutions and excess of reagent solutions may be safely disposed of in a sink.
Storage of citric acid solution may not be advisable, since it may well support
microbiological life.
EXPERIMENTS:
EXPERIMENT 1 -A:
Aim:
Preparation of a non-standard solution of NaOH of approximate molarity of 0.1M
for titration against juice samples.
Procedure:
- 2 grams of NaOH pellets are weighed with the help of an electronic balance.
- They are dissolved in a small amount of distilled water taken in a 500mL
measuring cylinder with the help of a glass rod.
- Distilled water is added till 500ML mark in the measuring cylinder.
Molecular mass of NaOH = 40g
Grams in 500ML of 0.1M solution = 2g
Result:
An approximate 0.1M solution is prepared.
EXPERIMENT 1-B:
Aim:
To standardize the prepared NaOH solution by titrating it against 0.1M solution of
oxalic acid.
Procedure:
• First prepare 0.1M oxalic acid.
• Weigh 3.15g of oxalic acid with the help of an electronic balance.
• Transfer the oxalic acid to the 250mL measuring cylinder and dissolve in small
amount of distilled water.
• Fill the measuring cylinder till the required 250mL mark.
• Titrate this solution with the one obtained in Experiment 1-A
Reaction between NaOH and Oxalic Acid
H2C2O4 + 2NaOH ------> Na2C2O4 + 2H2O
Molarity of oxalic acid = M1
Volume of oxalic acid = V1
Let no. of moles of oxalic acid be n1
Molarity of NaOH = M2
Volume of NaOH = V2
Let no. of moles of NaOH be n2
Then,
M1 V1/n1=M2 V2/n2
Volume of NaOH used: 20.6 Ml
Hence, calculating molarity, we get M2= 0.097 M
Result:
Molarity of NaOH solution is 0.097 M
EXPERIMENT 2:
Aim:
To evaluate the concentrations of citric acid by volume in three different samples of
fruit juice.
Sample Of Real Orange Juice
- Procedure:
• Rinse all the apparatus and dry them before use.
• Take a conical flask and pour the juice sample into the burette till the 0mL mark.
• With the help of a pipette pour 10mL of the 0.097M solution of NaOH into a
beaker
• Note down the initial readings of the burette
• Now add a few drops of phenolphthalein indicator in the titrating beaker.
• Release the burette knob and let the juice sample fall in the beaker without
touching the beaker walls.
• Perform this procedure till the colour of the titrating substance changes from light
pink to transparent.
• Close the knob and note the end point in the burette.
• Perform this experiment with 3 readings
Using formula:
M1 V1/n1=M2 V2/n2
M= 10 X 0.097/3 X 10.4 = 0.032
We get molarity of real orange juice as 0.032
Hence, in 1L 6.144g citric acid is present
Sample Of Real Pineapple Juice
- Procedure:
• Rinse all the apparatus and dry them before use
• Take a conical flask and pour the juice sample into the burette till the 0mL mark.
• Take a beaker and pipette out 10mL OF 0.097M of NaOH into the beaker.
• Now add a few drops of the phenolphthalein indicator in the titrating beaker.
• Perform this procedure till the colour of the titrating substance changes from light
pink to transparent.
• Close the knob and note the end point in the burette.
• Take 3 readings
Sample Of Freshly Squeezed Mausambhi Juice (Sweet
Lime)
-Procedure:
• Rinse all the apparatus and dry them before use
• Take a conical flask and pour 0.097M NaOH solution into the burette till the 0mL
mark.
• Take a graduated pipette and pour out 10mL of the juice sample into it
• Note the initial readings
• Now add a few drops of the phenolphthalein indicator in the titrating beaker.
• Release the burette knob and let NaOH fall in the beaker without touching the
walls of the beaker.
• Perform this procedure till the colour of the titrating substance changes from
transparent to light pink
• Close the knob and note the end point in the burette.
PRECAUTIONS
● Use clean and dry apparatus.
● Turn the fans off while performing the experiment.
● Perform the experiment in one sitting only.
● Use freshly prepared chemicals.
● Handle the equipments with care and caution.
SOURCES OF ERROR
● Readings may not be accurate.
● It may not be a completely standard solution.
● The apparatus may not be well graduated.
● The apparatus may not be clean.
● The chemical may not be fresh.
CONCLUSION
Hence, we conclude that the fresh mausambhi juice has the highest citric acid
content.
Order of citric acid content is:
1. Freshly squeezed mausambhi juice
2. Real orange juice
3. Real pineapple juice
Concentration levels for more samples:-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. [Link]
2. [Link]
3. [Link]
4. Britannica encyclopedia
5. Emearta encyclopedia
6. [Link]
[Link]
7. [Link]
cid-base-titrations-citric-acid-part-1
