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. 2017 Sep 21;7:12082. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12263-0

Table 1.

To avoid excise taxes, potable ethanol is denatured with chemicals that make it unsuitable for human consumption, and it is the excise exempt status of denatured alcohol which provides an economic incentive for its use in counterfeit spirit products.

Denaturant or flavouring Synonym(s) Chemical Formula Average Mass (Da.) Structural Formula Concentration detected (ppm)
Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) Butanone C4H8O 72.106 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figa_HTML.gif 190
Iso-propyl alcohol (IPA) Isopropanol C3H8O 60.095 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figb_HTML.gif 600
Denatonium benzoate Bitrex C28H34N2O3 446.581 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figc_HTML.gif 0.2
Methyl isopropyl ketone (MIPK) 3-Methylbutan-2-one C5H10O 86.132 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figd_HTML.gif 6
Ethyl sec-amyl ketone (ESAK) 5-Methyl-3-heptanon C8H16O 128.212 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Fige_HTML.gif 4
Methanol (MeOH) Carbinol Wood alcohol CH4O 32.042 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figf_HTML.gif 250 (0.025%)
Vanillin 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde C8H8O3 152.149 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figg_HTML.gif 10
Sucrose Table sugar C12H22O11 342.297 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figh_HTML.gif 100
Limonene 1-Methyl-4-methylethenylcyclohexene C10H16 136.234 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figi_HTML.gif 100
Trans-anethole (E)-1-(4-Methoxyphenyl) propene C10H12O 148.202 graphic file with name 41598_2017_12263_Figj_HTML.gif 10

The six denaturants (bold), and the four flavourings (italic) used in this study along with the minimum concentrations detected via handheld SORS and TRS are presented.