Practical investigations
Read our general notes on Risk Assessment
I am carrying out a wine investigation and I am determining the concentration of ester in wine after determining the concentration of acid. I understand that you have to use activated charcoal to decolourise the wine but will this affect my results?
Iglooreplies
No, its use shouldn’t affect your results, since charcoal is unlikely to react with any of the esters (or acids). Just make sure that the charcoal is washed after it has been filtered off, and that the washings are added to the filtrate. This will account for any esters which have remained in solution on the surface of the charcoal.
Always carry out a risk assessment and check with your teacher before starting any practical work.
Risk assessment
Before attempting any practical work based on the advice and suggestions on this website, you must do the following. Identify any hazards, assess the risks from these hazards, and then decide appropriate control measures to reduce the risks. You must have these approved by those in authority in your school or college laboratory. Do not rely on what is said on this website.
For further guidance see our tutorial on Risk Assessment.
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updated: 28 January 2006
