One of the most useful instruments of industries, labs, and training schools in Kenya, in particular, in the case of alcohol production, quality control, and chemical analysis.
Regardless of the type of laboratory, distillery, medical care facility, or processing plant, you need a good alcohometer for precision, safety, and compliance with Kenyan standards.
In our guide, we will look at what an alcohometer is, its uses, application and why you need some in for some processes in the laboratory or in other fields.
What Is the Use of an Alcohometer?
An alcoholmeter (also known as alcohometer, spirit hydrometer) is a laboratory tool that is used to test the ethanol concentration (percentage of alcohol in a liquid) of a mixture. It functions by the comparative values of the liquid density with the pure alcohol density. As a result, this will translate to a direct reading of the percentage of alcohol by Volume (ABV).
It is a must-have equipment in the lab that has it uses. Some common uses include:
- Establishing the alcohol content of spirits, home brews and industrial alcohol blends.
- Fermentation and distillation Quality testing.
- Monitoring the adherence to alcohol standards set by KEBS and government.
- Chemical, food science laboratory experiments.
Due to the safety, legal, and quality-based issues associated with alcohol where accurate measurement is required and heavily monitored, alcohometers are becoming an essential item to most institutions in Kenya.
Full Guide for Kenyan Laboratories and Industries
In most cases, an alcohometer is used to test distilled alcohol and not beer, wine, and sugary liquid. It also consists usually of glass and includes a calibrated scale which floats on the mixture of alcohol.
How an alcohometer works
It takes advantage of the law of buoyancy and this is what happens:
When a liquid is high in alcohol, the density is reduced and therefore the instrument sinks down further. Alternative when there is lower alcohol content in a liquid, it increases its density; this results into the instrument being elevated higher.
It is also used by the user just by putting the alcohometer in a test cylinder with the sample and waiting until the device is stabilized, whereby the ABV is read.
The problem of accuracy in Kenya.
In Kenya, alcohol safety and quality standards have to be strictly followed in the industries. Therefore, choosing an accurate alcohometer is important as it will prevent:
- Over-proof alcohol (poisonous to drink)
- Under-finish products (quality, brand image)
- The penalty of authorities in case of non-compliance.
This tool will provide credible normalized findings whether in the academic institutions or industrial based setups.
Kenyan industries that use alcohometers and the significance of the same.
There are numerous industries where alcohemeter are applied in Kenya. The correct measurement of alcohol is essential to the safety, the commercial quality, and compliance of each industry.
1. Alcohol Manufacturing Plants and distilleries.
Popular alcohol brands for example, Kenya Cane, Gin, vodka, whisky and other local spirits companies use alcohometers to regulate ABV during all production processes, fermentation, distillation, and bottling of the product.
2. Food and Beverage Industry
There are alcoholic products, like flavor extracts and fermented wines. Some fermented wines include the palm wine, Muratina while the flavor extracts include, vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon extract, which often contain ethanol as a solvent. Alcohometers are used to test concentrations in order to satisfy food safety requirements.
3. Drugs and medical institutions.
Alcohol is used in disinfects, tinctures and chemical preparations in pharmacies and hospitals. They use the alcohometers to assure proper concentration to make it effective medically.
4. Forensic and Government Agencies.
Alcohol testing devices are used by the government labs and law enforcement to research product safety, product counterfeit, and compliance.
5. Institutions Research Universities.
Alcohometers are routinely used by students when doing chemistry, biochemistry and industrial science related tests and experiments. They allow the students to run and carry out a procedure accurately.
This variety of applications demonstrates the reason why any institution that has to deal with alcohol in Kenya must invest in an effective alcohometer. Our store has in stock of plenty of the Alcohometers you can buy, shop with us now.