The use of 13C/12C isotope abundance ratio for characterization of the origin of ethyl alcohol

The carbon isotope composition of ethyl alcohol produced during alcohol fermentation depended on the substrate used and was characterized by the value of delta(13)C equal to -24.7 +/- 0.8 parts per thousand (wheat grain), -22 +/- 0.1 parts per thousand (rye grain), -22 +/- 0.5 parts per thousand (products of wood hydrolysis), -15.3 +/- 0.3 parts per thousand (maize grain) and -10 +/- 0.1 parts per thousand (sugar cane). The isotope composition of carbon of ethyl alcohol obtained during catalytic hydroxylation of ethylene has a delta(13)C of -30.6 +/- 0.3 parts per thousand. The possibility of quantitative determination of specific components in mixtures of ethanol samples with various isotope compositions (chemical synthesis and alcohol fermentation of raw material from C-3 or C-4 plants) was shown.