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Amyl Alcohol as a Source of Error in the Gerber Test

Department of Dairy Industry, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.

ABSTRACT

The Gerber test for butterfat is used in a number of places in the United States. Many of those using the test do not appreciate the possibility of serious errors in the test due to the use of the wrong kind of amyl alcohol. The makers of the equipment for this test mention the fact that the alcohol must have a boiling-point between 128° C. and 132° C. but the matter deserves greater emphasis.

The name "amyl alcohol" indicates a monohydric alcohol having five carbon atoms. There are eight of these amyl alcohols and they have quite different properties as is shown by table 1. Of these alcohols, iso-butyl-carbinol and secondary butyl-carbinol may be used in the Gerber test. Fusel oil, obtained as a by-product of ethyl alcohol fermentation, is principally a mixture of these two isomers.

Some chemical firms list "Amyl alcohol, from fusel oil, for milk analysis." This material is usually satisfactory, but it cannot always be relied upon.