Brix scale

Tables have been published relating Baume, Brix and specific gravity. As density is temperature dependent it is necessary to either bring the syrup to a fixed temperature or, as is more common in practice, to use temperature correction factors or tables. The relationship between density and concentration is slightly different for invert sugar or glucose syrups. The Brix scale is sometimes applied to products that are not sucrose syrups, such as concentrated fruit juice. Recipes are certainly in use that state boil to x Brix . In practice these instructions mean that the material should give the same reading as a sugar syrup of that concentration. As often happens in confectionery these practices have been proved to work empirically.

The relationship between the refractive index and the amount of dry substance content is well known for sucrose and is the basis for the degree Brix (°Brix) scale. It is arbitrarily set such that 1° Brix is equal to a concentration of 1% sucrose. In other words, the °Brix scale indicates the number of grams of sucrose per 100 g of solution. This relationship also holds for a large number of similar substances and finds extensive use in the food industry. For example, a reading of 40° Brix would mean that the sample contained 40 g of solid per 100 g of solution. 

Just like refractive index, the °Brix scale is quite dependent on the temperature. Manual Abbe refractometers do not compensate for this temperature effect. Special correlation tables are used to adjust the readings to a standard temperature, 20°C. Digital refractometers, on the other hand, can operate over a fairly wide range of sample temperatures (+15 to +40°C) and automatically apply these temperature corrections. See Workplace Scene 15.2. 

The sugar concentration, measured as sucrose, of a soft drink was determined using a refractometer with a °Brix scale. The refractometer reading was 10.5° Brix. What is the sugar concentration ... 

The Brix scale is a density scale for sugar (sucrose) solutions. The degrees Brix are numerically equal to the percentage of sucrose in solution (wt/wt).The term Brix solids refers to the solids in solution as determined by a refractometer. 

Tlie evaporation is carried on to a final 65 to 68 percent sugar concentrate (syrup). The s3omp thus obtained is very dark brown and turbid. The concentration of sugar solution (juice) is measured on the Brix scale, which is a density scale for sugar (sucrose) solutions. The degrees on the Brix scale are numerically equal to the percentage of sucrose in the solution (e.g., 65 to 68 degrees Brix is 65 to 68 percent sucrose in solution). 

Brix is the percentage by weight of the solids in a pure sucrose solution. By general acceptance, the Brix represents the apparent solids in a sugar solution as determined by the Brix hydrometer or other densi-metric measurement converted to the Brix scale. 

Wine and Must Hydrometer. This instrument has three scales. One scale shows readings of 0° to 15° Brix for sugar (see Brix Hydrometer above) another scale from 0° to 15° Tralle is used for sweet wines to indicate the percentage of alcohol by volume and a third scale from 0° to 20° Tralle is used for tart wines to indicate the percentage of alcohol by volume. 

Normally a stem or hydrometer is used to determine density. Hydrometers may be scaled in many different units. In the United States, grape juice and wine densities are usually measured in Brix or Balling degrees which are density units reflecting the weight per cent of sucrose in sucrose-water solutions. 

The basic method is to use a manual Abbe refractometer to determine refractive index. Various automated or electronic instruments exist which automatically perform some of the steps of the manual procedure. The first requirement is that the sample be a solution. In some instruments, the solution is placed between two prisms, and the image of the critical ray boundary is adjusted to meet a reference mark for this adjustment, the refractive index and equivalent °Brix can be read from a scale. The sample temperature must be known, or the instrument must have temperature compensation. Some automatic digital refractometers use the same methodology of sample presentation, but automate the matching of the critical boundary to the reference marker. 

For proper control in sugar manufacture, the laboratory must be well-equipped with accurate scales, saccharimeter (polariscope), and the Brix spindle or refractometer. The laboratory control of factory operations, from milling to final product, basically depends on the following three operations. 

Clear juice was concentrated by vacuum evaporation to as high as 68.4 Brix in laboratory tests and to 55.8° Brix in a pilot scale vacuum evaporator. Concentrate remained clear, but at 68.4° Brix some darkening and loss of flavor was observed. 

Many process industries use special scales of fluid density, which are usually referred to as gravities. Some are the American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity for oil and petroleum products (Prob. 1.5), Brix gravity for the sugar industry, and Baume gravity for sulfuric acid. Each scale is directly convertible to density, and conversion tables and formulas are widely available. Specific gravities of gases also are used they are based on the density of air at 1 atm and a specific temperature (usually 4 C, sometimes 60 or 70 F). 

An IMS for producing apple juice and apple juice aroma concentrates was investigated on laboratory and pilot scale by Alvarez et al. (2000). Ihe integrated process consisted of an enzymatic MR to clarify the raw juice, an RO unit to pre-concentrate the juice up to 25 °Brix, and a PV unit to recover and concentrate aroma compounds and a final evaporation step to concentrate the juice up to 72 °Brix. Rejection of aroma compounds in the PV step exceeded 90% for most compounds considered. Organoleptic evaluation of the clarified and concentrated juice judge it to be excellent in terms of odour and flavour. The final products were clearer and more brilliant than apple juice produced by conventional methods. 

The random variation in purity values across evaporators is caused, not only by errors in measurement, but also by the compounded effects of several physical and chemical changes. Brix values will decrease with scale formation. The chemical composition of scale has frequently been studied (e.g., Sugar Milling Research Institute (South Africa) Annual Report, 1993—94) with some regional variation, scale from 1st and 2nd effects is calcium phosphates and sulphates, and some organic matter the harder scale from later ef-... 

Brix A scale, expressed in degrees, that measures the percentage by weight of sucrose in water at a given temperature. It represents the concentration ofasoluUonofpure sucrose in water expressed as parts by weight of sucrose per 100 parts by weight of solution. 

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