A means of analysing glycols,especially ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol,by a method used for the determination of carbohydrates in alcoholic beverages

Summary This paper describes the separation of carbohydrates/glycerol/ethylene glycol/diethylene glycol in alcoholic liquids by TLC. An in situ reaction already proven in carbohydrate analysis is used for the detection among other things, of diethylene glycol in low, unpermitted concentrations and is compared with vanadium pentoxide derivatisation also described in the literature. Only the vanadium pentoxide reaction yields satisfactory results for diethylene glycol. The information capacity of HPTLC chromatograms is also demonstrated by the simultaneous analysis of 19 samples. Chromatogram filing is an important consideration, since the lifespans of chromatograms derivatised by the two methods vary considerably. Plates or sheets treated with dichlorofluorescein can still be evaluated over a period of years, whereas plates treated with vanadium pentoxide are unusable after only a few weeks. An advantage of the latter procedure, however, is the amenability of the chromatograms to normal photocopying.