Pectin Lab Report

In this investigation pectin was modified using pH and heat. Initially the low methoxyl citrus pectin was dissolved in water at a ratio of 1.5g in 100ml. As the modification process was carried out three times, I began by dissolving 4.5g of low methoxyl pectin in 300ml of MilliQ deionised water in a laboratory glass bottle over a magnetic stirrer. The first step in modifying pectin is to increase its pH using 3N sodium hydroxide. This quantity would ensure there is enough modified pectin for further modifications. The dissolved pectin was placed on a magnetic plate stirrer with a pH meter (Sartorius Basic Meter PB-10) submerged into the solution. Sodium hydroxide was added dropwise until the pH had increased to 10. The solution was then left on the magnetic stirrer hot plate at 50°C for 1 hour. The solution was then allowed to cool to room temperature. To complete the pectin modification, the solution was again placed on a magnetic stirrer with a pH meter submerged and hydrochloric acid was added dropwise until the pH had decreased to 3. At this point the pectin is modified and forms a …show more content…
Ethanol is added to the modified pectin gel to break it up and the modified pectin is removed from the laboratory glass jar and added to a cloth suspended over a beaker. The water is then squeezed out as much as possible and the modified pectin is transferred to a filter funnel covered with filter paper. Acetone is added dropwise to remove any remaining ethanol. The modified pectin is transferred to a petri dish lined with filter paper, covered filter paper and foil and then placed in an oven at 60°C for around 1 hour until the modified pectin has dried. The solid is then placed in the freezer for 6hours. The final procedure involves freeze-drying the modified pectin in the freeze dryer (Alpha 1-2 LD plus, Martin Christ, United Kingdom) at -40°C for 24 hours and then storing it in the

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