GREEN FIELD PUBLIC SCHOOL

ALMORA

Session 2024-25

CHEMISTRY PROJECT
ON
“STUDY OF EFFECT OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE AS FOOD
PRESERVATIVE UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS “

Made By : Lucky Joshi

Class : XII (PCM)
“Work hard not only to achieve success but
to accomplish your goal”

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 Authenticity of Certificate

S E S S I O N : 2024 – 25
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT Lucky joshi OF Green field public
school OF CLASS XII HAS COMPLETED HER PROJECT ON THE
TOPIC “STUDY OF EFFECT OF POTASSIUM
BISULPHITE AS FOOD PRESERVATIVE UNDER VARIOUS
CONDITIONS” DONE UNDER THE SUPERVISION AND
GUIDANCE OF OUR CHRMISTRY Ma’am Mrs. Shilpi Pandey IN
SESSION 2024-2025 AND THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN CERTIFIED
TO NEXT ACADEMIC SESSION SATISFACTORILY.

Signature Of Principal :
Signature Of Teacher :
Remark By Examiner :
Signature of Examiner : Date :

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Lucky Joshi of class XII would like to express my
gratitude towards my school principal Mrs. Surina
Chaudhary and my chemistry teacher Mrs. Shilpi
Pandey who gave me this golden opportunity to
explore my skills and imagination towards the
project entitled as “study of effect of potassium
bisulphate as food preservative under various
conditions” and my almighty of course my parents
, coworkers and friends who took this project to
next level.

A BIG THANKS TO THE TEAM WHO SUPPORTED

ME AND GAVE THEIR PRECIOUS TIME TO MAKE
THIS PROJECT MORE FACTUAL AND
INTERESTING FOR OTHER STUDENTS.

Lucky Joshi
Class XII

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 INDEX
S. CONTENTS PAGE TEACHER
NO. NO. SIGNATURE
1) Purpose of the project 01
2) Introduction 02-04
3) Description of apparatus used 05-07
in this project
4) Food preservation 08-11
5) Need for food preservation 11
6) Principles of food preservation 12

7) Role of food preservation 13

8) Procedure of food processing 14
9) Procedure 15
10) Study of effect of 15-17
concentration of potassium
bisuphite
and the effect of time

11) Study of effect of temperature 17-18

12) Conclusion 18
13) Safety measures while using 19
khso 3 as food preservative
14) Bibliography 20

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 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The Purpose Of This Project Is To Study The

Effect Of Potassium Bisulphite As a Food
Preservative Under Various Conditions Such
As Given Below :

➢ CONCENTRATION : In chemistry, concentration

can be defined as the measure of the relative proportions
of two or more quantities in a mixture.

➢ TIME : Time is nothing but the measure of amount of

concentration during any process or activity taking place on that

particular level within the completion of the action took place

during that process.

➢ TEMPERATURE : Temperature is the degree or

intensity of heat of that substance which is expressed

according to a comparative scale in graph and shown by
a thermometer.

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 INTRODUCTION
WHAT ARE PRESERVATIVES ?

Growth of micro – organisms in a food

material can be inhibited by adding certain
chemical substance . However , the chemical
substances should not be harmful to the
human beings . Such chemical substances
which are added to food materials to prevent
their spoilage are known as chemical
preservatives . In our country , two chemical
preservatives which are permitted for use are
:

1. Benzoic acid ( or sodium benzo-

ate i .e . C7H6O2 )

2. Potassium hydrogen sulphite

(or potassium bisulphite i .e .
KHSO3) .

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• BENZOIC ACID or its sodium salt ,
sodium benzoate is commonly used for
the preservation of food materials . For the
preservation of fruits , fruit juices ,
squashes and jams it is used as
preservative because it is soluble in water
and hence easily mixes with the food
product. The efficacy of benzoic acid and
benzoate is thus dependent on the PH of
the food .

• POTASSIUM BISULPHITE is used for

the preservation of colourless food
materials such as fruit juices , squashes ,
apples and raw mango chutney . This is
not used for preserving coloured food
materials because sulphur dioxide
produced from this chemical is a
bleaching agent .

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 Potassium bisulphite on reaction with
acid of the juice liberates sulphur
dioxide which is very effective in killing
the harmful micro – organisms present
in food and thus prevents it from getting
spoiled .

HSO3– (aq) + H+ (aq) H2O (l) + SO2 (g)

The advantage of this method is that no

harmful chemical is left in the food . The
aim of the project is to study the effect of
potassium bisulphite as food preservative :

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1. At different temperatures , 2.

At different concentrations and

3. For different intervals of time .

DESCRIPTION OF APPARATUS
WE ARE GOING TO USE IN THIS
PROJECT ARE AS FOLLOWS :

1) CONICAL FLASKS – It is a glass labora-

tory flask of a conical profile with a narrow
tubular neck and a flat bottom , used to
manipulate solutions or to carry out titrations .

2) GLASS ROD – a glass rod is a piece of

equipment used to mix chemical and liquids

for laboratory purposes . After every use of glass
rod it is recommended that it should be cleaned
to avoid contamination . It is also used as an
aid for transferring the liquid into the funnel .

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 3) KNIFE – A knife is a tool with cutting

edge or blade attached to a handle .

4) APPLE – Apple is a kind of fruit which will

help us in making jam in this experiment. 5)

SUGAR – Sugar is nothing but the sweet –

tasting, soluble carbohydrates , which we use in

our food sometimes . Simple sugars are called

monosaccharide and include glucose (also known

as dextrose) , fructose , galactose .

6) POTASSIUM BISULPHITE – It is a
chemical compound with the chemical formula
KHSO3 . It is used during the production of
alcoholic beverages as a sterilizing agent.

It is made by the reaction sulphur dioxide and the

reaction of potassium carbonate .

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The sulfur dioxide is passed through a solution of
the potassium carbonate until no more carbon
dioxide is given off. The solution is concentrated
and then allowed to crystallize .

MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT

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 APPARATUS
REQUIRED FOR
THIS PROJECT

FOOD PRESERVATION
How we can preserve our food ?
We can preserve our food by following methods :

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TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES :

CURING :
The earliest form of curing was dehydration or
drying, . Smoking and salting techniques improve
on the drying process and add antimicrobial agents
that aid in preservation . Smoke deposits a number
of pyrolysis products onto the food , including the
phenols syringol guaiacol and cathechol .Salt
accelerates the drying process using osmosis and
also inhibits the growth of several common strains
of bacteria . More recently nitrites have been used
to cure meat, contributing a characteristic pink
colour.[6]

COOLING :
Cooling preserves food by slowing down the growth
and reproduction of microorganisms and the
action of enzymes that causes the food to rot.

Before the era of mechanical refrigeration , cooling

for food storage occurred in the forms of root cellars
and iceboxes. Today, root cellaring remains
popular among people who value various goals,

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including local food , heirloom crops, traditional
home cooking techniques, family farming,
frugality, self-sufficiency, organic farming, and
others.

FREEZING :

Freezing is also one of the most commonly used

processes, for preserving a very wide range of foods
. For example , potato waffles are stored in the
freezer, but potatoes themselves require only a cool
dark place to ensure many months' storage . Cold
stores provide large-volume , long-term storage for
strategic food stocks held in case of national
emergency in many countries .

MODERN INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES :

A. PASTEURIZATION:
Pasteurization is a process for preservation of
liquid food . In this method , milk is heated at
about 70 °C (158 °F ) for 15–30 seconds to kill the

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bacteria present in it and cooling it quickly to 10
°C (50 °F ) to prevent the remaining bacteria from
growing. The milk is then stored in sterilized
bottles or pouches in cold places. This method was
invented by Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, in
1862.

B. ARTIFICIAL FOOD ADDITIVES :

Preservative food additives can be antimicrobial
— which inhibit the growth of bacteria or fungi ,
including mold - or antioxidant, such as oxygen
absorbers, which inhibit the oxidation of food
constituents. Common antimicrobial preservatives
include calcium propionate , sodium nitrate ,
sodium nitrite , sulfites (sulfur dioxide , sodium
bisulfite , potassium hydrogen sulfite , etc.), and
EDTA.

c) BIOPRESERVATION :
Biopreservation is the use of natural or controlled
micro biota or antimicrobials as a way of
preserving food and extending its shelf life .
Beneficial bacteria or the fermentation products
produced by these bacteria are used in
biopreservation to control spoilage and render

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pathogens inactive in food . Lactic acid bacteria
have antagonistic properties that make them useful
as biopreservatives.

NEED FOR FOOD PRESERVATION

Preservation of food is done during the months

when food is available at large quantity and
therefore at large cost . Reasons of food
preservation are as follows :

1) One of the reason of food preservation is that

to take care of the excess produce .
2) The second reason is that they add variety in
our meals .

3) Makes transportation of food cheap and easier

for us to live and survive .

PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PRESERVATION

A good method of food preservation is one that

slows down or prevents altogether the action of the
agents of spoilage . Also , during the process of food

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preservation it shouldn’t be damaged . The
principles of food preservation are as follows :

a) Removal of micro – organisms or

inactivating them : This is done
by air , water (moisture) , lowering or
increasing temperature , increasing the
concentration of salt or sugar or acid in foods
. F or the preservation of green leafy
vegetables , the water should be removed
from the leaf so that micro organisms cannot
survive . This is done by drying the green
leaves till all the moisture evaporates .

b) Inactivating enzymes : Enzymes found

in foods can be inactivated by changing
their conditions such as temperature or
moisture . One of the method for preservation
of peas is that to put them in boiling water
for few minutes . It will inactivate the
enzymes present in peas .

ROLE OF FOOD PRESERVATION

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1. Eliminates any potential microbiological
harm to the consumer .

2. Maintains quality of food (sensory perceptions)

3. Maintains nutritional value within the food

product.

PROCEDURE OF
FOOD PROCESSING

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 PROCEDURE
1. Take 500 g fresh apples. Wash them
thoroughly and peel off the outer layer .

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 Remove the seeds and crush the apples in a
mixer .

2. Add about 100 g of sugar and heat the contents

slowly for about 10 minutes to prepare jam .

3. During heating keep on stirring the contents .

4. Use this jam for performing the following

experiments .

STUDY OF EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION

OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE AND THE
EFFECT OF TIME

1. Add 50 g of jam in each of the four conical

flasks .
2. To flask A add 0.1 g , flask B 0. 2 g , flask C
0.5 g and flask D 1.0 g of potassium
bisulphate .
3. Mix the contents in each flask an leave them
undisturbed at room temperature .
4. For some days check for any growth of micro
– organisms after each day and record the
observations in a table .

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OBSERVATIONS :
Wt. of
Observation (Days)
Sample Wt. of
Wt. of KHSO3
No. of Jam
Sugar 1 2 3 4 5
Bottle Added

A) 50 g 5g 0.1 g No No No Few
change change change change Few
more
change

B) 50 g 10 g 0.2g No No Some Some

change change change change Few
more
change

C) 50 g 15 g 0.5 g
No Few Some Some More
change change change change change

RESULT : As the concentration of potassium

bisulphite is increased , the growth of micro –
organisms appears after more days .The minimum
concentration of potassium bisulphate required for
preserving jam is approximately 1 % .

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 STUDY OF EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE

1) Take three conical flasks and label them as A,

B and C . Add 50 g of jam in each of the three
flasks .
2) Add 0.5 of potassium bisulphate to each of the
three conical flasks .
3) Keep flask A in a refrigerator , flask B at room
temperature and flask C in an oven
maintained at a temperature of 60 ◦ c , leave
them undisturbed for few days .
4) Check for any growth of micro - organisms
after each day and record the observations .

OBSERVATIONS :
Wt. of Wt. of
Observation (Days)
Sample Wt. of Sugar KHSO3
No. of Jam
1 2 3 4 5
Bottle Added

A) 50 g 5g 0.5 g No No No Few Some

B) 50 g 5g 0.5 g No No No No Few

C) 50 g 5g 0.5 g No No No No No

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RESULT : The growth of micro – organisms

occurs earliest in the flask kpt at room

temperature . The preservation of jam by

potassium bisulphate is maximum at lower

temperature (0-5◦ C).

CONCLUTIONS OF THIS PROJECT :

This experiment shows us that KHSO3 is
the viable food preservative whose
increased concentration can increase
time for preservation .The fermentation
of food present is directly proportional to
temperature conditions .

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SAFET Y MEASURES WHILE
USING KHSO3 AS FOOD
PRESERVATIVE :
People with sulphite sensitivity might react poorly
to potassium bisulphite . A sulphite sensitivity
usually causes asthma symptoms such as wheezing
or difficulty breathing. Some people may also
experience anaphylaxis, which is a
lifethreatening allergic reaction . If you have a
sensitivity to sulphites, you should avoid any food
that contains potassium bisulphite .

How It Works ?
When potassium bisulphite is dissolved in water,
it forms a sulfurous acid . The acid lowers the pH
of the food , which helps inhibit the growth of
harmful organisms, including bacteria such as E.
coli , as well as yeast and mold . The bisulphite
oxidize and lose some of its antimicrobial
power.also prevents browning or discoloration of
food Potassium bisulphite is more stable than
potassium sulfite . In humid conditions, however,
the dry salt may

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

▪ NCERT class 12 th chemistrty

▪ COMPREHENSIVE practical chemistry

class 12

▪ WEBSITES for reference used in this

project are given below :

GOOGLE → www.google .co.in

WIKIPEDIA→ www.livestrong.com

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