PM SHRI KENDRIYA

VIDYALAYA NO. 1
BATHINDA CANTT

Session 2024-2025

CHEMISTRY PROJECT
ON
“PRESENCE OF OXALATE IONS GUAVA FRUIT AT DIF-
FERENT STAGES OF RIPENING “

Submitted To : MRS. Manju

Lata(PGT)

Made By : Harsh Kumar Singh

Class : XI Science (PCB)

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“Work hard not only to achieve suc-
cess but to accomplish your goal”
Authenticity of Certificate

S E S S I O N : 2024 - 2025
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT Vedansh OF PM shri kendriya
vidyalaya no.1 bathinda cantt school OF CLASS XI HAS
COMPLETED HIS PROJECT ON THE TOPIC “STUDY OF
EFFECT OF POTASSIUM BISULPHITE AS FOOD PRESER-
VATIVE UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS” DONE UNDER
THE SUPERVISION AND GUIDANCE OF OUR CHRMISTRY
MADAM MRS. Manju Lata IN SESSION 2024-2025
AND THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN CERTIFIED TO NEXT ACA-
DEMIC SESSION SATISFACTORILY.

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

Signature of Examiner : Date :

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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 I Vedansh of class XI would like
to express my gratitude towards my school
principal Mrs. Kumud Ahuja and my chem-
istry teacher Mrs. Manju Lata 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 SUP-

PORTED ME AND GAVE THEIR PRECIOUS
TIME TO MAKE THIS PROJECT MORE FAC-
TUAL AND INTERESTING FOR
OTHER STUDENTS.

Vedansh
Class XI

INDEX
S. CONTENTS PAG TEACHER

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NO E SIGNA-
. NO. TURE
1) Purpose of the project 01
2) Introduction 02-04
3) Description of apparatus 05-07
used in this project
4) Food preservation 08-11
5) Need for food preserva- 11
tion
6) Principles of food preser- 12
vation
7) Role of food preservation 13
8) Procedure of food pro- 14
cessing
9) Procedure 15
10) Study of effect of con- 15-17
centration of potassium
bisuphite and the effect
of time

11) Study of effect of tem- 17-18

perature
12) Conclusion 18
13) Safety measures while 19
using 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 Bisul-
phite As a Food Preservative Under
Various Conditions Such As Given Be-
low :

 CONCENTRATION : In chemistry, con-

centration can be defined as the measure of
the relative proportions of two or more quanti-
ties 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 sub-
stance which is expressed according to a

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 comparative scale in graph and shown by
a thermometer.

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 coun-
try , two chemical preservatives which are per-
mitted for use are :

1. Benzoic acid ( or sodium benzoate

i.e. C7H6O2 )
2. Potassium hydrogen sulphite (or
potassium bisulphite i.e. KHSO3) .
 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 preserva-
tive because it is soluble in water and
hence easily mixes with the food product.

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 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 materi-
als such as fruit juices , squashes , apples
and raw mango chutney . This is not used
for preserving coloured food materials be-
cause sulphur dioxide produced from this
chemical is a bleaching agent .
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 pre-
vents 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 :

1. At different temperatures ,

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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 laboratory
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 equip-

ment used to mix chemical and liquids for laboratory
purposes . After every use of glass rod it is recom-
mended that it should be cleaned to avoid contami-
nation . It is also used as an aid for transferring the
liquid into the funnel .

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 – tast-

ing, soluble carbohydrates , which we use in our food
sometimes . Simple sugars are called monosaccha-
ride and include glucose (also known as dextrose) ,
fructose , galactose .
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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 re-

action of potassium carbonate .

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 al-
lowed to crystallize .

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 MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT

GLASS
SUGAR ROD
CONICAL
FLASKS APPARATUS
100 Ml
REQUIRED FOR THIS
PROJECT

PROJECT

APPLES POTASSIUM
KNIFE BISULPHITE

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

TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES :
CURING :
The earliest form of curing was dehydration or drying,
. Smoking and salting techniques improve on the dry-
ing 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 oc-
curred in the forms of root cellars and iceboxes. To-
day, root cellaring remains popular among people
who value various goals, including local food, heir-
loom crops, traditional home cooking tech-
niques, family farming, frugality, self-sufficiency, or-
ganic farming, and others.

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FREEZING :

Freezing is also one of the most commonly used pro-

cesses, 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 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, includ-
ing mold - or antioxidant, such as oxygen absorbers,
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which inhibit the oxidation of food constituents. Com-
mon antimicrobial preservatives include calcium pro-
pionate, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sulfites (sul-
fur dioxide, sodium bisulfite, potassium hydrogen sul-
fite, etc.), and EDTA.

c) BIOPRESERVATION :
Biopreservation is the use of natural or controlled mi-
cro 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 pathogens inactive in food. Lactic acid bacte-
ria have antagonistic properties that make them use-
ful 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 fol-
lows :

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

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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 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 re-
moved from the leaf so that micro organ-
isms cannot survive . This is done by dry-
ing the green leaves till all the moisture
evaporates .
b) Inactivating enzymes : Enzymes
found in foods can be inactivated by
changing their conditions such as temper-
ature 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

1. Eliminates any potential microbiological harm to
the consumer .

2. Maintains quality of food (sensory perceptions)

3. Maintains nutritional value within the food prod-

uct.
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 PROCEDURE OF
FOOD PROCESSING

PROCEDURE
1. Take 500 g fresh apples. Wash them thor-
oughly and peel off the outer layer . Re-

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 move the seeds and crush the apples in a
mixer .

2. Add about 100 g of sugar and heat the con-

tents slowly for about 10 minutes to pre-
pare jam .

3. During heating keep on stirring the con-

tents .

4. Use this jam for performing the following

experiments .

STUDY OF EFFECT OF CONCENTRA-

TION 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 bisul-
phate .
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 .

OBSERVATIONS :
Sam- Wt. of Wt. Wt. of Observation (Days)

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ple No. Jam of KHSO3 1 2 3 4 5
of Bot- Added Sugar
tle

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

change chang change chang more
e e change

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

change chang change chang more
e e change

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

change chang change chang change
e e

RESULT : As the concentration of potas-

sium bisulphite is increased , the growth of mi-
cro – organisms appears after more days .The
minimum concentration of potassium bisul-
phate required for preserving jam is approxi-
mately 1 % .

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 .

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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 :
Sam- Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of Observation (Days)
ple No. Jam Sugar KHSO3
1 2 3 4 5
of Bot- Added
tle

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

RESULT : The growth of micro – organisms

occurs earliest in the flask kpt at room temper-
ature . 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
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time for preservation .The fermenta-
tion of food present is directly propor-
tional to temperature conditions .

SAFETY MEASURES WHILE US-

ING KHSO3 AS FOOD PRESER-
VATIVE :
People with sulphite sensitivity might react poorly to
potassium bisulphite. A sulphite sensitivity usually
causes asthma symptoms such as wheezing or diffi-
culty breathing. Some people may also experience
anaphylaxis, which is a life-threatening allergic reac-
tion. 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 organ-
isms, 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 sta-
ble than potassium sulfite. In humid conditions, how-
ever, the dry salt may

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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 NCERT class 11 th chemistrty

 COMPREHENSIVE practical chemistry

class 11

 WEBSITES for reference used in this

project are given below :

GOOGLE → www.google.co.in

WIKIPEDIA→ www.livestrong.com

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