The Effect of Ph on A Food Preservative

Objective:

To study the effect of pH on a food preservative

Introduction: In this experiment solid sodium benzoate was reacted with aqueous hydrochloric acid to produce solid benzoic acid. Sodium benzoate is a commonly used food preservative and when placed in a highly acidic environment, such as the Human stomach (pH ≈ 2),sodium benzoate reacts and changes to benzoic acid.

PROCEDURE:

• 400mg(0.4g) was weighed in a 5ml conical • Then 3ml of H2O was added into the conical until it fully

dissolved into ions• 3ml of HCL was added (drop-wise) into the solution • The we did an acidic test to ensure that the pH was exactly 2• Finally we did a vacuum filtration to separate the solid from

the liquid