DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL,

POKHARIPUT
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT OF CHEMISTRY
ON
“EFFECT OF POTASSIUM AS FOOD
PRESERVATIVE UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS”
For the partial fulfilment of the conditions laid down by
AISSCE 2023-24

SUBMITTED BY:-
NAME : SWAPNESH SATHPATHY
CLASS: XII/F
ROLL NO 29/9409
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF – MRS. ANANYA ANUPAMA
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude

to my chemistry teacher Mrs. Ananya Anupama for
letting me work on this project. I am very grateful to her
for her support and guidance in completing this project. I
would also like to thank our school Principal sir.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents and friends who
have helped me with their valuable suggestions and
guidance and have been very helpful in various stages
of project completion.

Date:
 DECLARATION

I, SWAPNESH SATHPATHY,a student of class XII, sec-F

of DAV Public School, Pokhariput hereby submit the project
entitled “Effect of potassium as food preservative under
various conditions” for the subject of Chemistry .This
project consists of original work done by me under the
guidance and supervision of my chemistry teacher,
Mrs. ANANYA ANUPAMA I, hereby further declare that all
information of this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical
conduct.

Signature of student
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled “Effect of

potassium as food preservative under various
conditions” is an original piece of work done by
SWAPNESH SATHPATHY of class XII, sec – F, is
in accordance with the topic allotted to him. This
project was an authentic work done by under my
guidance and supervision .

Signature of External Examiner

Signature of Internal Examiner

Signature of Supervisor
 CONTENT

SL NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2

2 DECLARATION 3

3 CERTIFICATE 4

4 CONTENT 5

5 INTRODUCTION 6

6 THEORY 9

7 CONCLUSION 14

8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
INTRODUCTION:

Growth of microorganisms in a food material can be

inhibited by adding certain chemical substances. 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 benzoate)
2. Sulphur dioxide(or potassium bisulphite)
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
sodium benzoate is used as preservative because it is
soluble in water and hence easily mixes with the food
product.

Potassium bisulphate 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 powder.
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 this project is to study the effect of potassium
bisulphite as food preservative
i. At different temperatures.
ii. At different concentrations and
iii. For different intervals of time.
Theory
Food materials undergo natural changes due to
temperature, time and enzymatic action and become unfit
for consumption. These changes may be checked by
adding small amounts of potassium bisulphite. The
effectiveness of KHSO3 as preservative depends upon its
concentration under different conditions which may be
determined experimentally

Procedure:
1. Take fresh fruits, wash them thoroughly with water and
peel off their outer cover.
2. Grind it to a paste in the mortar with a pestle.
3. Mix with sugar and colouring matter.
4. The material so obtained is fruit jam. It may be used to
study the effect of concentration of sugar and KHSO3,
temperature and time.

(A) Effect of concentration of Sugar: -

1. Take three wide mouthed reagent bottles labelled as I, II
&III.
2. Put 100 grams of fruit jam in each bottle.
3. Add 5.0 grams, 10.0 grams and 15.0 grams of sugar to
bottle No. I, II and III respectively.
4. Add 0.5 gram of KHSO3 to each bottle.
5. Mix contents thoroughly with a stirring rod.
6. Close the bottle and allow them to stand for one week or
10 days at room temperature.
7. Observe the changes taking place in Jam every day

RECORD:
Bottle Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of OBSERVATION(Days)
No. jam sugar KHSO3 1 2 3 4 5
taken
NO NO NO FEW FEW
1. 100 5.0 0.5 change change change change More
gms gms gm change

NO NO FEW SOME FEW

2. 100 10.0 0.5 change change change change More
gms gms gm change

NO FEW FEW SOME MORE

3. 100 15.0 0.5 change change change change change
gms gms gm

Result: The increase in concentration of sugar

causes fast decaying.

(B) Effect of concentration of KHSO3 :–

1. Take bottles labelled as I, II, III.

2. Put 100 gram of Jam in each bottle.
3. Add 5.0 gram of sugar to each bottle.
4. Add 1.0 gram, 2.0 gram and 3.0 gram of KHSO3 to bottle
No. I, II and III respectively.
5. Mix the contents thoroughly with a glass rod.
6. Keep all the bottles at room temperature for about 10
days and observe the changes everyday.

RECORD:
Bottle Wt. of Wt. of Wt. of OBSERVATION(Days)
No. jam sugar KHSO3 1 2 3 4 5
taken
1. 100gms 5.0gms 1.0gm No No No Few Some

2. 100gms 5.0gms 1.0gm No No No No Few

3. 100gms 5.0gms 1.0gm No No No No No

Result: The increase in concentration of KHSO3 increase

more time of preservation.
C) Effect of temperature: –
1. Take 100 gram of Jam in three bottles labelled as I, II
and III.
2. Add 10.0 gram of sugar and 1.0 gram of KHSO3 to each
bottle.
3. Mix the contents thoroughly with a stirring rod.
4. Keep bottle No. I in the refrigerator at 0˚C, bottle No. II at
room temperature (25˚C) and bottle No. III in a thermostat
at 50˚C. Observe the changes taking place in the jam for 10
days

RECORD:
Bottle Wt. Wt. Wt. of OBSERVATION(Days)
No. of of KHSO3 1 2 3 4 5
jam sugar
taken
1. 100 5.0 2.0 No No No No No
gms gms gm
2. 100 10.0 2.0 No No No No Few
fermented
gms gms gm
3. 100 15.0 2.0 No No Few Some Some
fermented fermented more
gms gms gm fermented

Result: The increase in Temperature causes fast

fermentation of jam.
(D) Effect of time: –
1. Take three bottles and label them as I, II and III.
2. To each bottle add 25 g of Jam and 1 g of potassium
bisulphite.
3. Keep bottle I for 7 days, bottle II for 14 days and bottle III
for 21 days at room temperature.
4. Note the changes taking place in each bottle and record
the observations.

RECORD:

Bottle No. Observation(Days)

7 14 21

1. No ****** ******

2. No Taste ******
changes

3. No No Unpleasant
Smell
develops

Result: With increase of days, the quality of the jam

deteriorates.
CONCLUSION:

When potassium bisulphate is dissolved in water, it

forms a sulphurous 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 bisulphate also prevents browning
or discoloration of food Potassium bisulphate is more
stable than potassium sulphite. In humid conditions,
however, the dry salt may oxidize and lose some of its
antimicrobial action
 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

To make this project I have taken source from the

following books and websites:-
BOOKS:

Chemistry NCERT text book.

All in one chemistry.

WEBSITES:
ncert.nic.in
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.in
https://en.wikipedia.org/.