Removal of copper in cachaças using clays

Abstract

Increased production and cachaça consumption has stimulated research regarding its quality. It is known that copper can be harmful to human health when it is in concentrated form in the beverage and is ingested in large amounts. Thus, there is a great concern among researchers and producers about the use of adsorbent substances for the removal of excess copper. The kinetic parameters and the adsorption isotherms for copper on kaolinite were studied to evaluate the physical-chemical quality of the cachaça before and after adsorption. K01, K03 and K04 kaolinites presented a maximum adsorption capacity of 97, 95 and 90%, respectively. The kinetic rates followed the pseudo-first-order model, and the adsorption isotherm was best adjusted to the Freundlich model. All the parameters of the control samples were within the limits required by law, except for the aldehydes and copper. After adsorption with clay, the values for some of the parameters were lower and those of others were not significantly different. It was possible to describe 87% of the data with the first and second principal components of the multivariate analysis, and all the samples were different from the control for the parameters analyzed. Thus, these clays can be used for the removal of copper from cachaça, but further studies are necessary.