Analysis of the alcohols, esters and carbonyl compounds in fusel oil samples.

Analysis of alcohols, esters and carbonyl compounds were performed usings HRGC and HPLC techniques in samples of fusel oils from three different Brazilian alcohol distilleries. High content of isoamyl alcohol (390 g.L-1), isobutyl alcohol (158 g.L-1), methyl alcohol (28,4 g.L-1), methyl alcohol (16,6, g.L-1) and n-propyl alcohol (11,9 g.L-1) were found. These compounds represent 77 +/- 8 % of the approximated weight of a liter of fusel oils. The obtained results show the feasibility of using fusel oils as low-cost raw material for the synthesis of chemicals.