SINHGAD TECHNICAL EDUCATION SOCIETY’S

SINHGAD SPRING DALE PUBLIC SCHOOL

VADGAON (Bk.) PUNE- 411041
(SENIOR SECONDARY)

CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

NAME: VEDANTA MANOJ ASWAR

STD: 12th A

ROLL NO: 29

SUBJECT: CHEMISTRY

TOPIC: DRUNKEN DRIVER TEST

SUBMISSION TO: NANDINI KULKARNI MA’AM

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 CERTIFICATE

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THIS CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT IS DEVELOPED BY VEDANTA ASWAR OF CLASS 12,
DIVISION A AND ROLL NUMBER 29 ON THE TOPIC-

‘DRUNKEN DRIVER TEST’

HE HAS DEVELOPED THIS PROJECT SUCCESSFULLY UNDER MY

GUIDANCE AS PRESCRIBED BY THE AISSCE COURSE DURING THE

SESSION 2021-2022.

__________________ __________________
TEACHER INCHARGE INTERNAL EXAMINER

__________________ __________________
EXTERNAL EXAMINER PRINCIPAL

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 INDEX
Sr. No. Title Page No.

1 Introduction 4

2 Aim 5

3 Theory 6

4 Apparatus 7

5 Chemicals Required 8

6 Experimentation 9

7 Comparative Analysis 12

8 Conclusion 13

9 Bibliography 14

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 INTRODUCTION

Drinking and driving is a big issue in today’s world. Due to modernization, people have

started thinking that it is “cool” to consume alcoholic beverages. This is mostly seen in young

adults. As they are progressing through their adolescence, they tend to be daring in nature,

which often leads to recklessness. When something is declined to them, they want to do it

even more. The same is the case with drunk driving. Due to the high risk involved, the

adolescents and young adults get excited to do it. To detect such cases, the Drunken Driver

Test is used. It is mainly done by Breathalyzer, which tests the blood alcohol content.

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 AIM

Analysis and study of different chemicals used in Drunken Driver Test and their action on

alcohol.

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 THEORY

Drunken Driver Test makes use of a simple and fundamental reaction. Many reagents can be

used in it but the most prominent amongst them is potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) and

sulfuric acid (H2SO4) mixture. It is a common oxidizing agent used in laboratories and

industries. It is an orange-colored liquid which turns green on reaction with alcohol. As it is

an oxidizing agent, it reacts with alcohol to give carboxylic acid. This reaction brings about a

change in the color of the solution and we can detect the presence of alcohol in the sample

added to acidified potassium dichromate. Other chemicals which can be used are potassium

permanganate (KMnO4), carboxylic acid (R-COOH) with concentrated sulfuric acid and ceric

ammonium nitrate ((NH4)2Ce(NO3)6).

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 APPARATUS

 Test tubes

 Test tube holder

 Beaker

 Dropper

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 CHEMICALS REQUIRED

 Acidified potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7)

 Potassium permanganate (KMnO4)

 Carboxylic acid (R-COOH) with concentrated sulfuric acid

 Ceric ammonium nitrate ((NH4)2Ce(NO3)6)

 Sample containing alcohol

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 EXPERIMENTATION

1. Using acidified potassium dichromate

Take acidified potassium dichromate in a test tube. To maintain safety protocols, we use a

sample containing ethanol instead of breath analysis. When we add this sample in the test

tube, the orange color of potassium dichromate turns to green. This proves that the sample

has alcohol in it.

Orange Green

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2. Using potassium permanganate

Potassium permanganate is also an oxidizing agent and oxidizes alcohol to carboxylic

acid. It is also a self-indicator and thus, decolorizes on reaction with alcohol.

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3. Using carboxylic acid in presence of concentrated sulfuric acid

Carboxylic acid undergoes esterification reaction with alcohol group, which is reversible

due to formation of water. To prevent this reversible reaction, concentrated sulfuric acid

is used as a dehydrating agent. Ester has a fruity smell and thus, alcohol can be

recognized by this reaction.

4. Using ceric ammonium nitrate

Ceric ammonium nitrate is a common reagent used in the detection of alcohol. It is a

reddish-orange compound soluble in water. When alcohol is added to its reddish solution,

we get a reddish precipitate. This can also be used to identify alcohol in our sample.

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 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

These are some of the compounds which can be used in Breathalyzer to detect people

who have consumed alcohol. Due to economic boundaries and the comparative efficiency

of alcohol, acidified potassium dichromate is the most widely used reagent in

Breathalyzer.

Acidified Potassium Carboxylic Ceric

potassium permanganate acid with ammonium
dichromate conc. Sulfuric nitrate
acid
Avg. Cost (in 240 280 50 8000
Rs/kg)
Very efficient. Not very efficient. Inefficient. Based Efficient.
Color change Decolorization not on smell rather Precipitation
Efficiency clearly visible. very clear. than vision. clearly visible.
Fairly cost Not very costly Very cheap but Very costly. Gives
efficient. Can be but reaction is not one cannot clear reaction but
Cost efficiency obtained easily. clearly depend on the not very
perceptible. test. affordable.
Not very costly Considerably Very cheap A sure result
and gives a sure cheap. obtained on
Advantages result of the reaction.
reaction.

Disadvantages Can be messy if Not a very sure Reaction hard to Very costly and
used by amateur test. Difficult to detect as alcohol cannot be afforded
hands. observe change in also has typical on a large basis.
color. smell.

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 CONCLUSION

We can conclude here that many reagents can be used in Drunken Driver test. They all

have their own advantages and disadvantages but use of acidified potassium dichromate

outweighs all other. This is the reason it is so widely used and accepted to detect alcohol

in any sample. Many new methods are also being developed to make this process more

hassle-free, user-friendly and accurate. These are still under development, though.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1124861/

 https://www.google.com/

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