1. Gas chromatography (GC): the core of analyzing volatile flavor compounds

Gas chromatography is the "main force" of Baijiu analysis, especially suitable for detecting volatile and semi volatile compounds that dominate the flavor of Baijiu.

Application scenario: It is mainly used to analyze key flavor substances in Baijiu, such as alcohols (such as ethanol and methanol), esters (such as ethyl acetate and ethyl hexanoate), acids (such as acetic acid and hexanoic acid), aldehydes and ketones (such as acetaldehyde).

Core advantages: high separation efficiency, fast analysis speed, high detection sensitivity, accurate quantification of various trace components in Baijiu, and key means to distinguish Baijiu flavor types (such as Luzhou flavor, light flavor, Maotai flavor) and control product quality.

Common configuration: It is usually equipped with a hydrogen flame ionization detector (FID), which is sensitive to organic compounds and especially suitable for the detection of hydrocarbons commonly found in Baijiu.

2. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC): supplementary analysis of non-volatile components

High performance liquid chromatography is mainly used to detect the components in Baijiu that are difficult to volatilize or have poor thermal stability, as an important supplement to gas chromatography.

Application scenario: It is mainly used to analyze sugars (such as glucose and fructose), amino acids (such as proline and alanine), organic acids (such as lactic acid and succinic acid) and some functional components (such as polyphenols) in Baijiu.

Core advantages: no need to gasify the sample at high temperature, it can effectively retain the structure of heat unstable components, detect non-volatile substances that cannot be covered by gas chromatography, and help to more comprehensively understand the taste and nutritional value of Baijiu.

Common configuration: It is often paired with a ultraviolet detector (UV) or an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD), among which ELSD has a better detection effect on sugar substances without UV absorption.

3. Other auxiliary chromatographic techniques: applications under specific requirements

In addition to the two mainstream technologies mentioned above, some scenarios may also use more precise chromatographic coupling techniques to enhance the depth of analysis.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS): used for qualitative analysis of trace and trace flavor substances in Baijiu, which can accurately identify unknown volatile components, and is often used for research on flavor mechanism of Baijiu or false identification.

High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS): High sensitivity detection is conducted for trace nonvolatile components (such as trace additives and pollutants) in complex matrices, which is applicable to the safety and quality control of Baijiu.