Headspace and small-chamber studies of airborne diacetyl release from selected food flavoring mixtures: activity coefficients and air modeling implications

Abstract

Laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate airborne release of diacetyl from selected mixtures simulating butter flavorings added to foods. The test materials included diacetyl (97% purity); 0.015%, 0.15%, 1.5%, and 3.0% diacetyl in a water/propylene glycol mixture; 1.5% diacetyl in deionized water or soybean oil; and 3% or 6% diacetyl in a commercial steam distillate from milk fermentation known as “butter starter distillate.” Diacetyl was quantified by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Expected concentration-dependent emission patterns based on liquid diacetyl content were demonstrated, but were significantly altered by mixture composition. Soybean oil and deionized water more readily released diacetyl when compared with starter distillate, propylene glycol solutions, and pure diacetyl. Measured diacetyl concentrations under static headspace and dynamic flow-chamber conditions were compared to estimated concentrations utilizing Raoult's law with published and fitted activity coefficient corrections for each mixture, indicating that published coefficients often understated the measured concentrations. It is concluded that headspace (static) and small-chamber (dynamic) measurements of airborne diacetyl provide data to assist in validating model-estimated airborne diacetyl concentrations by using mixture-specific activity coefficients. Implications of these empirical data for validating exposure estimates for diacetyl based on near-field/far-field modeling in workplace settings are discussed.