Certificate

T
his is to certify that Punit Goswami of class 12th B has
satisfactorily completed the project in chemistry on Presence
of Oxalate ions prescribed by the AISSCE course in the
academic year 2012-13. I have examined the project and
hereby accord my approval of it as a study carried out and
presented in the manner required for its acceptance. This
does not necessarily endorse or accept every statement
made or opinion expressed or conclusion drawn, but only
signifies the acceptance of the project for the purpose it is
submitted for.

Mr. P.N. YadavDr. Shalini Dikshit

PGT Chemistry Principal, K.V. Manauri

Acknowledgement
I hereby acknowledge my deep sense of gratitude
and indebtedness to Mr P.N. Yadav, PGT (Chemistry) whose immense help,
genius guidance, encouragement, necessary suggestions, initiations,
enthusiasm and inspiration made this work a master art and a joint
enterprise.

Contents
Aim of the project

Introduction
Theory
Requirements
Chemical Equations
Procedure
Precautions
Observations
Calculations
Conclusions
 To study the presence of oxalate ions in guava fruit at
different stages of ripening.

Introduction

G
uava is a common sweet fruit found in India and many other places around the world.
Guavas are plants in the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae) genus Psidium (meaning
"pomegranate" in Latin), which contains about 100 species of tropical shrub. On ripening
it turns yellow in color. Rich in vitamin C, this fruit is a rich source of oxalate ions whose
content varies during the different stages of ripening.
Guavas have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less in
strength.

What is oxalate?
I

t is a carboxylic acid, primarily found in plants and animals. It is not an essential molecule
and is excreted from our body, unchanged. Our body either produces oxalate on its own or
converts other molecules like Vitamin C to oxalate. External sources like food also
contribute to the accumulation of oxalate in our body. The oxalate present in the body is
excreted in the form of urine as waste. Too much of oxalate in our urine results in a
medical condition called hyperoxaluria, commonly referred to as kidney stones. Diet is
looked upon as a preventive measure in addition to medication to treat kidney stones.

O
 Theory

xalate ions are extracted from the fruit by boiling pulp with dilute H2SO4. The
oxalate ions are estimated volumetrically, by titrating the solution with KMnO4
solution. A reagent, called the titrant, of a known concentration (a standard
solution) and volume is used to react with a solution of the analyte or titrand, whose
concentration is not known. Using a calibrated burette or chemistry pipetting
syringe to add the titrant, it is possible to determine the exact amount that has
been consumed when the endpoint is reached. The endpoint is the point at which
the titration is complete, as determined by an indicator. This is ideally the same
volume as the equivalence point.

T
he volume of added titrant at which the number of moles of titrant is equal to the
number of moles of analyte, or some multiple thereof (as in polyprotic acids). In the
classic strong acid-strong base titration, the endpoint of a titration is the point at
which the pH of the reactant is just about equal to 7, and often when the solution
takes on a persisting solid colour as in the pink of phenolphthalein indicator.

Requirements
Apparatus
100 ml measuring flask Pestle & Mortar Beaker Burette
Funnel Weighing machine Filter Papers
 Chemicals
1.
2. dil. H2SO4

1. (N/10) KMnO4 solution

Guava fruits at different stages of ripening.

Chemical Equations
Molecular Equations
2KMnO4+ 3H2SO4 K2SO4+ 2MnSO4+2H2O + 4[O]
HOOC-COOH.2H2O + [O] 600C – 700C 2CO2+ 2H2O x 5
3KMnO4+ 3H2SO4+5 HOOC-COOH.2H2O
K2SO4+ 2MnSO4+ 18H2O + 10CO2
 Ionic Equations
MnO4-+16H++ 5e- Mn2++ 4H2O x 2
C2O4 2CO2+ 2e-x 5
2MnO4-+ 16H++ 5C2O42- 2Mn2++8H2O + 10CO2

Procedure
1. Weighed 50 g of fresh guava and crushed it to a fine pulp using pestle
and mortar.
2. Transferred the crushed pulp to a beaker and added about 50 ml dilute
H2SO4 to it.
3. Boiled the content for about 10 minutes. Cooled and filtered the contents
in a 100 ml measuring flask.
4. Made up the volume 100 ml by adding ample amount of distilled water.
5. Took 20 ml of the solution from the flask and added 20 ml of dilute
sulphuric acid to it.
6. Heated the mixture to about 600 C and titrated it against (n/10) KMnO4
solution taken in a burette till the end point had an appearance of pink
colour.
7. Repeated the above experiment with 50 g of 1day, 2 day and 3 day old
guava fruits.

Precautions
1. There should be no parallax while taking measurements.
2. Spillage of chemicals should be checked.
3. Avoid the use of burette having a rubber tap as KMnO4attacks rubber.
4. In order to get some idea about the temperature of the solution touch the
flask with the back side of your hand. When it becomes unbearable to
touch, the required temperature is reached.
5. Add about an equal volume of dil. H2SO4 to the guava extract to be
titrated (say a full test tube) before adding KMnO4.
6. Read the upper meniscus while taking burette reading with KMnO4
solution.
7. In case, on addition of KMnO4 a brown ppt. appears, this shows that
either H2SO4 has not been added or has been added in insufficient
 amount. In such a case, throw away the solution and titrate again.

Observations
1. Weight of the guava fruit for each time was 50 g.
2. Volume of guava extract taken for each titration was 20 ml.
3. Normality of KMnO4 solution was (1/10).
4. END POINT: Colour Changes to pink

Burette
Guava Final Volume of Concurrent
reading
Solution Reading KMnO4 Reading
Initial

Raw 150 18 132

Semi-ripened 150 13 137 136.06

Ripened 150 10.8 139.2

Calculations
1. For raw guava
N1V1 = N2V2
N1 x 10 = (1/10) x132
1/10 x Normality of oxalate = (x/100) = strength of oxalate in fresh
guava extract = normality x Eq. mass of oxalate ion

= 1.32/100 x 44g/litre of diluted extract

= 0.581 g L-1

1. For semi ripened guava (1 day old).

Strength of oxalate in one day old guava extract
 = (1.37 /100) x 44g/litre of diluted extract

= 0.603 g L-1

1. For ripened guava

Strength of oxalate in fresh guava extract
= ( 1.39/100) x 44g/litre of diluted extract
=0.612 g L-1

Results
a. The normality of oxalate ions of;

(i) Fresh guava solution is = 1.32 ml

(ii) Semi-ripen guava solution is = 1.37 ml
(iii) Ripened guava solution is = 1.39 ml

a. The strength of oxalate ions of;

i. Fresh guava solution is = 0.58 ml
ii. Semi-ripened guava is = 0.60 ml
iii. Ripened guava is = 0.61 ml

Conclusions
The content of oxalate ions in guava was found to be 59.67 per cent, which
is close to the literature value of 60 percent.
It was also noticed that the content of oxalic ions grows with ripening of
guava.

Bibliography
1. Search engines used:
 www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.reader.google.com
www.labs.google.com
www.quora.com
2. Practical Chemistry by Laxmi Publications.
3. The Family Encyclopedia by Dorling Kindersley.

Aim