Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
Determination of the caloric content of gluten free pasta via bomb calorimetry
Andrea Lacriola and Danielle Sausaman
Faculty Mentor: Brian Bellott
Chemistry
Calorie content is on the minds of many people who are watching their weights. Glutenfree diets have become popular in recent years. The purpose of this study is to
determine whether regular pasta or gluten-free pasta contains more calories. The
calorie content will be determined using a constant pressure calorimeter, which is
located in the WIU chemistry department. Often times the calorie content on packing
has large rounding errors, the goal of this study is to determine a more quantitative
value for the caloric content of these two pastas. Along with finding the temperature at
which it combusts, it is important to look at the metabolism within the body. This will
help to determine how much of the energy received from the pasta is actually used
within the body.
Benzoic acid will be used as a standard in order to calibrate the bomb calorimeter that
will be used to determine the calorie content. The pasta will be formed into a pellet form
and each type of pasta will be tested in order to see which contains more calories.
Oxygen and water will be used in order to heat up the bomb calorimeter in order to
provide an electrical current that will spark the combustion. The number of kilocalories
that are within the pasta will be adjusted and compared to the values that are known. If
possible, the amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates may be determined from the
experimental data based on the exchange values. These exchange values are placed
on food labels and will also be compared to the experimental values.