A new methodology for the definition of odor zones in perfumery ternary diagrams

The new methodology called “Perfumery Ternary Diagram” helps perfumers in odor prediction, allowing a fast evaluation of the odor value in the headspace for all possible combinations of a non-ideal perfume liquid mixture with three fragrant components and one or more solvents. In this work, the determination of Perfumery Ternary Points (PTP) and Perfumery Binary Lines (PBL) is described, allowing a complete definition of Perfumery Ternary Diagram (PTD) odor zones, without the need to calculate a large number of points inside the triangle region. The methodology of PTP and PBL determination was applied to the system: limonene, geraniol, vanillin, and ethanol. The effect of solvent—ethanol—on the odor zones, namely on the number of PTP and on the shape of the PBL was studied, as well as the effect of the non-idealities. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006