In the caffeine extraction fro
In the caffeine extraction from an energy drink lab:
a. Why was it necessary to extract the caffeine from the energydrink? Why could we not have sublimated the energy drink directlyas a solution?b. Why did we extract the energy drink with dichloromethane,specifically, and not another organic solvent such as methanol orhexane?
Answer:
a. Why was it necessary to extract the caffeine from the energydrink?
A: Energy drink is a homogeneous mixture containing caffeine (analkaloid) and water. The caffeine from the energy drink can beextracted through liquid/liquid extraction. Since the caffeinecompound is dissolved the water it is difficult to distill thewater. It needs high temperature to distill out the water.Therefore, it is easy to extract the caffeine into low boilingorganic solvent such as dichloromethane and then distill thedichloromethane to yield caffeine.
Why could we not have sublimated the energy drink directly as asolution?
A: Sublimation process is used when a mixture containsnonvolatile impurities. In our case, we have energy drink containswater and caffeine. Water is volatile and can’t sublime to yieldcaffeine.
b. Why did we extract the energy drink with dichloromethane,specifically, and not another organic a solvent such as methanol orhexane?
A: Dichloromethane is high density and low boiling point organicsolvent. Therefore, after the extraction, it is easy to distill themixtureto get the caffeine. Whereas, Methanol is soluble in water andthere is no clear separation of organic and aqueous phases for theextraction process. So, methanol is not a good solvent for theextraction of caffeine.
The boiling temperature of hexane is also high when compared todichloromethane. Furthermore, the solubility of caffeine is less inthe hexane compared to dichloromethane. Therefore, for theextraction of caffeine dichloromethane is the best solvent.
"Our Prices Start at $11.99. As Our First Client, Use Coupon Code GET15 to claim 15% Discount This Month!!"
