Beirut Arab University

Faculty of Engineering
Petroleum Department

Extraction and Distribution Coefficient

Monday 20/2/2017

Name: Omar Hamed

ID: 201500960
Instructors: Miss Rana Najjar
Miss Rola El-Tabesh
1- Purpose of the experiment:
Extraction of caffeine from tea bags.

2- Procedure:
- Place 10 tea bags in a solution of 20 g sodium carbonate in 150 mL water contained in a 400
mL beaker.
- Boil for 30 minutes while stirring then leave to cool.
- Squeeze the tea bags to get the liquid.
- Transfer liquid to a separatory funnel.
- Add 25 mL of DCM (Dichloro Methane) 3 times.
- Swirl gently and release pressure.
- Allow DCM to settle at bottom layer.
- Carefully drain the DCM layer into erlenmeyer flask.
- Weigh 100 mL beaker and then transfer the DCM layer into it (do filtration with the help of
MgSO4 to remove traces of water).
- Evaporate the DCM on hot plate.
- Weigh the beaker containg caffeine and calculate the percentage of caffeine.

3- Observations and data:

Amount of tea leaves used = 20 g

Mass of empty 100 mL beaker = 31.67 g
Mass of beaker and Caffeine = 45.67 g
Mass (Caffeine) = 45.67 - 31.67 = 14 g

4- Calculation:
M (extracted Caffeine) 14
% of Caffeine = 100 = 20 100 = 70%
20

5- Conclusion:
Caffeine which is organic solute can be extracted from tea by DCM solvent (organic solvent) and
the percentage of caffeine in tea is 70%.
6- Questions:
i- Was it possible to use alcohol instead of dichloromethane as an extraction solvent in this
experiment?
No it is impossible because alcohol is miscible with water and hence no phases will appear in the
separatory funnel.

ii- When ether or dichloromethane are shaken with water in a closed separatory funnel, there is
an increase in the pressure, why? How you would safely release this pressure?
When a volatile solvent (ether or dichloromethane) is involved in an extraction, the
establishment of the equilibrium vapor pressure of the solvent will cause the pressure to rise
inside the stoppered separatory funnel.
The pressure is best released by opening the stopper routinely or by turning the funnel upside
down (with the stopper held in place with the palm of the hand) and cautiously opening the
stopcock.

iii- For an average distribution coefficient K=3.2 determined for a certain organic compound in
diethyl ether and water. How much of the compound will be extracted from an aqueous solution
containing 5 g in 100 mL of water by two consecutive 20 mL ether extractions.

K =

First Extraction:

20
3.2 = 5 ==> x = 1.95 g
100
mass of compound remained = 5 - 1.95 = 3.05 g

Second Extraction:

20
3.2 = 3.05 ==> x = 1.19 g
100

x = 1.95 + 1.19 = 3.14 g

iv- What are the main features of a separatory funnel that makes it suitable for extraction?

- Conical shape for the clean separation of the two layer because of a small interface on the low
end.
- Stopper on top made from glass or Teflon
- Stopcock plugs made from glass or Teflon.