The method of extraction allows one to take out desired parts from an impure mixture. Extraction is a very common laboratory method of separation. Compounds that exist in nature as well as compound products from most experiments are never completely pure.2 These are usually contaminated with excess products or reactants and impurities that need to be removed.1
For an extraction to take place, a proper extraction solvent must be selected. Some important properties that extraction solvents need to fit include the following; it needs to be able to dissolve only the compound that is being extracted, have a low boiling point, chemically inert, and easily removed by distillation.3 …show more content…
Using different solubility and pH properties of acids, bases and neutral components, the separation of each of these was made possible. In this experiment, acid-base reactions were used to separate both the organic acid and the organic base from the solution. When an organic acid is combined with sodium hydroxide, the acid’s conjugate base and water are formed. This also goes for bases, when an organic base is combined with hydrochloric acid, the base’s conjugate acid and water are formed. The chemical nature of organic ionic conjugate acids and bases allow them to be separated out of the