Separation of a Mixture by Extraction Lab 1. Which of the following solvents wou

Question

Separation of a Mixture by Extraction Lab

1. Which of the following solvents would be the best choice to extract a polar organic compound from an aqueous solution? Acetonitrile Dimethylformamide Hexane Methylene Chloride

2. You are given a sample containing a hydrocarbon and an amine – both compounds are very insoluble in water and very soluble in diethyl ether. Describe how you could efficiently separate these two compounds using extraction methods; clearly explain why your procedure should give a good separation of the components (i.e., both compounds isolated in good yield and purity).

Explanation / Answer

1. Both Acetonitrile and Dimethylformamide are polar but miscible in water, so can not be used in extraction process. Hexane is a non-polar solvent. Methylene Chloride (moderately polar and not soluble in water) is the best choice among the given options.

2. Amine are basic in nature and reaction with dilute aqueous acid solutions such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) converts the amines to water soluble cations. So treating the sample with HCl and followed by extraction with water/hexane solvent combination should separate the hydrocarbon ( in hexane layer) and amines(water layer) mixture.

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