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          Table of Contents 
I. ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... 3 
II. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 3 
III. MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................................................... 4 
• Materials ............................................................................................................................................... 4 
• Method .................................................................................................................................................. 4 
IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................... 5 
• Result .................................................................................................................................................... 5 
• Discussion ............................................................................................................................................. 6 
V. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 7 
VI. LAB NOTES...................................................................................................................................... 8                                  2        I.  ABSTRACT 
Liquid-liquid extraction is one of the separation techniques widely used in several sectors. 
This procedure differs significantly from distillation as it primarily considers the relative solubility 
of the species rather than their volatility. Typically, extraction is a more favorable method than 
distillation for separation applications that are not cost-effective and suitable for distillation. This 
experiment's purpose was to ascertain the distribution and mass transfer coefficient of Liquidliquid 
extraction. This method is used to separate compounds based on their relative solubilities in two 
different immiscible liquids, usually aqueous and an organic solvent. In this method after extraction 
of sample with tea, solvent mixture containing methyl chloride. Liquid-liquid Extraction is 
applicable for tea and by-products. The efficiency and selectivity of the extraction process are 
influenced by factors like solvent choice, temperature, pH, and agitation. By optimizing these 
parameters, it is possible to get higher yields and greater purity of the extracted chemicals. The 
main disadvantage of the Liquid-liquid extraction method is that this method is time-consuming, 
tedious, laborious and requires a large number of toxic solvents that pose a potential threat to 
human health, environment, problem of emulsion formation, and if there exist lots of target 
compounds with significant differences in polarity in samples, it will be difficult to obtain good 
separation using a single Liquid-liquid extraction procedure. 
The distribution ratio of an analyte is the proportion of its overall concentration in the 
organic phase divided by the organic phase in the aqueous phase at equilibrium. The recovery of 
the organic compound and enrichment factor increase as the distribution ratio of the analyte 
becomes larger and that of the matrix becomes smaller, when extracting the desired organic 
compound. Successful enrichment necessitates the reversal of the extraction process while 
removing the matrix. Following the extraction process, selectively transferring matrix components 
from the organic phase to the aqueous phase through backwashing enhances the enrichment factor.  II.  INTRODUCTION 
Liquid-liquid extraction is a method that divides constituents by their chemical variances 
rather than disparities in physical characteristics. The fundamental idea of this procedure involves 
the contact between a mixture and an insoluble liquid solvent that is not capable of being mixed 
with the original solution but can be mixed with the specific solute present in the original solution 
but can be mixed with the specific solute present in the original solution. The transfer occurs due 
to the solute’s higher solubility in the solvent present in the feed. The extract is a solution rich in 
solvent and contains the desired solute. On the other hand, raffinate is the residual feed solution  3         
that contains only a small amount of solute. These two phases are created when the solvent is added, 
because of the disparities in densities. The experiment includes methylene chloride, benzene, and  petroleum ether.  III.  MATERIALS AND METHODS  • Materials    + 1 Erlenmeyer flask 250 mL  + 1 Cylinder 10 mL    + Heating plate  + 1 Cylinder 50 mL    + Vacuum filter  + Tea    + 1 Beaker 100 mL  + Methylene chloride   
+ 1 Separatory funnel 250 mL with  + Benzene    stand  + Petroleum ether  + Balance  • Method 
First, get the caffeine solution from the tea by filtering off the tea with a baby towel and 
funnel (get as much as possible and save the liquids). Secondly, centrifuge the mixture for five 
minutes at 5,000 rpm and collect the liquid. After allowing the extract to reach room temperature, 
pour it into a 250 mL separatory funnel and use 20 mL portions of methylene chloride to extract 
the aqueous solution three times (to prevent the formation of an emulsion, swirl the layers rather 
than shake them vigorously). Then, mix the methylene chloride extracts, and use the steam bath to 
evaporate the extract until it is completely dry. Don't heat the residue any longer than is required 
to cause the solvent to evaporate. Crude caffeine is left over after the solvent evaporates; some 
mint smell will be evident. Move to the purification methods, to dissolve the crude caffeine, 
transfer it to a clean 50 mL beaker, add 5 mL of benzene, and boil it in a hot water bath. Take the 
beaker off of the heat source, pour in 10 mL of petroleum ether (with boiling range from 30 to 60 
degrees Celsius), and observe the caffeine crystallize. The product should be collected using 
suction filtration, cleaned with 1 mL of petroleum ether, and allowed to air dry and determine the  caffeine melting point.    4        IV.  RESULT AND DISCUSSION  • Result 
After extract caffein from tea, the sample was washed with petroleum ether as a wash 
solvent because it is relatively nonpolar and can dissolve many nonpolar impurities.   
Figure 1: Sample after washing with petroleum ether. 
It can be observed that the caffeine recrystallized immediately after adding 10 mL 
petroleum ether (30-60). Upon drying sample, the total mass of caffein upon was 0.33g. 
Three percent of the mass of green tea is caffeine. Thirty grams of green tea were used in 
the experiment to extract caffeine. Consequently, 0.9g of caffeine existed prior to recrystallization.   
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛  0.33 
%𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 =   × 100% =   × 100 % = 36.7%   
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛  0.9  5           
Figure 2: Melting point of sample. 
In the conclusive stage of the experiment, the determined melting point of caffeine was 
recorded as 234.2°C. It is pertinent to note that the accepted melting point range for caffeine is 
235-237°C. The observed discrepancy between the experimental and accepted values indicates the 
presence of impurities within the sample. This incongruity is suggestive of potential sources of 
personal error during the experimental procedures.  • Discussion 
Caffeine is a polar compound; methylene chloride is either. So, methylene chloride is a 
suitable solvent for the extraction of caffeine out of water. Methylene chloride is denser than water, 
so it will be the bottom layer when combined with an aqueous solution in a separatory funnel. 
When performing liquid-liquid extraction, it is not necessary to drain the methylene chloride and 
aqueous solution out of the separatory funnel. After draining methylene chloride out of the 
separatory funnel, fresh methylene chloride can be added to the aqueous solution to continue the 
extraction of caffeine. Repeat the process three times to maximize the efficiency of the extraction. 
Choosing a solvent to dissolve crude caffeine is particularly important in Liquid-liquid 
extraction. 1g of caffeine is soluble in 46 mL of water but in 100 mL of benzene at 25oC, so benzene 
is more appropriate than water. After dissolving caffeine in benzene, add petroleum ether (30-60) 
to the benzene solution to recrystallize caffeine. This phenomenon is the result of its polarity. 
Benzene and caffeine are polar compounds, so caffeine can be dissolved in benzene solution, while 
petroleum ether is a non-polar compound, so it will reduce the solubility of caffeine in benzene 
solution and allow caffeine to recrystallize. 
The melting point range of pure caffeine is 235oC-238oC. Due to some technical issues 
while performing Liquid-liquid extraction (I.e., shaking the separatory funnel cruelly) the melting 
point of caffeine recorded was not in the melting point range (I.e., 234.2oC). This technical issue  6       
formed bubbles between 2 layers of aqueous solution and methylene chloride. These bubbles took 
some of aqueous solution and went down with methylene chloride. Hence, the crystal contained 
some impurities from aqueous solution which leaded to the error in melting point of caffeine. 
%Recovery was low (I.e., 36.7%) because methylene chloride was not enough to extract 
more caffeine in the aqueous solution. The more repetition of the Liquid-liquid extraction, the more 
caffeine would be extracted from the aqueous solution. 
This procedure can be scaled up for industrial manufacturing because of its simplicity. The 
extraction is safe because there is no reaction in the process. It can be easy to control the whole 
extraction process in industry. Do not forget to release pressure drop while mixing aqueous solution 
and the organic solvent to ensure the extraction system works safely and smoothly.  V.  CONCLUSION 
To sum up, the Liquid-liquid extraction experiment demonstrated itself to be a useful and 
efficient method for separating and purifying chemicals from complicated combinations. The 
ability to transfer target chemicals selectively across immiscible liquid phases according to their 
varied solubilities demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach. Requirements for effective 
extractions included the careful selection of suitable solvents and the rigorous control of 
experimental conditions, including temperature and pH. 
The experiment also demonstrated how crucial it is to comprehend the chemical 
characteristics of solvents and how they interact with other combination constituents. Liquid-liquid 
extraction has shown to be versatile with a wide range of applications in areas including 
environmental analysis, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals.  7          VI.  LAB NOTES   
Figure 3: Lab notes 13th December.    8