Question

1) during liquid liquid extraction ( LLE) it is normal to use separatory funnel, and two non- miscible phases of solvents , for ex: water as polar phase and ethyl acetate is the organic phase. density of water is 1,0 g/ ml, while density of ethyl acetate is 0.90 g/ ml at 25.0 celsius degrees. which of the two solvents will end up at the buttom of the separatory funnel?

2) ) during liquid liquid extraction ( LLE) it is normal to use separatory funnel, and two non- miscible phases of solvents , for ex: water as polar phase and dichlormetane is the organic phase. density of water is 1,0 g/ ml, while density of diklormetane is 1:325 g/ml at 25.0 degrees. which of the two solvents will end up at the buttom? ( water, diklormetane or are the solvents miscible so no phase separation is observed?)

3) how can we check if the water phase is above or below in the separatory funnel when we are doing liquid liquid extraction? chose correct answer/ answers

- water phase is always colorless and the organic phase is always colored.

- tap out a little of the buttom phase and add a drop of water to see if it dissolves.

- add a drop of water in the separatory funnel and see in which phase the drop ends.

Answer 1

1) During LLE, the immiscible liquids take up the top and bottom phases depending upon their densities. The heavier liquid will occupy the bottom phase while the lighter liquid occupies the top liquid layer. So, between ethyl acetate and water, since water has the higher density, it will end up at the bottom of the separatory funnel while ethyl acetate occupies the top layer.

2) As explained above, the solvent with the highest density occupies the bottom of the funnel. So in case of dichloromethane and water, dichloromethane will occupy the bottom of the separatory funnel.