Good day. How do I mix hexane and methanol (90:10 ratio) as a solvent for plant extraction using Soxhlet method? Will these 2 solvents mix well together?
Both will not mixed or miscible but you will get two different layer that will tell you soluble compound in each soluble compound. that will help you to differentiate different compound.
Different polarities of theses two solvents will make them immiscible. You could try extracting the sample in each solvent separately so respective compounds in the plant sample will be extracted into each solvent.
Being a difference in polarity as well specific gravity, it will never get mixed. In soxhlet also less boiling point solvent hexane will evaporate first and methanol will remain at the bottom and temperature of this mixture will never reach up to boiling point of methanol. Hence, it will not serve the purpose.
Regardless of solubility, you can not use two or more solvents in a Soxhlet extractor. So, the Soxhlet apparatus depends on evaporating the solvent and then condensed into a liquid again. Where he will pass through the sample and extracted the soluble compounds and then return to the heating flask again. If more than one solvent is present, The lowest solvent in the boiling point, will evaporate and then condense and pass through the sample and return to the boiling flask . and prevent the evaporation of the second solvent. The extraction will be done by only one solvent, the solvent with the lowest boiling point.