I am using Ethanol 95% for fat extraction from Soxhlet & sometimes extraction comes up and sometimes not with same setup. The water boils properly but the solvent is not actually boiling but the vapor seems come down. What could be the issues? Can anyone help me with the solution?
Thanks in advance.
The major problem here is that fats are sparingly soluble in alcohols, try any organic solvent as hexane, dichloromethane the solubility and volatility would be much more better. Good luck
Thanks for your answer. Actually I need to use food grade solvents. That's why I used food grade ethanol. Can you suggest me some options for that?
To extract fats from the plant parts using the Soxhletl apparatus, hexane solvent is used, not ethanol.
2. Solvent election is very important for extraction the oil to avoid error. Study nature of oil you want to extract from sample. If oil you want extract is polar , the selection of solvent must be polar such as ethanol and chloroform. If oil you want exact is non- polar from sample, then the solvent use for extraction must be non--polar such as hexane and petroleum ether
1. dry sample i.e remove water from the original sample. measuring fat in dry basis
2. Solvent election is very important for extraction the oil to avoid error. Study nature of oil you want to extract from sample. If oil you want extract is polar , the selection of solvent must be polar such as ethanol and chloroform. If oil you want exact is non- polar from sample, then the solvent use for extraction must be non--polar such as hexane and petroleum ether
Thanks for your question Dr. Qasim
Thanks , Dr. Munsura about your question
and thanks , Dr. Qasim about your answer
First of all, your Soxhlet device may need servicing...
then you need to choose the best solvent that extracts your material.
You need to know the boiling point of your solvent (e.g. ethanol 78-79C°) and set the temperature of the Soxhlet according to the protocol.
Ps: I used 70% ethanol for the extraction of medicinal plants and I found these problems too
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