Separation of a Mixture of Solids

Liquid-Liquid Extraction.

One of the many methods used to separate a mixture is liquid-liquid extraction or solvent extraction. In this laboratory, a mixture of two compounds in a specific ratio will be separated using an aqueous/organic solvent system, and the percent yield will be determined in order to demonstrate the law of conservation of matter. As part of this activity students will understand how the properties of solubility can be utilized to separate two solids in a mixture, properly identify what substance is in which layer during the separation, separate the acid and neutral compound, use the knowledge gained in the activity to design the separation of a basic and neutral compound, identify the difference between polar and non-polar solvents, and how these differences can affect the ability of substrates to dissolve, and explain how this experiment proves the Law of Conservation of Matter.