
Thereafter, the round bottom flask is heated, allowing the boiling of the reaction mixture. Then, we can connect it to a water-cooled condenser that typically opens to the atmosphere at the top. In laboratory applications, we can place reactants and the solvent mixture in a round bottom flask. In the industrial distillation processes, reflux is useful for large-scale distillation columns and for fractionators, including petroleum refineries, petrochemical plants, chemical plants, and natural gas processing plants. Moreover, this technique is useful in chemistry for supplying energy in order to keep reactions over a long time period.

This process is useful in industrial and laboratory applications where distillations are used. Reflux extraction is an analytical technique that involves the condensation of vapors and the return of the condensate to the system from which the condensate was originated. Summary – Reflux vs Soxhlet Extraction What is Reflux Extraction? Reflux vs Soxhlet Extraction in Tabular Formĥ. Soxhlet extraction is an analytical extraction method using a specific extractor called the soxhlet extractor, which is useful for distillation purposes. Reflux is an analytical technique that involves the condensation of vapors and the return of the condensate to the system from which the condensate originated. Newbie with soxhlet, lots of questions.The key difference between reflux and soxhlet extraction is that reflux extraction involves only a flask and cooling above, whereas soxhlet extraction involves a specific apparatus called the soxhlet extractor.Soxhlet extractors are commonly used when extracting oils or alkaloids from plant material. After the dropping funnel is full, open the stopcock just enough for the liquid collected in the funnel chamber to begin dripping back in the flask. Fill the boiling flask with the desired solvent to begin refluxing the solvent. The target compound is added in a bag or thimble, then placed in the dropping funnel, with the stopcock closed. Soxhlet extractors can be purchased from lab suppliers or online.Ī makeshift Soxhlet extractor can be made by connecting a pressure-equalizing dropping funnel to a boiling flask, and on top connect a reflux condenser. If the extraction chamber still has some solvent and can no longer fill, add some fresh solvent until it reaches the siphoning level and wait for it to drain into the solvent flask. Take the flask with the solvent and attach it to a rotary evaporator to remove the solvent.Remove the thimble from the Soxhlet chamber and dispose of it.Wait until the siphon empties the Soxhlet chamber, then remove the condenser, the Soxhlet siphon chamber then the flask with solvent.Turn off heating and wait for the solvent to stop boiling.The advantage of this system is that instead of many portions of warm solvent being passed through the sample, just one batch of solvent is recycled. After many cycles the desired compound is concentrated in the distillation flask. The thimble ensures that the rapid motion of the solvent does not transport any solid material to the still pot this cycle may be allowed to repeat many times, over hours or days, if the target compound has extremely poor solubility in solvents.ĭuring each cycle, a portion of the non-volatile compound dissolves in the solvent.


Turn on the cooling then turn on the heating.Connect the reflux condenser to the cooling fluidĬhoose the type of condenser depending on the type of solvent you use.Attach the reflux condenser atop the extractor.Connect the Soxhlet extractor atop the flask.The flask is placed on the heating element (a heating bath is preferred over a mantle because pyrolysis may occur on the sides of the flask when the solvent level drops).Add the extraction solvent in the distillation flask.Load the thimble into the main chamber of the Soxhlet extractor.The source material containing the compound to be extracted is placed inside the thimble.Siphon mechanism, which periodically empties the thimble.Extraction thimble, a tube made of cellulose or is a simple packed filter paper, which retains the solid to be laved.Percolator: consists of boiler and reflux, which circulates the solvent.A Soxhlet extractor is comprised of three sections:
