Soxhlet Extraction 101: Understanding Basics of the Technique

Soxhlet extraction is one of the modern extraction techniques in which the circulation of the same solvent occurs through the Soxhlet Extraction system several times. It is a type of uninterrupted extraction technique, however, it can be also termed as a series of short maceration.

A Soxhlet extractor requires the desired compound to be soluble in the solvent at a high temperature. Within one cycle of the Soxhlet extraction method there is extraction after the evaporation of the solvent. This cycle can be performed theoretically as many times as needed until the maximum yield of the desired solvent is achieved.

This extraction technique makes the process of extraction much easier and convenient than other conventional techniques. In this blog, we brief the details of the basics of Soxhlet technique. Keep reading till the end to find out.

Soxhlet Extraction Principle

The desired components are extracted in this technique using the condensed vapors of the solvent. The condensed vapors tend to come in contact with the sample powder and the powder’s soluble part gets mixed with the solvent.

The extractor utilizes the solvent reflux and siphon principle to persistently extract the solid matter by pure solvent, which safeguards the efficiency and high efficiency of the solvent extraction. Grinding of the solid material is done before the extraction to maximize the solid-liquid contact area.

The solid material is put in a filter paper holder and placed in an extractor. The bottom end of the extractor is joined to a round bottom flask containing a solvent, and is connected to a reflux condenser. The bottom flask is then heated for boiling the solvent which causes the vapor to rise through the branch pipe of the extractor and goes through condensation and drops into the extractor.

The solvent is contacted with the solid for extraction. When the solvent surface goes beyond  the highest point of the siphon, the solvent containing the extract is siphoned back. The flask, thus extracting a portion of the material, is repeated such that the solid material is consistently taken as a pure solvent and the extracted material is concentrated in the flask.

Some Modifications in Soxhlet Extractor

While the Soxhlet extraction technique is the modern standard method of extraction, there are some modifications made in the Soxhlet extractor system to overcome the hurdles. Some of these modified soxhlet extractor apparatus are -

• Ultrasound-assisted Soxhlet extractors
• Extractor with electrically heated distillation chamber
• Microwave-assisted Soxhlet extractor
• High-pressure soxhlet extraction
• Extractor having condenser equipped with solvent distribution nozzle for spraying condensed solvent into the powder bed 
• Fluidized-bed soxhlet extraction

If you are interested to learn more about Soxhlet extraction technique or looking for the ideal extraction system then make sure to get in touch with an expert supplier that deals in distributing modern laboratory solutions.