What is Soxhlet extractor?
[[image:Soxhlet_extractor.svg|thumb|right|Drawing of a Soxhlet extractor<br> '''1:''' Stirrer '''2:''' Still pot '''3:''' [[Distillation]] path '''4:''' Thimble '''5:''' Solid '''6:''' [[Siphon]] top '''7:''' Siphon exit '''8:''' Expansion adapter '''9:''' Condenser '''10:''' Cooling water in '''11:''' Cooling water out]] [[Image:Soxhlet mechanism.gif|thumb|right|Animation showing how a Soxhlet extractor works]] A '''Soxhlet extractor''' is a kind of [[laboratory equipment]]. It is made of glass. [[Franz von Soxhlet]] invented it in [[1879]]. It has a [[flask]], an [[extraction chamber]], and a [[condenser]]. It can be used for solid-liquid extractions. In this discontinuous extraction process, the extraction solvent inside the boiling flask is evaporated and re-condensed in the distillation column above. It then falls down onto the solid material requiring extraction. The chamber containing the solid material is connected to the boiling flask below by a syphoning mechanism seen in the Pythagorean cup, which allows the chamber to fill to a point, at which it will empty its contents and start to fill again and the extracted compounds will accumulate in the boiling flask below. == Uses == Chemists use it to remove a material from a solid. It is useful when removing materials that do not dissolve well in any solvent. Chemists use a [[solvent]] such as [[ether]] or [[alcohol]] in the extractor. The Soxhlet extractor applies the solvent repeatedly to the solid until enough of the material dissolves. ==Related pages== * [[Solubility]] {{LaboratoryEquipment}} {{tech-stub}} [[Category:Laboratory equipment]] [[Category:Analytical chemistry]]