Extract Caffeine From Tea

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survive their day to day life, but why? Where does the caffiene addiction come from. caffeine (C8H10N4O2) found in many beverages is a white, bitter , crystalline (methyl xanthine) and a member of the alkaloids. Alkaloids are basic nitrogen that contain compounds present in plants . which means that the human body is incapable of producing it. Alkaloids, such as caffeine, are often physiologically active in humans and are known central nervous system stimulants. Caffeine also causes an increase in respiration and heart rate, as well as nervousness and insomnia if consumed at high dosages . Though caffeine has demonstrated to have physical dependence, it is also capable of improving alertness, learning capacity, and exercise performance …show more content…

First, a solid/liquid extraction must take place in order to get the solid natural product into the liquid solvent. This can be done by simply brewing a cup of tea. In order to isolate the desired reaction compounds from the natural product, liquid/liquid extractions are used. (water and DCM) Neutral and acid/base are two forms of liquid/liquid extractions. Because water is present in the pairing, it possible to separate inorganic compounds from organic compounds since organic substances are insoluble in water. When mixing the liquid pairs, the density of the both solvents predict which solvent is the top and which is the bottom layer. Caffeine, which was present in the organic layer (DCM), was located below the aqueous layer. The percent error and percent recovery are going to be calculated to assess how much pure caffeine was obtained, and to account for errors that may have occurred that led to a loss of …show more content…

Hot water is much more efficient at dissolving caffeine then colder water. This is an example of solid/liquid extraction. Next, I added the water-tea mixture to a separatory funnel and added dichloromethane (DCM). DCM is an organic solvent and caffeine is much more soluble in it than compared to water. In turn, the caffeine dissolves into the DCM, which can be extracted later. After adding the DCM, the funnel must be rocked back and forth to mix the solvents. Since water and DCM have differing densities, they separate after being allowed to rest. DCM is denser than water. The “bubbles” that will form in the bottom of the funnel is an emulsion, which occurs when a liquid is dissolved in another liquid, in this case it is water and DCM. All the tests we investigate can be done in school laboratory, and pure caffeine is bought for verifying and investigating these chemical tests. If these tests can be further developed in order to become more popular, more efficient it can lower the cost of production and cause less pollute to environment. Caffeine was extracted from tea by the use of solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extractions. An acid/base liquid-liquid extraction took place in order to force caffeine into the organic