Q.Which properties of solvents are useful for solvent extraction?

Step 1. For solvent extraction to work at all, the extracting solvent must be immiscible with water, so that on shaking with the aqueous solution the two liquids separate back out into two distinct layers rather than mixing into one.

Step 2. The extracting solvent must also be one in which the organic substance is more soluble than it is in water — this solubility difference is exactly what drives the substance to transfer out of the aqueous layer and into the organic layer when the two are shaken together. …

Recall the two solvent properties the chapter states are needed fo …

• Naming only solubility without also mentioning that the solvent must be immiscible with water — without immiscibi …