ekstraktsiooni

Ekstraktsiooni refers to the process of separating a desired substance from a mixture through the use of a solvent. This technique is widely employed in various scientific and industrial fields, including chemistry, pharmacology, food science, and environmental analysis. The fundamental principle behind extraction is the difference in solubility of the components of a mixture in a particular solvent.

There are two main types of extraction: liquid-liquid extraction and solid-liquid extraction. Liquid-liquid extraction involves separating components from one liquid phase into another immiscible liquid phase. Solid-liquid extraction, on the other hand, is used to isolate soluble compounds from a solid matrix by dissolving them in a liquid solvent.

The choice of solvent is crucial in extraction. An ideal solvent should selectively dissolve the target substance while leaving other components undissolved or poorly soluble. Factors such as polarity, boiling point, and reactivity of the solvent are considered. Common solvents used include water, ethanol, hexane, and dichloromethane.

The efficiency of extraction can be influenced by several parameters, including temperature, contact time between phases, and the ratio of solvent to the mixture. Multiple extractions with smaller volumes of solvent are generally more effective than a single extraction with a large volume. After the extraction process, the solvent containing the desired substance is typically separated from the remaining mixture, and the substance is then recovered by evaporating the solvent or through further purification steps. Ekstraktsiooni is a fundamental technique for sample preparation and isolation of active compounds.