Aleks Glod

TA: Lauren Pepi

February 24, 2017

Isolating Three Components of a Mixture via Acid-Base Extraction

I. Results: 6.00 grams of mixture were used in the experiment. Since the mixture was composed

on benzocaine, benzoic acid, and fluorenone in a 1:1:1 ration a .6 gram sample of the mixture

gives a theoretical yield of 2.00 grams of each component.

Component Percent Recovery Melting Point Range C

Benzoic Acid 1.85 g recovered 83.2- 85.3 C
X 100
2.00 g theoretical yield
= 92.5 %

Benzocaine .77 g recovered 118.6-125.0 C

X 100
2.00 g theoretical yield
= 38.5 %

Fluorenone 1.02 70.1- 72.9 C

X 100
2.00 g theoretical yield
= 51.0 %

II. Discussion/Conclusion: The percent varied immensely throughout this experiment. The

original mixture had an equal part ratio of each compounds by mass. However it is quite likely

that the sample did not contain an even amount of the three compounds. During the first step of

recovery, the experiment resulted in the greatest percent recovery. This could be because none of

the sample had been lost yet and it could be recovered more easily. Unfortunately, during the

separation of fluorenone, the separatory funnel was somehow left open and the sample poured
onto the lab desk. In order to attempt to salvage that recovery, a pipet was used to gather the

sample back into a beaker. Not all of it was removed from the lab desk, the rest had to be cleaned

up. In the case of Benzocaine, the error in recovery could be due to the drying process. When

using the suction filtration, two of the round filters were accidently used because they were stuck

together. Other possible causes of lose could include incomplete transfer of the mixture from

watch glass to beaker, incomplete crystallization and perhaps not adding sufficient acid or base

to extracted layer to return them to their original state and allow crystallization.

The melting point ranges during this experiment were generally inaccurate compared to

the literature values. The values for benzoic acid and benzocaine seem to record as the opposite

compound because the literature values of each are very different from what is recorded. This is

most likely the cause of a human error. Generally contaminations would skew the melting point

range but to see such a difference would indicate that is not that compound listed.
 Citations

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