Methodology

The materials used in the experiment are the following: 3 teabags of Lipton
tea, 400 mL beaker, 150 mL boiling water, separatory funnel, 60 mL of
dichloromethane (Ch2Cl2), Erlenmeyer flask, 20 mL 6M sodium hydroxide (NaOH), 1
spatula anhydrous sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), evaporating dish and water bath.
Single and Multiple extraction were performed to extract caffeine from the
tealeaves. To start, the tea were removed from the bag for weighing and was later
returned in the bag. The weights were recorded. The three tea bags were then
placed in a 400 mL beaker with 150 mL boiling water. The tealeaves were boiled for
five minutes. Ice were added to cool the tea extract and was transferred in a
separatory funnel. Sixty (60) mL of Ch2Cl2 was added to the separatory funnel. The
separatory funnel was swirled gently to avoid emulsion being formed. Once the two layers of liquid

(Ch2Cl2) was drained into a 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask. The

upper layer was discarded. Lower layer was transferred in a separatory funnel and
20 mL 6M NaOH was added. The separatory funnel was again swirled gently. Lower
layer was drained into a clean dry 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask. The upper layer was
discarded .One spatula anhydrous sodium sulfate (Na 2SO4) was placed in the flask
with the lower layer. The contents were swirled and decanted. The residue of the
mixture was discarded. The decantate was transferred in a pre-weighed evaporating
dish and was evaporated over a water bath. Then, the collected caffeine was cooled
and weighed. The Percent yield of caffeine was calculated and its description was
recorded. Same procedures were done for the multiple extraction except that 20 mL
of Ch2Cl2 was added into the separatory funnel then the funnel was swirled and the
lower layer was then drained. These procedures were done for three times.
were separated, the lower layer

Table 1. Results for Single Extraction of Group 11 and Multiple Extraction of Group 9
and 10
Weight of tealeaves
Weight of empty evap.
dish
Weight of empty evap.
dish + caffeine
Weight of caffeine
Percent (%) caffeine
Appearance of caffeine

Single Extraction
6.3962 g

Multiple Extraction
6.3769 g

118.7896 g

116.0002 g

118.8186 g

116.0167 g

0.0290 g
0.45 %
Yellowish-white powder

0.0165 g
0.25 %
White powder

Table 1 shows that the usage of single extraction yielded 0.0290 g (0. 45%)
caffeine which is greater than the 0.0165 g caffeine (0.25%) produced by multiple
extraction. The results obtained contradicts to the idea that multiple extraction
yields more caffeine compared to single extraction (site reference).

Introduction
Many organic compounds are obtained from natural sources through extraction. This
method takes advantage of the solubility characteristics of a particular organic substance with a
given solvent. The mixture is brought into contact with a solvent in which the substance of
interest is soluble, but the other substances present are insoluble. Extractions use two immiscible
phases to separate the substance from one phase into the other. There are two types of extraction
namely solid-liquid extraction and liquid-liquid extraction.
In solid-liquid extraction compounds are dissolved in a solvent separating them from
other compounds due to differences in properties. . On the other hand, liquid-liquid extraction
consists of transferring one solute to another immiscible solvent.
Caffeine belongs to the family of heterocyclic compounds known as purines. The
chemical formula is C8H10N4O2. Caffeine has a molar mass of 194.19 grams. Caffeine can be
classified as an alkaloid, a term used for substances produced as end products of
nitrogen metabolism in some plants. Like other alkaloids, caffeine has powerful physiological
effects on humans and animals. It is soluble in water and in many organic solvents, and it appears
in pure form as white crystals. Caffeine can be prepared by extraction from natural sources or
by synthesis from uric acid. Caffeine is one of the main substances that make up tea solution.
Other than tea, coffee, chocolate, and some cola drinks contain caffeine.[1]
Tealeaves consist primarily of cellulose and is not soluble to water. In the experiment
both solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction were performed. Caffeine is readily soluble in hot
water (extracting solvent) and is thus separated from tea leaves. However, other complex
substances such as tannins colored phenolic compoundsare also soluble to water. These
tannins are insoluble in organic solvent such as dichloromethane. Caffeine is more soluble in
dichloromethane. Thus, caffeine can be extracted from the tea solution using dichloromethane as
solvent and tannins are remained in the aqueous solution. The difference in density of water and
dichloromethane determines what layer should be discarded. Since water is less dense than
dichloromethane, therefore water stays above the dichloromethane.
This experiment aims to extract and to compute the percent of caffeine from tealeaves
with the use of solid-liquid extraction (H2O as solvent), liquid-liquid extraction (dichloromethane
as solvent), single and multiple extraction.

References
Battelheim, F. & Landesberg, J. (2001). Laboratory experiments for organic and
biochemistry. Forth Worth: Saunders College.
Engel, R. (2011). Introduction to organic laboratory techniques: a small scale
approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Battelheim, F. & Landesberg, J. (2010). Laboratory experiments for introduction to
general, organic and biochemistry. Australia: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
Vlab.amrita.edu,. (2011). Extraction of caffeine from tea. Retrieved 21 February
2016, from vlab.amrita.edu/?sub=3&brch=64&sim=169&cnt=1

Appendix B
Computation of percent caffeine from tea leaves with the use of single and multiple
extraction

weight of caffeine
Percent yield (g)
=
weight

X 100

of

Single Extraction

Percent yield =

0.0290 g
6.3962 g

X 100 = 0.45%

Multiple Extraction

Percent yield =

0.0165 g
6.3769 g

X 100 = 0.25%