Discussions and Conclusions

By calculation, the amount of caffeine per one gram of instant tea was determines to be 1.2152 %. This
data may be imprecise because during the extraction of caffeine, emulsions may have occurred. This
happens when an organic compound of one liquid in a second liquid and the first compound will not mix
such as a case with water and oil. Because of this, during phase separation, a arbitrary amount of
caffeine was separated depending on how gentle students shook the mixture.

3.0 OBSERVATION AND RESULT

3.1 OBSERVATION

We have been conducting the experiment for few hours. We have recorded the changes as

well as the result during the experiment. Before we are able to measure the mass of the

extracted caffeine, there are few observations that we have recorded. When the coffee and

tea is boiled and ready after the boiling process, we have to transfer them into suction

pump to filter the coffee residues and tea leaves to separate them totally from the

solution. We have observe that the solution we obtain after the filter process having less
volume compare to the volume before we pour the caffeinated solution into suction

pump. Then, we added the dichloromethane into the caffeinated solution (coffee and tea)

separately. We shake the mixture gently and thoroughly in the separating funnel. We

observed that there are two layers form right after we shake the solution. On the top layer

it appears as brown colour which is same as the coffee solution and tea solution. The

bottom layer appears as a clear and transparent solution. Then, we have to boil the

solution containing dichloromethane together with caffeine content until the solution boil

and only precipitate left in the conical flask. Within a minute, we are able to observe the

solution has dried out and the precipitates are formed at the bottom of the conical flask.

5.0 CONCLUSION

After the above test, we confirmed that the about solvent extraction is a practical

experimental procedure for extraction in school laboratory. The result of this experiment may

not 100% perfectly correct same as the exact amount of caffeine contain in both coffee and tea,

but by conducting this experiment, we may able to describe the result that we have gained is

an effort for further discover about the caffeine content in caffeinated drink. However

dichloromethane which is used to extract caffeine from their original compounds it is a

corrosive solution to be used and during the experiment procedure it should be handle with

care.

Therefore, it can be concluded that in nature coffee beans have a higher ratio of caffeine

comparing to tea leaves.

Abstract: 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 layer. A pure product of .065 g caffeine was obtained. This gave calculated values of 59.1

% recovery and 40.9 % error. Caffeine was the final product. Many sources of error may have

occurred such as an incorrect calibration of the scales with which the samples were measured

and not “washing” the solution thoroughly enough to obtain as much sample as possible.

Conclusion: Overall, a total of .065 g was obtained from a possible amount of .055 g per tea

bag, or .11 g total. The total percent recovery was 59.1 %. This number reflects on how accurate
the procedure was performed. It was not possible to obtain 100% recovery because the reaction

never goes 100 % to completion and because of material loss through transfer during the

procedure.

Reference Cited:

Amrita University. Extraction of Caffeine from Tea. 2013. http://amrita.vlab.co.in/?

sub=3&brch=64&sim=169&cnt=1 (accessed Oct 7, 2013)

Calculation:

Tea brand BOH

Mass of tea leaves / g 2.02
Mass of empty round bottomed flask / g 372.29
Mass of round bottomed flask + caffeine / g 372.61
Mass of caffeine / g 0.32
Average mass of caffeine / g 0.0533

Percentage of caffeine in a packet of tea.

 average mass of caffeine , g
¿ × 100
mass of tea leaves , g

0.0533
¿ × 100
2.02

= 2.64 %

Theoretically, tea is said to be 3% caffeine by weight. That tells, in this experiment, when 2g of
tea was used, the amount of caffeine should be obtained is

3
= × 2.02 g
100

= 0.061 g

Percentage of error

t h eoretical mass of caffeine−experimental mass of caffeine

= × 100
t h eoretical mass of caffeine

0.061−0.0533
= ×100
0.061

= 12.6%

Discussion:

In this experiment, I used tea from a BOH brand. The mass of the tea leaves obtained
from a packet of tea is 2.02g. The caffeine from the tea leaves was obtained by doing the
extraction method. The extraction method was done by mixing a tea with hot water to make a tea
solution. The solution was then mixed with sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate was used
because sodium carbonate acts as a base. When you boil tea leaves, tannins dissolve in the water
as well as the caffeine. If you do not use a base the tannins will also be extracted into the solvent
used in the subsequent extraction. The base converts the tannins into their sodium salts - being
ionic these salts are not soluble in extracting solvent so it will remain in the aqueous layer during
extraction. This allows purer caffeine to be extracted.
 The solution was then transferred into the separatory funnel before the extraction solvent;
dichloromethane was added into the solution. Dichloromethane is a polar organic solvent which
is good in dissolving most organic molecules like caffeine. Water, in the other hand is
immiscible with dichloromethane. Dichloromethane is denser than water, thus, it will form a
separate layer at the bottom of the solution. The mixture was shaken to ensure that the caffeine
will migrate from the tea into the extractant. The denser layer of the dichloromethane then was
drained out from the bottom of the separatory funnel.

When the extract was collected, anhydrous sodium sulphate was added into the extract.
Anhydrous sodium sulphate is soluble in water; it will remove any water molecule present in the
extraction, leaving the caffeine and dichloromethane to be evaporated.

The extract was then evaporated using a rotary evaporator. During the evaporation
method, the liquid from the extract will be evaporated to another round bottomed flask, leaving
the caffeine on the wall of the other flask. The empty flask was pre weighed before the
evaporation process. To obtain the mass of the caffeine obtained from the experiment, the mass
of the flask containing the caffeine was subtracted with the mass of an empty flask. Thus, from
the experiment, the amount of the caffeine obtained from the experiment was 0.0533 g.

Theoretically, tea is said to be 3% caffeine by weight. Theoretically, I should obtain an

amount of 0.0606 g of caffeine. From the experiment conducted, I get 0.0533 g of caffeine. The
amount of the caffeine obtained is slightly low than a theoretical amount with the percentage of
error is 12.6%.

From the result obtained it was believed that some errors were done during the
experiment. One of the errors detected was the extraction method. During the extraction, the
caffeine might not be fully extracted from the tea. There might be a little amount of caffeine left
in the tea that is not being extracted. Thus, the caffeine is not extracted in enough amounts for it
to achieve the theoretical value. Other than that, the error might arise from the method error.
That is, when weighing the mass of the round bottomed flask, it has to be held a bit because it is
not stable. The real mass of the bottomed flask might be an error because there is interruption
during the weighing process. Furthermore, the amount of the caffeine obtained is from the
extraction of six students. Thus, only the average mass of the caffeine was taken into account and
not the exact amount of single, own extraction. This is because there are not enough instruments
to be used for each student, so we have to combine our extraction and get the combined result to
be calculated. Another error that might be the contributor of the result error is during the
filtration. After the extract was dried using anhydrous sodium sulphate, the extract was filtered
using filter paper. There might be some extract left on the filter paper that is not evaporated. This
has caused the amount of the caffeine obtained to be lower than it should be.

To overcome the error in the future, it is a good idea to carefully conduct the experiment.
We should use proper techniques during the extraction process to get enough amount of extract
needed. We also need to apply a proper filtering technique so that the extract needed was
completely filtered so that all the extract was evaporated. The calculation of the percentage
should also be done correctly by choosing the correct decimal points and formulas.

From the experiment, we know that the amount of caffeine in tea is as low as 3% for
every 2g of tea. Caffeine is said to be an agent for increasing alertness and producing agitation. It
also relaxes smooth muscles, stimulates cardiac muscle, stimulates dieresis and appears to be
useful in the treatment of some types of headache. But it will be dangerous to the body if
consumed in excessive amount. The excessive amount of caffeine may raise blood pressure or
cause incontinence. It can also cause insomnia as it can increase alertness. It also could reduce
fertility in women. There are a lot of other ways to gain energy other than consuming excess
caffeine. People can drink energy drinks or by doing exercise. Caffeine must be consumed in low
amount to ensure the body is not exposed to any harm cause by caffeine.
Conclusion

- The amount of caffeine in a bag of tea is in the range of 2% - 5%.

- Caffeine cannot be consumed in excessive amount because it is harmful to the body.

Reference

Ledgard, J. (2010). Kings Chem Guide Second Edition. United State of America: N/A.

N/A. (2013, December 5). Caffeine Informer. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from Caffeine
Informer: http://www.caffeineinformer.com/harmful-effects-of-caffeine

N/A. (n.d.). Indstate. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from

carbon.indstate.edu/inlow/LabManuals/Caffeine.pdf

n_dynasty. (2012, March 22). Overcoming Organic Chemistry. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from
http://overcomingochem.blogspot.com/2012/03/extraction-of-caffeine-from-tea.html

Pavia, D. L. (2005). Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques: A Small Scale Approach.

United State of America: Quebecor World Tauntom.

Spiller, G. A. (1998). Caffeine. In G. A. Spiller, Caffeine (p. 84). United State of America: CRC
Press.
Obtainment of Weight of Caffeine
The weight of the evaporating dish containing the collected caffeine was obtained using a weighing balance. The
weight of the residue was obtained by subtracting the weight of the empty evaporating dish to the weight of the
evaporating dish with caffeine.

Calculation of Percentage Yield

The percentage yield was calculated by getting the ratio of the weight of caffeine (residue) and weight of tea
leaves used then multiplying it with 100.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Single and multiple extraction are almost the same except that in multiple extraction, there is
repeated extraction process. It is usually more efficient than single extraction because it allows

more of the caffeine in the mixture to be extracted. [3]

 Figure 3. Data obtained from Single Extraction

Using the formula:

wt . of crude caffeine
% Yield = x 100
wt . of tealeaves used
0.5 g
= x 100
10 g
=5%
After subjecting the tea mixture to the entire process of extraction, decantation and evaporation, caffeine
was successfully obtained. 0.5 g of caffeine was collected from 10g of tea leaves. The computed
percentage yield was 5%.

REFERENCES
[1]Extraction
http://www.chem.ubc.ca/courseware/123/tutorials/exp10
07/25/12

[2]Extraction
http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksupport/ext/ext.html
07/25/2012
[3] Optimize Liquid-liquid extraction
http://orgchem.colorado.edu/hndbksupport/ext//ext/html
07/25/2012

Weight of tea leaves used 10 g

Weight of evaporating dish + +
116.2 g
caffeine
Weight of empty evaporating dish 115.7 g
Weight of caffeine 0.5 g
Percentage Yield 5%