Date: 18/09/20

Caffeine Extraction Lab report

By

Pornnatcha Petchdee (Neena) 6161092

Pongprom Saebae (Fluke) 6161109
Pathrapoom Poomison (Path) 6161178
Napavit ​Tewaphankul (Parky) 6161237
Abstract:
To extract caffeine from tea, we use hot water because caffeine has high solubility in
it. After that, we dissolve caffeine with dichloromethane to separate with other substances.
Lastly, we get a crude, which is the most caffeine we can get.

Introduction:
In this lab, we are performing an experiment in extracting caffeine from tea because it
has a high amount per cup and convenience to seperate layers. Caffeine is an organic
compound, which is usually found in plants, and is consumed vastly nowadays. “Nowadays,
80% of the world’s population consumes a caffeinated product”(healthline.com). So the idea
of this experiment is to extract an organic layer and aqueous layer with CH2Cl2 then keep the
organic layer to wash with NaOH and H2O to separate layer again, discard aqueous layer,
keep the organic layer to dry over with Na2SO4, then dry it out to get pure caffeine.

Objective:
The purpose of this lab is to determine the caffeine from tea.

Material:
1. Separatory flask
2. Stand
3. Dropper
4. Erlenmeyer flask
5. Graduated cylinder
6. Filter funnel
7. Filter paper
8. TLC plate
9. Balance
10. Tea
11. Pure caffeine ( C 8 H 10 N 4 O2 )
12. Dichloromethane( C H 2 Cl2 )
13. Sodium hydroxide ( N aOH )
14. Water ( H 2 O )
15. Ethyl Acetate ()
16. Hexane ( C 6 H 14 )
17. Acetic Acid ( C 2 H 4 O2 )
18. Sodium Sulfate ( N a2 SO4 )
Methods
1. Use separatory funnel to extract concentrated tea solution with 30mL of
C H 2 Cl2
2. Release gas in the separatory funnel
3. Shake the solution like C-shape three to five times
4. Repeat step 1 and 2 three times
5. Separate into aqueous layer and organic layer
6. Discard the aqueous layer down drain
7. Wash the organic layer with 30mL of 6M of N aOH
8. Repeat step 7 two times
9. Separate layers into organic layer and aqueous layer
10. Discard the aqueous layer down drain
11. Wash the organic layer with 20 mL of H 2 O
12. Repeat step 11 two times
13. Separate into aqueous layer and organic layer
14. Discard the aqueous layer down drain
15. Dry organic layer over N a2 SO4
16. Decant into 100 mL of N a2 SO4 in erlenmeyer flask
17. Discard the aqueous layer down drain
18. Rotovap the organic layer to dryness and sublime
19. Put the crude caffeine and pure caffeine on the TLC plate
20. Wait for it to dry for two minutes
21. Put it in the solution of hexane the ( C 6 H 14 ), acetic Acid ( C 2 H 4 O2 ), and
Sodium Sulfate ( N a2 SO4 )
22. Wait for ten minutes
23. Shine the UV light to see the results
24. Record the data

Results:

First TLC Plate Second TLC Plate

Pure (cm) 2.6 cm 3.7 cm

Crude (cm) 3.9 cm 4.6 cm

Rf (Pure) 0.26 0.37

Rf (Crude 0.39 0.46

Discussion:
To indicate whether the crude substance is pure or not we use the technique of
thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method to help us identify it. As we can see the result come
out that the crude substance only has one dot in the chromatography paper. According to the
theory it says that if the chromatography paper only has one spot we can identify that it is a
pure substance. So, we can say that the crude is a pure substance.
In this lab ,there might be errors, such as when we try to stir a chemical in the tube by
rolling it slowly, the chemical might be not good enough if we roll it harder or faster. Second,
the crude from the tube might be left over and didn’t get it all out. The huge problem that we
face is we run out of time and we can’t finish all the steps and it makes us lost when we come
back and discuss. So, if we can repeat this experiment again, we may make it precision and
may choose another material that can fit this experiment.

Conclusion:
The caffeine is extracted from tea and the concept behind this is that we remove most
of the water and other substances out by separate layers multiple times to get only a crude
substance, most caffeine we get from extraction.

References:
Petre, A. (2020, June 3). What Is Caffeine, and Is It Good or Bad for Health?. In ​healthline.​
Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-caffeine