Investigating the relationship between the charge density of salt ions and the

partition ratio for caffeine through the method of extraction

Introduction:

As an IB student, I encountered difficulties when it comes to our final exams period.

Going through all the assignments and school activities connected to my IB exams
during this world pandemic, was honestly one of my biggest challenges that I had to
face this year. Instead of spending quality time on discussing school problems with
my teachers, I was limited by the pandemic and as a result I was obliged to solve
problems on my own. Since we have online school, I faced difficulties with organising
my time, therefore I spent countless nights sleepless and tired in order to complete
all of my assessments. Due to my stress and pressure to complete all of the tasks,
instead of sleeping, I was drinking coffee and studying. Because of the increased
amount of coffee I was drinking, I was triggered to explore and investigate the
amount of caffeine I was consuming. Through this assessment, through the process
of extraction of the caffeine, I would like to discover the perfect amount of caffeine in
order to be productive and concentrated, but at the same time to consume healthy
amounts of caffeine that wouldn’t harm my health.

Research question:

What effect does charge density of the salt ions has on the partition ratio for caffeine
extraction in water with different solvents?

Background knowledge:

Caffeine (C8H10N4O2) is a bitter, white, crystalline methyl xanthine and a member of a

group of compounds known as alkaloids. Alkaloids are organic compounds
containing nitrogen and they have pharmacological effects on both humans and
animals. It is very soluble in water at its boiling temperature (0.66 g/mL) while it is
relatively less soluble at room temperature which indicates pure caffeine crystals can
be made by precipitation of the caffeine crystals at lower temperatures. It was
isolated for the first time by a German chemist, Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, in 1819.
The chemical name of caffeine is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine. Below, in picture 1, we can
see the chemical structure of the caffeine.
 Picture 1

Caffeine is an alkaloid widely known worldwide due to its occurrence in extensively

consumed beverages, drinks and food. Natural sources of caffeine include different
varieties of coffee beans, tea leaves, guaraná seeds, maté leaves, kola nut seeds
and cocoa beans. Despite the fact that tea is globally consumed more widely than
coffee, coffee is the main source of caffeine in daily consumption given its generally
higher caffeine content. But tea and coffee are not the only sources which are
contribute to daily overall caffeine consumption, for example, caffeine could be found
in certain soft and energy drinks, chocolate, candies and sweets, as well as that
contained in some medications, such as stimulants, diet aids, painkillers and cold
remedies. Numerous studies have reported the effects of caffeine consumption in
humans, such as the well-known stimulant effect of low doses of caffeine on the
nervous system, which enhances concentration capacity and counteracts tiredness.
However, some more sensitive individuals or individuals consuming bigger doses of
caffeine, could experience episodes of insomnia, anxiety, nervousness, irritability,
hostility and mood swings. Other reported physiological effects are stimulation of the
gastric and urinary systems and also increased heart rate and blood pressure.
Following these negative effects, the consumption of decaffeinated coffee was
becoming more popular, enabling the chance to develop various processes that
remove caffeine from coffee beans. Among these processes, organic solvents with
high toxicity such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate, Swiss water
decaffeination, which results in a less flavourful brew than other methods and the
employment of carbon dioxide in supercritical conditions are commonly used. CO 2 is
a non-flammable and non-toxic solvent that can be easily removed from the final
product. These advantages have driven the subsequent investigation of supercritical
extraction of caffeine from other natural sources, such as tea leaves, stalks and fibre
wastes from industrial tea processing, guaraná seeds, maté leaves, cocoa beans
and coffee oil. On the other hand, the low solubility of xanthines in supercritical CO 2,
due to its apolar character, makes the addition of polar cosolvents such as water or
ethanol an interesting practice to the compressed gasses. Cosolvent effects are
happening due to specific chemical interactions such as hydrogen bonds and acid–
base interactions or physical interactions such as dipole–dipole or dipole-induced
dipole, between the cosolvent and solute, and also to a possible interaction between
the solvent and the cosolvent, affecting solvent-solute interactions. These effects
result in making the extraction easier and much faster. Regarding the operational
conditions, the solvent power of supercritical CO 2 is highly dependent on pressure
and temperature, variables that can be independently modified. Therefore, different
authors have reported higher yields when working at high pressures, due to the
enhanced CO2 solvent power, and when working at higher temperatures.

Hypothesis:

Method:

In order to complete this experiment, we need to use solvent extraction. Solvent

extraction is a technique for separating materials one from another. This method is
based on the difference of the solubilities of compounds in solvents in which the
liquids are not completely miscible. This method involves the movement one
compound, known as solute, from a liquid into another liquid. For example, the
movement of caffeine, the solute, from water to an organic solvent. The solute
enriched solvent is called the extract and the water depleted of caffeine is called the
raffinate. Picture 2 shows a schematic presentation of a solvent extraction process.
 Picture 2

Caffeine is soluble on both water and alcohols; however, it is more soluble in alcohols than in
water. Therefore, alcohols can be used to extract caffeine from coffee solution in water. For
this activity, rubbing alcohol will be used as a solvent to extract caffeine.