Hydrocarbons do pose some safety concerns. The selectivity of a hydrocarbon solvent and the solubility of the target compound(s) is affected by these properties.
The chemical and structural properties of hydrocarbons discussed above influence the compound’s effectiveness as a solvent. (a) Gray atoms = carbon, white atoms = hydrogen Table 1: Examples of Various Hydrocarbons Some examples of hydrocarbons, their respective chemical family, and structural description are provided in Table 1. Hydrocarbons can be aliphatic ( straight-chained), branched, or cyclic. It should be noted that alkynes are not commonly used as solvents due to the high potential of reactivity. This class of compounds includes the chemical families known as alkanes ( contains only single bonds between atoms), alkenes ( contains double bonds between some atoms), and alkynes ( contain triple bonds between some atoms). Hydrocarbons are a class of organic compounds that contain only hydrogen and carbon atoms.
To best understand techniques involving hydrocarbon solvents for extraction, the chemical properties of hydrocarbons as well as the chemical terminology and molecular interactions associated with the concept of solubility should be understood and considered. This article focuses on solid-liquid extractions using hydrocarbon solvents and discusses the parameters involved in executing a successful, efficient extraction. For this technique, the solvent is used to selectively dissolve target compound(s) leaving behind the undesired, insoluble solid.
Solid-liquid extractions are often used to extract natural compounds from natural sources, such as plants. Organic compounds are often extracted from aqueous solutions using a separatory funnel and a hydrocarbon solvent such as hexane this technique is referred to as liquid-liquid extraction. Hydrocarbon solvents are commonly used for extraction in various industries. Solvent-based extractions rely on solubility to obtain the desired compound(s). Physical extractions are often referred to as solvent-less extractions, which most commonly use temperature and pressure as a means for isolating the component(s) of interest. Introduction to Hydrocarbon ExtractionĬhemical extraction can be broadly defined as the removal and isolation of target compound(s) from a solution or solid matrix.Įxtractions can be performed using physical processes, or more commonly, with a solvent. The term can also describe the tendency of vapors to condense into a solid or liquid, which is particularly useful for understanding fractional distillation. Substances with “high volatility” are more likely to exist as a vapor, whereas substances with “low volatility” are more often found as either liquids or solids. Volatility, in the sense that matters to us in our industry, is defined as the quality describing how readily a substance will vaporize. For a more complete definition, visit the Wikipedia Page.
Millions of organic compounds are currently known to us, and the study of these compounds is the foundation of what we refer to as “organic chemistry. In chemistry, a compound is typically considered “organic” when it contains carbon. So, for the purposes of hydrocarbon extraction, we define these terms again for you here: Organic (Compound) These words have specific meanings in our industry, and they are vastly different than their common meanings in our society today, namely “organic” as in “organic food” and “volatility” as in, explosive, unpredictable, or rapidly changing. Before we can begin our discussion, we need to clear up two commonly misunderstood words – “Organic” ( when referring to an organic compound) and “Volatility” ( when referring to chemistry).
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