Soxhlet extractor

Drawing of a Soxhlet extractor
1: Stirrer 2: Still pot 3: Distillation path 4: Thimble 5: Solid 6: Siphon top 7: Siphon exit 8: Expansion adapter 9: Condensor 10: Cooling water in 11: Cooling water out

Animation showing how a Soxhlet extractor works

A Soxhlet extractor is a kind of laboratory equipment. It is made of glass. Franz von Soxhlet invented it in 1879. It has a flask, an extraction chamber, and a condenser.

Uses

Chemists use it to remove a material from a solid. It is useful when removing materials that do not dissolve well in any solvent. Chemists use a solvent such as ether or alcohol in the extractor. The Soxhlet extractor applies the solvent repeatedly to the solid until enough of the material dissolves.

Other pages

• Solubility