A schematic representation of a Soxhlet extractor

A Soxhlet extractor is a type of laboratory glassware invented in 1879 by Franz von Soxhlet. It was originally designed for the extraction of lipid from a solid test material, but can be used whenever it is difficult to extract any compound from a solid. Image File history File links This a schematic representation of a Soxhlet extractor File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links This a schematic representation of a Soxhlet extractor File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Laboratory glassware refers to a variety of equipment, traditionally made of glass, used for scientific experiments in chemistry and biology. ... Franz Ritter von Soxhlet (1848-1926): German agricultural chemist who invented the Soxhlet_extractor in 1879 and proposed that Pasteurization be applied to milk in 1886. ... Figure 1: Structure of a Lipid. ...

Typically, dry test material is placed inside a "thimble" made from filter paper, which is loaded into the Soxhlet extractor. The extractor is attached to a flask containing a solvent (commonly ether or petroleum ether) and a condenser. The solvent is heated, causing it to evaporate. The hot solvent vapor travels up to the condenser, where it cools and drips down onto the test material. The chamber containing the test material slowly fills with warm solvent until, when it is almost full, it is emptied by siphon action, back down to the flask. This cycle may be allowed to repeat many times. During each cycle, a portion of the lipid dissolves in the solvent. However, once the lipid reaches the solvent heating flask, it stays there. It does not participate in the extraction cycle any further. This is the key advantage of this type of extraction; only clean warm solvent is used to extract the solid in the thimble. This increases the efficiency of the extraction when compared with simply heating up the solid in a flask with the solvent. A solvent is a liquid that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution. ... Ether is the general name for a class of chemical compounds which contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two (substituted) alkyl groups. ... Benzine, also known as petroleum ether, is a group of various volatile, highly flammable, liquid hydrocarbon mixtures used chiefly as solvents. ... The term condenser has the following meanings: In electronics, it is another (old-fashioned) word for capacitor. ... Evaporation is the process whereby atoms or molecules in a liquid state (or solid state if the substance sublimes) gain sufficient energy to enter the gaseous state. ... siphon principle A siphon is a continuous tube that allows liquid to drain from a reservoir through an intermediate point that is higher than the reservoir, the up-slope flow being driven only by hydrostatic pressure without any need for pumping. ... For the connotation of the term relating to chemistry, see Solvation. ...

At the end of an extraction, the excess solvent may be removed using a rotary evaporator, leaving behind only the extracted lipid. Rotavapor stands short for rotary evaporator. ...

Laboratory equipment refers to the various tools and equipment used by scientists working in a laboratory. ... An agar plate streaked with microorganisms isolated from a deep-water sponge. ... An aspirator is a common piece of laboratory equipment. ... A bunsen burner with needle valve. ... A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes. ... A colorimeter is generally any tool that characterizes colour samples to provide an objective measure of colour characteristics. ... A laboratory centrifuge tabletop centrifuge A centrifuge is a piece of equipment that puts a substance in circular motion in order for the centrifugal force to separate a fluid from a fluid or from a solid substance. ... A common modern fume hood. ... 1852 microscope Compound microscope made by John Cuff in 1750 A microscope (Greek: micron = small and scopos = aim) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ... Microtiter plates are plastic sample holders used in biology or chemistry research facilities. ... Plate readers are laboratory instruments designed to detect biological, chemical or physical events in samples stored in microtiter plates. ... In physics, spectrophotometry is the quantitative study of spectra. ... A thermometer is a device used to measure temperatures or temperature changes. ... A Vortex Mixer is a simple device used most commonly in cell culture and microbiology laboratories to suspend cells, although it can be used to mix many other substances. ... Laboratory glassware refers to a variety of equipment, traditionally made of glass, used for scientific experiments in chemistry and biology. ... Illustration of a Beaker A beaker is a type of laboratory glassware which consists of a cylindrical cup with a notch on the top to allow for the pouring of liquids. ... A large, thick-walled laboratory tube used for strongly heating substances with a Bunsen burner or other heat source. ... A Büchner funnel connected to a flask with a tube leading to a vacuum pump Büchner funnel is a piece of laboratory equipment used in filtration. ... Burette being used in a titration setup. ... A conical measure is a type of laboratory glassware which consists of a conical cup with a notch on the top to allow for the easy pouring of liquids. ... A cuvette is a kind of laboratory glassware, usually a small square tube, sealed at one end, made of plastic, glass, or optical grade quartz and designed to hold samples for spectroscopic experiments. ... Erlenmeyer flasks from the Argonne National Laboratory glassblowing shop. ... Erlenmeyer flasks from the Argonne National Laboratory glassblowing shop. ... Categories: Laboratory equipment | Chemistry stubs ... A volumetric flask (vol flask for short) is a piece of laboratory glassware used to measure a very precise and accurate amount of a liquid, and is used for such when the amount is too big for a pipette or burette. ... A Buchner flask (Sometimes called a vacuum flask, but this can be confused with thermoses) is a thick walled erlenmeyer flask with a glass tube and hose barb leading about an inch out of the neck of it. ... A gas syringe is a piece of laboratory glassware used to draw a volume of a gas from a beaker or other closed system, or measure the volume of gas given off in a reaction. ... Illustration of a graduated cylinder Picture of a graduated cylinder . The circular plastic ring is used to prevent breakage of the lip of the cylinder if it is accidently knocked over. ... A pipette is a glass tube used for the delivery of a measured quantity of liquids. ... Man looking at fungus inside of petri dishes A Petri dish is a shallow glass or plastic cylindrical dish that biologists use to culture microbes. ... Separating funnel A separating funnel or separation funnel or separatory funnel is a piece of equipment used in science to separate two immiscible liquids or solutions of different densities. ... A test tube (Sometimes culture tube) is a kind of laboratory glassware, composed of a fingerlike length of glass tubing, open at the top, sometimes with a rounded lip at the top, and a rounded U shaped bottom. ... Thistle tube, Approximately 12 inches long A thistle tube is a piece of laboratory glassware used in a chemistry laboratory. ... Caesium fluoride sample on a watch glass In a chemistry laboratory a watch glass is a small concave circular piece of glass. ...

References

• Soxhlet, F. Die gewichtsanalytische Bestimmung des Milchfettes, Polytechnisches J. (Dingler's) 1879, 232, 461