Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Cashew Oil.. failed

Chemgineer - 26-3-2023 at 08:13

I've been grinding cashew kernels into a fine powder and then using my soxhlet extractor with ethanol.

I boiled the extract down to remove ethanol but I was left with a water soluble liquid and a thick tar like substance that stuck in a coffee filter.

I think I'm approaching this incorrectly.

Rainwater - 26-3-2023 at 13:27

Ethonal is polar, most oils are non polar. Hope this helps
Edit: i need tostart reading twice before i post.
Many of the compounts found in food are tempature sensitive.
Using a vacuum to reduce the heat required to remove the solvent may be required
Any specific target your look8ng to collect?

[Edited on 26-3-2023 by Rainwater]

Chemgineer - 26-3-2023 at 13:59

Quote: Originally posted by Rainwater  
Ethonal is polar, most oils are non polar. Hope this helps
Edit: i need tostart reading twice before i post.
Many of the compounts found in food are tempature sensitive.
Using a vacuum to reduce the heat required to remove the solvent may be required
Any specific target your look8ng to collect?

[Edited on 26-3-2023 by Rainwater]


Thanks, this weeks homework is to learn properly which solvents are which, I had good results with acetone and walnut oil but used ethanol this time as I have more of it.

Fery - 26-3-2023 at 21:47

You can maybe obtain medicinal petrolether, it is usually a mixture of isohexanes with b.p. 60-70 C.