l i t e r a c y n e t. o r g / p o l a r
POP Goes Antarctica? Learning Activity: Recipe for
Cleaning XAD with the Soxhlet Extraction Process
Set up the three-part Soxhlet apparatus. You may have several Soxhlets "cooking" at the same time.
This depends on the number of burners you have and the capacity of the fume hood. These Soxhlets
must be placed within the hood. When you are changing solvents, you usually take apart and clean one
Soxhlet at a time. Here is the process:
1. Put methanol into the flask at the bottom of the Soxhlet. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow
this to circulate for 24 hours.
2. Drain and rinse out the methanol from the Soxhlet set-up.
3. Put acetone in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24 hours.
4. Drain and rinse out the acetone from the Soxhlet set-up.
5. Put hexane in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24 hours.
6. Drain and rinse out the hexane from the Soxhlet set-up.
7. Put dichloromethane in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24
hours.
8. Drain and rinse out the dichloromethane from each Soxhlet set-up.
9. Put hexane in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24 hours.
10. Drain and rinse out the hexane from the Soxhlet set-up.
11. Put acetone in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24 hours.
12. Drain and rinse out the acetone from the Soxhlet set-up.
13. Put methanol in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24 hours.
14. Drain and rinse out the methanol from the Soxhlet set-up.
15. Put distilled (de-ionized) water in the flask. Put the set-up back on the burner and allow this to circulate for 24 hours.
16. Clean up the apparatus and get it ready for another cycle of washing and cleaning the XAD! The XAD
material is now ready to be packed into columns!
Note: When the solvents are being changed, everything needs to be rinsed out two times. When a skilled
lab technician is doing this process, it can take five minutes to change each set-up. So, each change
takes at least 30 minutes, depending upon the number of set-ups that are cooking and cleaning the
XAD.
So, how long (how many days) would it take Michele and Amy to do this complete cleaning cycle, with
six set-ups under the hood?