Organic Chemistry Caffeine Extraction Lab ( Tea Bags )

Purpose: To demonstrate the isolation of a natural product from a biological source (tea bags) using extraction techniques, and to demonstrate purification by sublimation. Procedure: In a 400ml beaker, 15 tea bags were submerged in approximately 125ml of water. This was brought to a boil over a bunsen burner and allowed to boil for about 15 minutes. The tea bags were removed from the tea infused water and discarded. 15 grams of Na2CO3 was dissolved in the …

…pressure and therefore will sublime only at reduced pressure, and around 180 degrees Celsius. 5. What might have happened to your caffeine if you had tried to sublime it at atmospheric pressure? -If you increase the pressure, the caffeine wouldn’t go into the vapor phase; to get the caffeine to sublime, the pressure needs to be lowered. During this lab, we used special equipment to lower the vapor pressure, in order for the caffeine to sublime.