solid-liquid extraction

Question

What is the difference between soxhlet extraction and tea filtration

Answer 1

In a tea filtration, you typically pour hot water over the tea leaves, wait for a few minutes for the soluble portion of the tea to dissolve in the water and then filter out the tea leaves. So there is basically a single extraction period.

In a soxhlet extraction, the solvent is continually being boiled, and condensed above the the solid being extracted, which is contained in a filter cup. When the level of solvent in the sample portion of the soxhlet apparatus reaches the top, it automatically siphons into the flask, carrying extracted materials with it. It's a continuous process, which means you get many, many extraction cycles with pure solvent. This allows the extraction of compounds with limited solubility in the solvent.