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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006  > February  >
In the Laboratory
Linking Laboratory Experiences to the Real World: The Extraction of Octylphenoxyacetic Acid from Water
Jorge E. Loyo-Rosales and Alba Torrents
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

Georgina C. Rosales-Rivera
Area de Química, FES-Zaragoza, UNAM, Mexico, 09239, DF, Mexico

Clifford P. Rice
Environmental Quality Laboratory, ANRI, ARS/USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705

Cover
February 2006
Vol. 83 No. 2
p. 248

Abstract
A laboratory experiment is presented that links several chemical concepts to the extraction of a water pollutant (octylphenoxyacetic acid, OPC) with a method used in actual research. A known quantity of the sodium salt of the OPC is dissolved in water, transformed to the acid (insoluble) form, and extracted using dichloromethane. These changes can be followed visually owing to conspicuous changes in solution turbidity. The experiment allows students to learn and apply basic experimental techniques such as the use of ordinary laboratory glassware (e.g., cylinders and pipets), analytical balance, a separatory funnel, and rotary evaporator; proper handling and disposal of strong acids and solvents; and the application of concepts such as acid–base reactions, stoichiometry, and solvent polarity. At the same time, it demonstrates a direct application of these concepts to a current research topic.
Supplement
Instructions for the students and notes for the instructors are available.
*  Contents JCE2006p0248W.doc (Microsoft Word)
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*  Citation
Loyo-Rosales, Jorge E.; Torrents, Alba; Rosales-Rivera, Georgina C.; Rice, Clifford P. J. Chem. Educ. 2006 83 248.
*  Keywords
Acids / Bases; Analytical Chemistry; Applications of Chemistry; Aqueous Solution Chemistry; Environmental Chemistry; First-Year Undergraduate / General; Graduate Education / Research; Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives; High School / Introductory Chemistry; Laboratory Instruction; Nonmajor Courses; pH; Stoichiometry; Water / Water Chemistry
*  History
Created:
Last Updated:
1/5/2006
1/9/2006
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006  > February  > Page 248



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