Isolation of Caffeine from Tea Leaves

Chemistry
1:00-3:00
Joseph Billingsley
Alex VanBibber
7/14/2014


Caffeine has positive and negative effects on the human body. The positive effects are it
strengthens the neural signals in the sympathetic nervous system. Caffeine speeds up the
metabolism and it decreases anxiety. The negative effects are it causes withdrawal if you dont
have it. Withdrawal causes headaches. It affects pregnancy. It causes fetal growth restriction.
Extraction is separating substances when they are mixed. Extraction involves a solution
that affects the soluble part, which leaves the insoluble part behind. It goes through two phases,
aqueous phase organic phase. Dichloromethane is used in this experiment because caffeine
dissolves better than in water. Sublimation is when a solid, skips the liquid phase, and goes
straight to the gas phase.
The effects of dogs consuming theobromine are seizures and even death. It takes dogs
longer to digest it. It causes death in old dogs and dogs with preexisting heart problems from
cardiac arrest. Dogs will eat anything so if it is just lying around, the dog will eat it. The lowest
amount of chocolate that can harm a dog is 20 mg.
Procedures:
First, weigh two tea bags.
Then, put the tea bags at the bottom of a 150 mL beaker. Add 45mL of water and
2 g of sodium carbonate. Boil gently for 15 minutes. Push the bags down lightly
with a stirring rod from time to time.
Next, decant the hot liquid into a 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Squeeze the bags
gently. Allow the aqueous mixture to cool. Throw the tea bags away.
Transfer the tea extract to the separatory funnel. Add 7 mL of Dichloromethane
to the funnel. Swirl the mixture. Vent any built up gases two or three times.
Drain the organic layer into a weighed Erlenmeyer flask.
Repeat extraction with 7 mL of Dichloromethane
Place the flask with the Dichloromethane in the hood to dissolve it with air.
Weigh the crystals that form.
Tea Brand

Lipton

Combined weight of 3 tea
bags (g)

6 g
Amount of water used to
make tea (mL)

125 mL
Temperature of water when
tea bags were added (
o
C)

115F/46C
Temperature of water after
cold-water bath (
o
C)

87F/31C
Weight of caffeine crystals
(g)
1.24 g

31% of caffeine in two tea bags.
Conclusion: The outcome of the experiment was 1.24 g of caffeine. 31% of the two tea
bags was caffeine.
Opinion and Discussion: if I were to do this experiment again, I would use more tea
bags to see if I could get more caffeine. I would also hold the tea extract under the air longer to
see what would happen. I would probably use bigger measurements of the dichloromethane
and the sodium carbonate.