The Soxhlet Extractor
The glass apparatus used in the displayed Soxhlet extractor came from a collection of lab glass found at the Industrial Rayon/Hercules facility in Covington. Richard Hastings, who worked as a lab tech and supervisor at the facility identified the glass apparatus as having been used to measure the quantity of finish oils applied to yarn in the fiber manufacturing process.
The Soxhlet extractor was invented by Franz von Soxhlet in 1879.
The sample containing oils (1) is placed in the extractor (2) and during operation is gradually engulfed with condensed fresh solvent from the distillation flask (3) and condenser (4). When the liquid in the extractor reaches an overflow level, the siphon (5) transfers the liquid in the extractor back into the distillation flask (3), carrying the extracted finish oils in the liquid. This operation is repeated until complete extraction is achieved.
Polypropylene Fiber Production Process
