Simple Distillation, Gas Chromatography:
Preparation of Synthetic Banana Oil
Introduction

This experiment gave us the opportunity to work with a variety of new procedures as well as practice procedures that are new to us within the past few weeks of labs. Within the context of the scenario, we find that a distilling company that markets a popular banana liqueur is having problems. The banana plantation that they use to create their banana extract was hit hard by a hurricane and their reserves of extract are running low. It is our job to formulate a synthetic banana flavoring and determine whether it will work as a substitute for natural extract. The problem that the distilling company foresees is that the process used to create …show more content…

The rationale is explained in looking at the equation for the equilibrium constant: where aA + bB cC + dD

Using Le Châtelier's principle, if we increased the concentration of acetic acid (A in this case), we can predict that the amount of isopentyl acetate will increase because Canging the concentration of an ingredient will shift the equilibrium to the products side that would normally reduce that original change in concentration. Another important piece of this section that is relevant experimentally speaking is the procedure of heating under reflux. This technique allows us to perform a reaction over a long period of time without adding more solvent to the mixture. The reaction mixture is boiled in a sand bath, while the top of the vial is attached to a water-cooled condenser. As the reaction boils at a constant temperature, the evaporated gas travels through the condenser, but because the temperature in that area is so much cooler due to the running water, it condenses and falls back to the reaction vial. This allows the mixture to be continually reacting on itself for the allotted time, as well as not hjaving the fear of boiling the reaction dry. Chemically speaking, several interesting things happen in the first part of the lab. The ester being synthesized (isopentyl acetate) is done