Question

Explain why diethyl ether is a better choice for the extraction than ethanol. Extraction is triglyceride from nutmeg.

Answer 1

Triglycerides have long hydrocarbon chains and are relatively nonpolar which makes them practically insoluble in polar solvents like water or alcohol. Thus using a relatively nonpolar solvent, the triglyceride can be easily extracted by the concept of "like dissolves like"(i.e., polar compounds are more likely to be soluble in polar liquids. Nonpolar compounds in nonpolar liquids). Diethyl ether is a relatively organic substance that can easily dissolve the triglyceride more than polar solvents like ethanol.