Cold water extraction
Encyclopedia
Cold water extraction is the process whereby a substance is extracted from a mixture via cold water. It is a type of fractional crystallization
.
The process generally involves taking a mixture of substances, dissolving them in warm water, and then rapidly cooling the mixture. The insoluble compounds precipitate out of the water, while the soluble ones stay dissolved. The solution can then be separated by filtration
or decantation
.
This process works by exploiting the differences in solubility
(with respect to temperature) of different substances in a mixture. It is commonly used to separate out opiate
-derived drugs that have been mixed with common non-opiate-based analgesics, such as are found in Tylenol 3, Zaldiar
and Vicodin
.
Fractional crystallization (chemistry)
In chemistry, fractional crystallization is a method of refining substances based on differences in solubility. If a mixture of two or more substances in solution is allowed to crystallize, for example by allowing the temperature of the solution to decrease, the precipitate will contain more of...
.
The process generally involves taking a mixture of substances, dissolving them in warm water, and then rapidly cooling the mixture. The insoluble compounds precipitate out of the water, while the soluble ones stay dissolved. The solution can then be separated by filtration
Filtration
Filtration is commonly the mechanical or physical operation which is used for the separation of solids from fluids by interposing a medium through which only the fluid can pass...
or decantation
Decantation
Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures. This is achieved by carefully pouring a solution from a container in order to leave the precipitate in the bottom of the original container...
.
This process works by exploiting the differences in solubility
Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the used solvent as well as on...
(with respect to temperature) of different substances in a mixture. It is commonly used to separate out opiate
Opiate
In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
-derived drugs that have been mixed with common non-opiate-based analgesics, such as are found in Tylenol 3, Zaldiar
Zaldiar
Zaldiar is an analgesic used to treat moderate to severe pain. It has proven good tolerability in chronic osteoarthritis, back pain and postoperative pain...
and Vicodin
Vicodin
Hydrocodone/paracetamol is a combination of two analgesic products hydrocodone and paracetamol used to relieve moderate to severe pain...
.