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Distribution Coefficient (Extraction)

Compute the distribution (or partition) coefficient of a liquid-liquid extraction, KD = concentration in the extract / concentration in the raffinate, the ratio of how the solute distributes between the two immiscible phases at equilibrium. A high KD means the solvent extracts the solute well, requiring fewer stages and less solvent. It is the central parameter of extractor design and solvent choice. Enter the extract and raffinate concentrations.

Result

Distribution coefficient (extraction)

In liquid-liquid extraction, the solution carrying the solute is mixed with an immiscible solvent that pulls the solute into itself. Once the phases separate, the solute has partitioned between the two: the solvent-rich phase (the extract) and the residual phase (the raffinate). The distribution coefficient KD = C_extract/C_raffinate measures how well the solvent does that job at equilibrium. A high KD (the solvent loves the solute) is excellent: it recovers most of the solute with little solvent and few stages. A low KD demands a lot of solvent or many stages in cascade (multistage countercurrent extraction). It is the number one parameter in solvent selection — along with selectivity (leaving impurities behind), immiscibility, how easily the solvent is recovered afterwards (usually by distillation) and safety. Extraction handles separations that distillation cannot deliver: heat-sensitive compounds, azeotropes, metals, antibiotics, caffeine from coffee. Enter the concentrations in the extract and in the raffinate.

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