Choosing and developing an extraction method

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The octanol-water partition coefficient


This parameter is of great interest for the development of an extraction method. It represents the partition coefficient, at equilibrium, of the solute in the presence of a mixture (immiscible) of water and octanol.

The more hydrophobic the compound, the higher its Kow.

This coefficient is related to water solubility but has the advantage of being unitless – it is therefore easier to work with than solubility and allows a simple hydrophobicity scale to be drawn up.

Scale of hydrophobicity log Kow. Below 2: hydrophilic. Between 2 and 4: hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Above 4 : hydrophobic.
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