Orgo Lab - Isolation of Trimyristin from Nutmeg Lab Discussion PP

In this lab, trimyristin was obtained through extraction and recrystallization. Following the outcome of trimyristin, hydrolysis was performed to obtain myristic acid. Two recrystallizations were completed to ensure the purity of the product and compare the products between the two recrystallizations. The amount of crude product that was obtained through extraction was 0.33 grams and resulted in a percent yield of 33%. After the first recrystallization, the amount of product obtained was 0.208 g and resulted in a percent yield of 20.8%. The melting point of the first recrystallized product was 53-54℃. This is a relatively low melting point compared to the melting point of the Trimyristin compound, 56-57℃, due to the impurities that still remain. The impurities may be present because the mixture may not have fully separated before extraction or recrystallization may have not been completed. The amount of product obtained after the second recrystallization is 0.075 g and resulted in a percent yield of 7.5%. The melting point of the second recrystallized product was 57-59℃. This melting point is higher than the melting point of the first recrystallized product because it is purer due to the additional recrystallization. The amount of myristic acid obtained after hydrolysis was 0.07 g and resulted in a percent yield of 38.88%. The melting point of the myristic acid product was 51-52℃. This is a relatively low melting point compared to trymistrin due to the addition of a carboxyl group through hydrolysis and acidification. The percent yields for all products were lower than expected. This could be due to lost product through evaporation when heating or transfers between glassware. An additional cause of low yield could be from over-washing the filtrate with solvent, ultimately losing some product.