On the reasons why ethyl acetate is used for extraction
Ethyl acetate is quite commonly used in extraction, and the reasons are covered by the following numbers.

First, ethyl acetate has suitable solubility. Many organic compounds can have good solubility in it. This property allows ethyl acetate to effectively extract specific organic components from the mixture. Due to the structural characteristics of organic compounds, suitable intermolecular forces can be formed between them and ethyl acetate, such as van der Waals force, hydrogen bond, etc. This allows organic compounds to be integrated into the ethyl acetate phase to achieve separation from other components of the original mixture.

Second, ethyl acetate has low miscibility with water. In extraction operations, it is often necessary to separate the organic phase from water. Ethyl acetate is not widely miscible with water, and can form a clear layered two-phase. In this way, after extraction, the organic phase containing the desired substance can be easily obtained by a simple liquid separation operation, and the aqueous phase can be treated separately. This property greatly improves the efficiency and purity of extraction, reducing the possibility of impurities mixing.

Third, the boiling point of ethyl acetate is relatively moderate. Its boiling point is convenient for subsequent processing of the extracted organic phase. After extraction, the target substance can be separated from ethyl acetate by distillation. The moderate boiling point makes the distillation operation easy to control and the energy consumption is relatively reasonable. It can efficiently vaporize and separate ethyl acetate without causing the target substance to decompose or deteriorate due to excessive temperature, ensuring the integrity and purity of the target substance.

Fourth, the chemical properties of ethyl acetate are relatively stable. Under common extraction conditions, it is not easy to chemically react with the extracted substance. This ensures that the extraction process is only physical dissolution and separation, rather than changing the chemical structure of the target substance due to chemical reactions, thereby maintaining the original properties of the target substance, so that the extracted substance can meet the needs of subsequent use or analysis.

In summary, ethyl acetate is widely used in the field of extraction due to its suitable solubility, low water miscibility, moderate boiling point, and stable chemical properties. It has become a common solvent for efficient and accurate extraction.