Question

Leaching is a process of

• A. Separating liquids by volatility
• B. Removing solute from a solid using a solvent
• C. Drying solids by hot air
• D. Separation of crystals from solution

Hint:

Logic Tip: Making a cup of tea or coffee is the perfect everyday example of leaching. You use hot water (the solvent) to extract the flavor compounds and caffeine (the solute) from the solid coffee grounds or tea leaves.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept:
Leaching (also known as solid-liquid extraction) is a fundamental mass transfer unit operation used to extract valuable chemical components from a solid matrix.

Step 1: The target substance (the solute) is physically trapped or chemically bound within a solid material (e.g., gold inside rock ore, or oil inside seeds).

Step 2: To extract the solute, a carefully selected liquid solvent is introduced and brought into intimate contact with the solid material.

Step 3: The liquid solvent selectively dissolves the target solute, pulling it out of the solid phase and into the liquid phase.

Step 4: * Separating liquids by volatility is Distillation. * Drying solids by hot air is Evaporation/Drying. * Separation of crystals is Crystallization.

Step 5: Thus, the specific definition of leaching is the process of removing a solute from a solid using a liquid solvent.