troutman
Seed Whore
But then you have to return the bottom layers to add more non-polar solvent and repeat the process, repeat the process...
And the pristine non-polar solvent/oil layer is being dragged through the area of the sep funnel that is coated with residuals from the bottom two layers. You do not want water in your non-polar solution, it'd be a hassle to purge compared to pentane, and it might lead to waxing up before you get it out.
Have you even tried using a separatory funnel to do what your talking about?
Water and solvents like pentane or hexane doesn't mix very well. You could shake
a separatory funnel for hours with burping the pressure and the layers form in very
little time afterwards when the separatory funnel is placed in a holder.
If you pour water on top of a solvent like pentane or hexane in a separatory funnel
the water immediately passes thru the solvent and forms a layer below it.