Extraction and Washing Guide MIT OpenCourseWare
4) Washing the organic layer to remove impurities. The volume of a wash phase is typically one tenth to one half the volume of the organic phase. It is sometimes best to repeat a wash two or three times. An acid wash (usually 10% HCl) is used to remove amines, while a basic wash (usually sat. NCO3 or 10% NaOH) is used to remove unwanted acids.