**6.3 Fractional liberation**

Fractional liberation separates some components from a mixture. The weakest base in the free salt is liberated first when an aqueous solution of alkaloid salts is treated with aliquots of alkali, followed by base liberation in ascending order of basicity. After each addition, shake the mixture with an organic solvent to get a fractionated sequence of bases. Organic acids that are soluble in water-immiscible solvents take a similar route. It is feasible to fractionally liberate acids in this case by adding mineral acids to a mixture of acid salts.
