Extraction has to do with the separation of the components of a mixture by dissolving the mixture in a set up involving two phases. One phase is the aqueous phase (beneath) while the other is the organic phase (on top). The solvents used for the two phases must not be miscible. Water commonly is used for the aqueous phase.
Ethanol is an important solvent in chemistry but the solvent is miscible with water in all proportions. As a result of this, ethanol is a poor solvent for carrying out extraction.
