Buckminsterfullerenes are extracted from samples of the soot generated by a high-energy electric arc discharge between two graphite electrodes. A rapid and quantitative procedure based on ultrasonic extraction was developed. It permits the evaluation of adjustments made in the different parameters involved in the synthesis process by relating them to the mass of the fractions obtained. Purified samples of C60, C70, and C84 are obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography, using chemically bonded C18 silica as the stationary phase and n-hexane as the mobile phase. The purified fullerenes were identified by laser desorption Fourier-transform mass spectrometry and verified by UV-visible spectroscopy. The results are consistent with those previously reported.