Paranitrophenol Lab Report

Manufacture of Paracetamol

Introduction
Paracetamol, the most common medicine nowadays, has been used by people for more than thirty years in order to relieve pain and fever. It acts as a medicine prescribed by doctors. Also, it can be easily purchased as an over-the-counter
This is then reduced by means of iron powder or sodium sulphide to get para-aminophenol. The recovery of para-aminophenol is completed by dissolving the para-aminonphenol hydrochloride salt in water, decolourising the aqua solution and crystallising the para-aminophenol by neutralizing the salt. The resulting para-aminophenol is reacted with acetic anhydride to produce paracetamol.

The reactions are summarized as shown below:

Process using Paranitrochlorobenzene as a starting raw material

Paranitrochlorobenzene is converted to paranitrophenol by means of caustic fusion with caustic soda in an autoclave; paranitrophenol thus obtained is further reduced to paraminophenol by using iron powder. Para-aminophenol crystallises out from the mother liquid which is subsequently centrifuged. Para-aminophenyl crystal is then reacted with acetic anhydride to produce pure paracetamol.

The reactions are summarised as shown below:

Lab scale manufacture
Paracetamol can be easily prepared in the laboratory using phenol. Phenol reacts with sodium nitrate and separate para nitro phenol from outho nitro phenol. Then para nitro phenol is converted into para amino phenol using sodium borohydride and acetylated with acetic