Acid-Base Separation Lab Report

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I have separated your mixture of naphthalene, benzoic acid and p-tert-butylphenol. The percent recovery of all three were 70.4%, 86.4%, and 98.4%, respectively. Naphthalene was found to be impure, whereas benzoic acid and p-tert-butylphenol were found to be pure.

These chemicals were separated by the use of acid-base separation. The process began by adding 50mL of the sample and 50 mL of diethyl ether, a clear liquid, to a separatory funnel. The sample given began as a rocky solid with some white and some clear rocks. Diethyl ether was added to the sample so that the sample would dissolve into a liquid. Next, 9.82 mL of 0.5M NaHCO3 was added to the funnel. The funnel was inverted and vented several times. A light line appeared where the two layers had separated. The step of a NaHCO3 being added to the funnel, shaken and vented was repeated twice with 10.21 mL and 10.62mL of NaHCO3. Then 5.23 mL of DI water was added to the funnel, shook and vented. This process allowed for benzoic acid to separate from the other chemicals and be drained into a beaker. Benzoic acid is separated due to the fact that it is a strong acid, adding a weak base, such as NaHCO3 gives the benzoic acid polar characteristics which allows it to …show more content…
This could be avoided by inverting the solution more slowly and venting more frequently. Another error could be that too much HCl was added to the p-tert-butylphenol and benzoic acid. Adding too much HCl can degrade the product and make it less pure. A third error could be that not all of the benzoic acid and p-tert-butylphenol deprotonated when the weak acid and strong base were added.To improve the separation process, I could add the weak acid and strong base for a fourth time and increase the amount that was
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