Paracetamol Lab Report
Task 2
The extraction and purification of paracetamol from tablets
In this experiment, I am trying to achieve an extraction of paracetamol from a commercial branded product. To test the purity I will find the melting point of the paracetamol. I will also be comparing my yield of paracetamol to the commercial tablets content of paracetamol as said on the packaging.
EQUIPMENT
• 2 paracetamol tablets
• Propanone
• 100cmᶟ conical flask x2
• 25cmᶟ measuring cylinder
• Warm water bath
• Filter funnel and filter paper
• 100cmᶟ beaker
• Pipette
• Small piece of cotton wool
• Access of hot and cold water
• Eye protection
• Accurate scales to 2dp
METHOD
1. Firstly, you need to weigh out the 2 paracetamol tablets on a 2dp weighing scale. The …show more content…
You need to allow the propanone to evaporate, you can either leave it over night or in a water bath in a fume cupboard. This is important as it could be dangerous if the fumes from the propanone are inhaled. You should see a white solid when the propanone has fully evaporated, this is crude paracetamol.
We made sure we put it in a fume cupboard to ensure no evaporating fumes could escape from the propanone. It was left in a fume cupboard for a week after all the propanone had evaporated leaving behind crystals of pure paracetamol.
Next you need to heat the crude paracetamol in a Thiele tube by filling the tube up with paraffin oil to the point where it just covers the entrance to the elbow tube. Then collect the paracetamol in a capillary tube and attach this to a thermometer using an elastic band. Keep an eye on your elastic band as it can snap under the heat.
We made sure that the Thiele tube was filled to the accurate point and the capillary tube was tied to the bottom of the thermometer with a strong elastic band. The capillary tubes are very small therefore you have to handle them with care, also when we were finished with it we put them in a broken glass box to ensure there were no sharp objects in the normal …show more content…
Also the water bath was a problem as it wasn’t hot enough, this should have been checked to make sure it was the correct temperature. However some more factors such as the evaporating basin being left in the fume cupboard too long couldn’t have been reduced as we didn’t have access to the fume cupboard as it was in a technical lab and it was left for a long period of time which was another thing we couldn’t
The extraction and purification of paracetamol from tablets
In this experiment, I am trying to achieve an extraction of paracetamol from a commercial branded product. To test the purity I will find the melting point of the paracetamol. I will also be comparing my yield of paracetamol to the commercial tablets content of paracetamol as said on the packaging.
EQUIPMENT
• 2 paracetamol tablets
• Propanone
• 100cmᶟ conical flask x2
• 25cmᶟ measuring cylinder
• Warm water bath
• Filter funnel and filter paper
• 100cmᶟ beaker
• Pipette
• Small piece of cotton wool
• Access of hot and cold water
• Eye protection
• Accurate scales to 2dp
METHOD
1. Firstly, you need to weigh out the 2 paracetamol tablets on a 2dp weighing scale. The …show more content…
You need to allow the propanone to evaporate, you can either leave it over night or in a water bath in a fume cupboard. This is important as it could be dangerous if the fumes from the propanone are inhaled. You should see a white solid when the propanone has fully evaporated, this is crude paracetamol.
We made sure we put it in a fume cupboard to ensure no evaporating fumes could escape from the propanone. It was left in a fume cupboard for a week after all the propanone had evaporated leaving behind crystals of pure paracetamol.
Next you need to heat the crude paracetamol in a Thiele tube by filling the tube up with paraffin oil to the point where it just covers the entrance to the elbow tube. Then collect the paracetamol in a capillary tube and attach this to a thermometer using an elastic band. Keep an eye on your elastic band as it can snap under the heat.
We made sure that the Thiele tube was filled to the accurate point and the capillary tube was tied to the bottom of the thermometer with a strong elastic band. The capillary tubes are very small therefore you have to handle them with care, also when we were finished with it we put them in a broken glass box to ensure there were no sharp objects in the normal …show more content…
Also the water bath was a problem as it wasn’t hot enough, this should have been checked to make sure it was the correct temperature. However some more factors such as the evaporating basin being left in the fume cupboard too long couldn’t have been reduced as we didn’t have access to the fume cupboard as it was in a technical lab and it was left for a long period of time which was another thing we couldn’t