Question

How do you neutralize phenol?

Answer 1

1. Phenol is neutralised by sodium hydroxide $\left(\mathrm{NaOH}\right)$, which forms sodium phenate or phenolate, but can not be neutralised by sodium carbonate ${\mathrm{Na}}_2{\mathrm{CO}}_3$ or sodium bicarbonate $\left({\mathrm{NaHCO}}_3\right)$ to release carbon dioxide $\left({\mathrm{CO}}_2\right)$ because it is weaker than carbonic acid.
2. Phenol is moderately soluble in water, in $100\mathrm{g}$ of water, about $8\mathrm{g}$ of phenol is dissolved.
3. You get two layers of liquid if you try to remove more than that.
4. The top layer is a phenolic solution in water, and the bottom layer is a phenolic solution in water.