AUS
NGN110R-12
Group 4
CHE Lab Report
Production of Aspirin
Abdulwahab Sahyoun
(47562)
Hakam AbdulQader
(49431)
Jad Abdulsamad
(47719)
Moath Abu Qaoud
(48225)
Hassan Bassem Saleh
(48302)
Instructors: Dr. Fathia
Date: 17/10/12
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Abstract
People experience severe pains as they age, some of these symptoms may become fatal
overtime. Such symptoms include: Arthritis, strokes, headaches, swelling, and inflammation.
These conditions are considered very painful and were hard to cure back then. Thanks to the
German chemist, Felix Hoffman, in 1897 a drug known as acetylsalicylic acid was
discovered and synthesized [1]. This chemical also known as Aspirin nowadays is synthetic
compound used medically to cure headaches, minor aches, slight fevers and the malleability
of blood in our heart. Aspirin is mostly used as a pain reliever to whoever is in need. This
week’s chemistry lab we learned what does aspirin consist of and the raw materials used to
produce such prescription. The production of this drug requires a variety of chemicals, which
are (Salicylic acid, Acetic Anhydride, Ethanol, Sulphuric Acid, Ferric chloride). To complete
this procedure not only we need chemicals but also tools to perfect it and be safe for usage by
the patients, such as (large test tube, watch glass, Buchner funnel, filtering flask, filter
papers).
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Table of Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................... 2
Introduction ................................................................................ 4
Results ........................................................................................ 5
Discussion of Results.................................................................. 6
Conclusion .................................................................................. 7
References ................................................................................... 8
Appendix ..................................................................................... 9
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Introduction
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that discusses problems concerning food
and medicine production as well as the design and operation of instruments that solve
problems and make useful consumer products through a series of chemical reactions.
Chemical engineers are able to perform tasks mainly involving petroleum refining, crude oils,
and recycling, as well as the manufacturing of consumer products such as cosmetics, food,
detergents, and ceramics. In this report we will be discussing the production of Aspirin and
its main uses.
Aspirin production is a series of chemical reactions and takes around an hour to make. To
form aspirin, 2g of salicylic acid are added to 3ml of acetic anhydride. Then, 4 drops of
sulfuric acid are added to speed up the reaction. The contents are mixed and placed in hot
water at a temperature of 60 degrees for 10 minutes. The solution is then placed in an ice
water bath and left until crystals form [3]. These crystals will then have to go through several
other processes such as filtration, drying, purification, dry screening, and compression. The
steps will be explained in further detail throughout the report. The purity of aspirin is then
determined by testing it with a 1% sample of iron ( III ) chloride and compared with a
commercial sample of Aspirin and salicylic acid. If the Aspirin happens to be impure it will
give a purple color.
Aspirin has become so common that around 16000 tons of aspirin tablets is used every year
in the US. and 2 billion dollars per year is spent only on aspirin. Aspirin however does not
come only in tablets, it comes in other forms as chewable gum, caplets, and suppositories.
The dosage concentration for a usual cardio protection is around 81 to 325 mg. For fever it is
around 650 mg for every six hours depending on how strong the pain is [2].
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Results
In this experiment we found out that aspirin can be produced in several steps, which begin
with weighing the salicylic acid and adding the acetic anhydride to it. Next we drop about 4
drops of concentrated sulfuric acid as a catalyst to speed up the interaction, and mix
everything thoroughly, then we heat the mixture for 10 minutes in a beaker of hot water, and
cool it after that with ice water because aspirin is insoluble in cold water while the other
reagents are not, so it'll be deposited, then we'll filter the white precipitate and wash the crude
with water and allow it to dry by suction for several minutes. Finally we test the purity using
the iron (III) chloride solution and this step is shown in the discussions exactly.
Flow Diagram:
Weigh 2.0g of
salicylic acid
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Add 3 mL of acetic
anhydride
Add 4 drops
concentrated sulfric
acid
Mix in a beaker of
water (80 - 90)° C for
10 minutes
Wash the crude with
5 mL portions of cold
water
Filter when crude
aspirin separates by
suction filtration
using Buchner flask
Add 20 mL ice water
Discussion of Results
Is it a good and easy way?
It's definitely an easy way since it uses only a few chemical equipments and it’s a short time
experiment, and a good way because; for example it uses facts such as Aspirin is insoluble in
cold water so that it'll be separated from the reagents. And it shows us how aspirin is
produced exactly and makes us distinguish if it's pure or not by using iron (III) chloride
solution.
How to deal with impurities?
Most of the times we will end up having impure aspirin, to determine this impurity aspirin is
dissolved in a 1% Iron (III) chloride solution. If a purple color is observed then the aspirin s
impure. Incase this happens, aspirin must go through a process known as Recrystallization.
Recrystallization is similar to the beginning process; however, aspirin this time is added to
ethanol and heated until completely dissolved. Once the aspirin is dissolved, the solution
must be cooled again in an iced water bath [4]. After cooling the crystals formed are dried,
filtered, and compared with a pure sample of aspirin. If the aspirin remains impure, then the
process must be repeated until the products are pure enough.
Figure 1: Pure Aspirin [5]
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Conclusion
Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is used as a drug to medically cure headaches,
slight fevers and minor aches. Aspirin can be manufactured in different weights, sizes and
thickness depending on the concentration of the dosage. It can also be taken in forms as
chewable gum, caplets and tablets. To produce such product, there are two different
production systems that can be used, by a machine or by a chemical reaction. In this
experiment, aspirin was produced in a series of chemical reactions that tends to take an hour
to make. The aspirin went through processes such as (weighing, mixing, heating, cooling,
filtration, washing and drying). The purification, dry screening, compression, testing,
bottling, packaging and quality control follow the manufacturing steps of aspirin by
computer-aided machine. In the chemical reaction, most of the time the aspirin produced
might be impure. Therefore, aspirin must go through another process known as
recrystallization. Recrystallization is similar to the beginning process but aspirin is added into
ethanol and heated completely until dissolved.
Due to the fact, that an impure aspirin is more likely to occur, the process to produce such
product may take even longer time to make. Not to mention, when aspirin is produced by the
machine it is much more accurate, takes less time to make, faster and most importantly it’s
safer. It is therefore recommended when manufacturing aspirin to use highly automated
devices and to be completely computerized. Therefore, aspirin can be manufactured in
batches and can be distributed easily.
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References
[1] Aspirin. (2012, October 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:06,
October 12, 2012,from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aspirin&oldid=517163091
[2] Ladyoasis.(2007). Dosage forms of aspirin [Web log comment]. Retrieved 22:24,
October 12, 2012, from
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080330154547AAjVE0D
[3] Mulchem.(2012). Aspirin Lab Part 1 Making the Aspirin.[FLV]. Retrieved 21:59, October
12, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG6ACv2F558
[4] Recrystallization (chemistry). (2012, October 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Retrieved 16:17, October 15,2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Recrystallization_(chemistry)&oldid=515520767
[5] Tradeniger Impex Private Limited.(2005). Pharmaceutical API and Raw Material.
Retrieved 20:42, October 15,2012, from
http://www.indiamart.com/tradeniger/pharmaceutical-raw- material.html
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Appendix
Units used in the process
Reactors
Absorber
Dryer
Distillation Unit
Filter
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