Phenol is commercially produced synthetically nowadays, but it was first isolated from coal tar in the early nineteenth century.
How is phenol commercially produced, and what was its original source in the early nineteenth century?
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Phenol is commercially produced through the cumene process, where cumene (isopropylbenzene) is oxidized to yield phenol and acetone. This process involves the use of catalysts and plays a crucial role in the production of phenol on an industrial scale. In the early nineteenth century, phenol was initially obtained from coal tar, a byproduct of coal distillation. It wasn’t until the development of more efficient synthetic methods, like the cumene process in the mid-20th century, that phenol production shifted from coal tar to petroleum-based processes, providing a more reliable and economical source of phenol.