Phenols distinguishing/separating from alcohols

B Distinguishing and Separating Phenols from Alcohols and Carboxylic Acids... 

The fact that phenols dissolve in aqueous sodium hydroxide, whereas most alcohols with six carbon atoms or more do not, gives us a convenient means for distinguishing and separating phenols from most alcohols. (Alcohols with five carbon atoms or fewer are quite soluble in water—some are infinitely so—and so they dissolve in aqueous sodium hydroxide even though they are not converted to sodium alkoxides in appreciable amounts.)... 

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