Not sure, but it seems to me that NaOH wouldn't evaporate in steam. That's how distillation works, right? And like I said, if you put it in a beaker, and filled the bottom of the cooker with water to absorb the heat, then...no NaOH problems...Now, you said p-chlorocresol, right? Says on
this page
(
http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/CH/4-chloro-3-methylphenol.html) that the boiling point is like 267 degrees, so you probably don't have to worry about that travelling around too much either. Might smell a bit....
Also, if you get a pressure cooker with a guage, you could probably just set it to boil a little bit low, so no steam came through the blow-off valve. Might even be able to do it without a guage--just run it till it blows off, then back up the heat a little bit.
heh.
Ning thinks a reflux at 100 degrees without pressure cooker, with condenser run to under water to catch any stink/gas is worth a try.