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The Chemistry of Soap Soap making involves the hydrolysis of a triglyceride (fat or oil) using an alkaline solution usually lye, chemical name sodium hydroxide. Triglycerides are typically triesters consisting of 3 long-chain aliphatic carboxylic acid chains appended to a single glycerol molecule (see Equation 1).
How soap is made step by step?
Step-by-Step Guide Step 1: Melt and Mix the Oils. Weigh out your solid oils and melt them in a saucepan over a low heat. Step 2: Mix the Water and Lye. Step 3: Mix the Oils with the Lye Water. Step 4: Bring the Soap Mix to Trace. Step 5: Add to the Mold. Step 6: Leave to Rest.
What chemicals is soap made of?
Today, the process of making soap most commonly involves reacting an organic acid with an alkaline chemical like potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide. Industrially, the caustic soda base used most often is sodium hydroxide, which is also called lye.
How is soap made in laboratory?
Soap is made in the laboratory by the process of Saponification. The process involves reacting a vegetable oil like palm oil or olive oil with an alkali like Sodium Hydroxide. This reaction is exothermic in nature, liberating heat during the reaction.
How does soap work chemistry?
The soap molecules work as a bridge between polar water molecules and non-polar oil molecules. The oil-loving (hydrophobic) tail sticks to the oil and trap oil in the center where it can’t come into contact with the water. With the oil trapped safely in the center, the micelle is soluble in water.
What are the 3 main ingredients in soap?
If you only rinse them with water, they still feel greasy. However, if you add soap to the water, the grease washes away, and the result is clean dishes. There are 3 key ingredients in soap: oil or fat, lye and water.
Can soap be made without lye?
In short the answer is no. Soap must be made using lye. Lye is the key ingredient in making soap. All products that are legally allowed to be called soap, must have gone through the process of saponification.
What is the soap molecule?
Soap molecules are composed of long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. At one end of the chain is a configuration of atoms which likes to be in water (hydrophilic). The other end shuns water (hydrophobic) but attaches easily to grease. This separates the water molecules from each other.
Is soap a mixture or pure substance?
Soap is not a compound, it is a mixture of sodium and potassium salts of long chain fatty acids containing 12 to 18 carbon atoms.
How does soap remove oil chemistry?
When you wash your hands with soap, it dislodges the dirt, grease, oils, and disease-ridden fecal matter particles on your hands by creating these micelles. Surrounded by the soap, the oil molecules become suspended and distributed in the water rather than stubbornly clinging to your skin.
How are soap micelles formed describe?
When greasy dirt is mixed with soapy water, the soap molecules arrange themselves into tiny clusters calledmicelles (pictured on the right). The water-loving (hydrophilic) part of thesoap molecules sticks to the water and points outwards, forming the outer surface of the micelle.
What is soap in organic chemistry?
Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry – Soap. Soap: A fatty acid salt. In general use the term has come to mean any cleaning product. Sodium stearate (the sodium salt of stearic acid; the reaction product shown in blue) can be formed by saponification of glycerol tristearate with aqueous sodium hydroxide.
What is the most active ingredient in soap?
Sodium hydroxide is employed as the saponification alkali for most soap now produced. Soap may also be manufactured with potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) as the alkali.
What are the 4 basic methods of soap making?
In general, there are four methods to make soap – cold process, melt and pour, hot process, and rebatch.
What is the key ingredient in most bar soap?
Lye is the most commonly used alkali for soap-making. The chemical name for lye is sodium hydroxide. Another type of alkali is potassium hydroxide, also known as potash. The type of alkali used affects the final properties of the soap product.
What can replace lye in soap?
Here are some good choices: Goat’s Milk Soap Base. Shea Butter Soap Base. Glycerin Soap Base. Cocoa Butter Soap Base.
Can you use baking soda instead of lye to make soap?
It is certainly possible to make an acceptable cold process soap using baking soda or washing soda, but lather performance suffers compared to the same soap formula without them. This supports the conventional wisdom that they are better used in a hot process soap (after the cook) or in a rebatched soap.
Can you make soap without chemicals?
There is a vast array of all-natural soap bases to choose from. Some all-natural soap bases include avocado oil, organic shea butter, glycerin, Aloe Vera, cocoa butter, olive oil, almond sweet oil, castor oil, coconut oil, vitamin E oil, and more.
Why is soap a surfactant?
Soap is most definetely a surfactant. It has the all the key features of a surfactant which are a water loving end and an oil loving end of the molecule which can bond to both oil and water simultaneously. Soap also reduces surface tension between different molecules which is another key feature of a surfactant.
