- Chapter 7 -

i
SOAP
- Soap are sodium/potassium salts of long chain
fatty acids.
- Triglycerides in fats/ oil react with aqueous NaOH/
KOH, they will converted into soap and glycerol
- This is called 'Alkaline hydrolysis of ester'
- This reaction leads to formation of soap
( Saponification )
Soft vs hard soap
- Depending on the nature of the alkali used in their production,
soaps have distinct properties
- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) gives Hard Soap
- Potassium hydroxide (KOH) form soft soap
Saponification process

Chemical Equation

Steam hydrolysis
- Triglycerides also sponified in 2 step process which
begins with steam hydrolysis of the triglycerides
- This process gives the carboxylic acid, not its
salts as well as glycerol
- Subsequently, the fatty acid neutralised with alkali to
give the soap

- Advantage of 2 step process : Fatty acid can be

purified which leads to soap of improved quality
- Steam hydrolysis proceeds via mechanism that
similar to the base-catalysed route, involving the
attack of water (not hydroxide) at the carbonil center
- the process is slower, hence the requirement for
steam