Manufacture of soap
Soap is made from animal fat or vegetable oils which when heated with sodium hydroxide solution ( caustic soda solution) , split to form sodium salt of higher fatty acid ( soap) and glycerol.
Saponification - The process of making soap by the hydrolysis of fats and oils with alkalis .
Structure of a Soap Molecule –
A soap molecule is made up of 2 parts : a long hydrocarbon and a short ionic part .
Micelle - A spherical aggregate of soap molecules in the soap solution in water.
Limitations of soaps –
Soap is not suitable for washing clothes with hard water ---
Detergents :- It is the sodium salt of a long chain benzene sulphonic acid ( or the sodium salt of a long chain alkyl hydrogensulphate) which has cleansing properties in water.
They are also called soap-less soaps because though they act like a soap in having the cleansing properties, they do not contain the usual soaps like sodium stearate , etc.
Advantages of detergents –
Disadvantage of detergents over soaps -
Some detergents are biodegradable , they cannot be decomposed by micro organisms like bacteria and hence cause water pollution in lakes and rivers .All soaps are bio- degradable and do not cause pollution.
Submitted By Mrs. Kritika Bhola
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