Soap
From Sciencemadness Wiki
 |
This article is a stub. Please help Sciencemadness Wiki by expanding it, adding pictures, and improving existing text.
|
Soap is the term for a salt of one or multiple fatty acids or for a variety of cleansing and lubricating products produced from such a substance.
Contents
General properties
Since they are salts of fatty acids, soaps have the general formula (RCO2−)2Mn+ (Where R is an alkyl, M is a metal and n is the charge of the cation). The major classification of soaps is determined by the identity of Mn+.
- Toilet soaps: Use Na or K, the resulting soaps are solids (if Na is used) or (if K is used). Used for handwashing.
- Non-toilet soaps: Many metal dications (Mg2+, Ca2+, and others) give metallic soap. When M is Li, the result is lithium soap (e.g., lithium stearate), which is used in high-performance greases. Copper can also be used to prepare copper soaps.
Availability
Soap can be bought from most stores.
Preparation
Saponification of fats (triglycerides) with an alkali hydroxide will yield soap and glycerol.
NileRed made a good video on making soap.
Projects
- Washing hands
- High performance grease
Handling and safety
Soap is a useful cleaning product, but should never be poured in areas with plants or natural water bodies since it's harmful.
It is also not edible.
