Soap

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Revision as of 12:47, 23 December 2021 by Mabus (Talk | contribs) (General properties)

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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.

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.

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads