Soap: Soap is a metallic salt of a saturated or unsaturated higher fatty acid. There may be lead Ca Mg or other metallic salt.

Generally Soaps are the sodium and potassium salts of long chain fatty acids that are made by saponification of natural fats & oil. Each soap molecule has a long hydrocarbon chain, sometimes called its 'tail', with a carboxylate 'head'. In water, the sodium or potassium ions float free, leaving a negativelycharged head. CH2COO-C17H33 CHCOO-C17H35 CH2COO-C17H35
+3 NaOH

CH2-OH 3C17H35COONa + CH-OH

Sodium Stearate (a soap)

CH2-OH
Glycerol

(a triacylglycerol)

The no of carbon in aliphatic chain is important. Chain with 9-21 carbon has cleaning power. Oil used in soap manufacturing: Following oils are used in soap manufacturing 1 Cotton seed oil 2 Coconut oil 3 Oliver oil 4 Palm oil 5 Soya bin oil 4 Tallow Manufacturing process: Saponification of fats and oils is the most widely used soap making process. This method involves heating fats and oils with alkali, where fat reacting with a liquid alkali to produce soap and water (neat soap) plus glycerin. Soap is produced industrially in four basic steps Step 1 - Saponification A mixture of tallow (animal fat) and coconut oil is mixed with sodium hydroxide and heated. The soap produced is the salt of a long chain carboxylic acid. Step 2 - Glycerin removal Glycerin is more valuable than soap, so most of it is removed. Some is left in the soap to help make it soft and smooth. Soap is not very soluble in salt water, whereas glycerin is, so salt is added to the wet soap causing it to separate out into soap and glycerin in salt water. Step 3 - Soap purification Any remaining sodium hydroxide is neutralized with a weak acid such as citric acid and two thirds of the remaining water removed. Step 4 - Finishing Additives such as preservatives, color and perfume are added and mixed in with the soap and it is shaped into bars for sale.

Properties of soap: 1. Soap dissolve in cold water slowly but rapidly in hot water. 2. Soap dissolves in hot alcohol but is only sparingly soluble in other organic solvents such as acetone, Ether or Petroleum. 3. In extremely dilute solution soap ionize RCOONa RCOO + Na Sometimes free fatty acid & soap makes acids soap xRCOOH + yRCOONa (RCOOH)x.(RCOONa)Y 4. Soap reacts with hard water & does not clean efficiently C17H35COONa + CaSO4 (C17H35COO)2Ca + Na2SO4 5. Soaps undergo a hydrolysis reaction in water. As a result, soap solutions tend to be alkaline. What is acid soap? Soap & free fatty acid molecules can become associated to form acid soap xRCOOH + yRCOONa (RCOOH)x.(RCOONa)Y Detergent: A detergent is a formulation comprising essential constituents (surface active agents) and subsidiary constituents (builders, boosters, fillers and auxiliaries). Detergents are sodium salt of sulphonated hydrocarbons or sulphated fatty alcohols & is any type of cleaner which does not contain soap as its main ingredient. A detergent is a synthetic cleaning agent containing surfactants that do not precipitate in hard water and have the ability to emulsify oil and suspend dirt. Surfactant: A surface-active agent is a chemical compound which, when dissolved or dispersed in a liquid is preferentially absorbed at an interface & reduce the surface tension between it & other liquid. The characteristic feature of a surfactant molecule is its two ends attached by a covalent bond. The two ends have diametrically opposed polarities. The non polar end (Hydrocarbon chain) is hydrophobic & polar end is hydrophilic.

Surfactants are classified according to use, to ionic charge and to chemical structure. By use it can be classified as 1. Wetting agent 2 Detergent 3 Emulsifying agent 4 Dispersing agent By ionic charge it can be classified as 1 Anionic 2 cationic 3 Non ionic 4 Amphoteric

Surface tension: Surface tension is defined as the interfacial tension between a liquid and its vapor. In a liquid each molecules are attracted by their neighboring molecules from all direction & remain stationary. But the molecules at the top line of the surface only attracted by its libering molecules. As a result a pull down effect acts on the surface which makes it convex. This phenomenon is called surface tension. Surface tension prevents liquid to bleed up & wet a surface.