WHAT IS

SOAP?
Soaps are water-soluble sodium or potassium salts of fatty
acids. Soaps are made from fats and oils, or their fatty
acids, by treating them chemically with a strong alkali.

Sodium
stearate(Che
mical formula:
C17H35COONa+)

soap
s
Sodium
oleate(Chemic
al formula:
C17H33COONa+)

Sodium
palmitate(Che
mical formula:
C15H31COONa+)

i)ashes

1.Boiling ashes
were boiled with water
huge container

in

ii)The container had a hole at

the bottom.The boiling liquid
was allowed to flow out from
this hole

iii)The liquid was then poured

back into container repeatedly

iv) this process produced a thic

concentrated solution(alkaline)

2.Mixing with animal fats

i)the solution was mixed with
animal fat.

HISTORY OF SOAP MANUFACTURING

Nicholas Le Blanc (1742-1806) discovered sodium hydroxide & produced

sodium hydroxide from sodium chloride
In 1816 Michel
Chebreul discovered the
chemical reactions
that were related and
ii)the
mixture
was
stirred
for about 1 day
to boiled
soap making

iii)soap will precipitate as sem

solid.excess water is poured ou

iv)remaining

semi solid
soap

is called

Saponification

The process of making soap by the hydrolysis of fats and oils

with alkalies

The fats or oils are

hydrolysed first to form
glycerol and fatty acids.

The acids then react

with an alkali to form
the corresponding
sodium or potassium
salts.

Soaps feel slippery and

form lather when they
are shaken with water.

The soap formed can be

precipitated by adding
sodium chloride. This is
because sodium chloride
lowers the solubility of
soap in water.

The glycerol and excess

sodium hydroxide
solution are removed by
rinsing the soap formed
with water.

WHAT IS
DETERGENT
?

 Is a salt that is produced from the reaction between an alkali and a sulphonic acid.
Detergent is also the sodium salt of sulphonic acid.

Detergents are the sodium salts of long chain benzene sulphuric acids.
Detergents are primarily surfactants, which could be produced easily from
petrochemicals. Surfactants lower the surface tension of water, essentially
making it 'wetter' so that it is less likely to stick to itself and more likely to
interact with oil and grease.
The ionic group is in a

detergent is

DETERGENT
S

sodium alkyl

sodium dodecyl
sulphate
( sodium lauryl
sulphate)

Preparation
1.

Detergent Sodium Alkyl sulphate

CHEMICAL EQUATION

CHEMICAL

EQUATION

1.
Detergent
Sodium
Alkylbenzene Sulphonate
H+H- O
Step 1:Alkylation

+ H2O

RCH = CH2 +
alkene

benzene

O
O
ROH+HO
alkylbenzene
O
O

where R is along-chain hydrocarbon

Step 2:Sulphonation

R + HO SO3HR

alkylbenzene

(H2SO4)

SO3H + H2O

Alkylbenzene sulphonic acid

Cleansing action of soap and detergent

The cleansing action of soap or

detergent depends on their chemical
bonding and structures.
The ionic head (negatively charged) is
soluble in water (hydrophilic) but
insoluble in oily layer.
The long hydrocarbon tail (neutral) is
insoluble in water (hydrophobic) but
soluble in oily layer.

I the water is agitated slightly, the

grease begins to be lifted off the
surface. This cause by the forces of
attraction between the water molecules
and the negatively charged heads

Advantages

Oil cannot be washed away from

clothing with water because oil (a
covalent molecule is insoluble in water.

Lifting greasy dirt from the surface

cloth. When soap or detergent is added
to the dirty surface of a piece of cloth
covered with a layer of oil or grease.
The negatively charged head
(hydrophilic) of soap ions or detergent
ions dissolves in water.
The hydrocarbon tail (hydrophobic) of
soap or detergent ions dissolves in the
layer of grease.

Disadvantages

1. Soaps are effective cleansing agents in

soft water, that is water does not
contain Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions.
2. Soaps do not cause pollution problems
to the environment. This is because
soaps are made from chemical found
in animals and plants. This means that
soaps are biodegradable, that is they
can be composed by the action of
bacteria.

1. Soaps are ineffective in hard water, that

is, water that contains magnesium and
calcium salts.
2. In hard water, soaps will react with Mg2+
and thus, soaps do not lather in hard
water.
3. Scum is grey solid that is insoluble in
water. It consists of magnesium stearate
and calcium stearate.
4. Soaps are not also effective in acidic
water, for example rainwater containing
dissolves acids. H+ ions from acids will
react with soap ions to produce
carboxylic acids molecular size that are
insoluble in water.
5. Stearic acids and other carboxylic acids
do not act as cleansing agents because
they exist mainly as molecules and do
not anionic hydrophilic ends (head)
that dissolves in water.

Advantages & Disadvantages of soaps

Advantages & Disadvantages of detergent

Advantages
1. Detergents are cleansing agents that are
effective in soft water as well as hard
water. This is because detergents do not
form scum with Mg+ and Ca2+ ions found
in hard water.
2. The detergents ions (R O SO 3- and R
SO3- )react with Mg+ and Ca2+ ions in hard
water. However, the magnesium salts and
calcium salts which are formed are soluble
in water. Hence, the scum is not formed
and the detergents are still active in hard
water and lathers easily.
3. Detergents are synthetic cleansing agents.
This means that the structure of the
hydrocarbon chain can be modified to
produce
detergents
with
specific
properties. Nowadays, different types of
detergents have been synthesised for
specific uses such as shampoos and dish
cleaner.
4. Furthermore, detergents are also effective
in acidic water because H+ ion is acidic
water do not combined with detergents
ions.

Disadvantages
1. Most detergents have branched hydrocarbon
chains and are non-biodegradable, that is,
they cannot decomposed by bacteria. As a
result, non-biodegradable detergents cause
water pollution.
2. Phosphates in detergents act as fertilizers and
promote the growth of water plants and
algae. When the plants die and decay, they
will used up the oxygen dissolves in water.
This will decrease the oxygen content in
water and kill fishes and other aquatic lives.
3. Detergents produce a lot of foam in water.
The layer of foam that covers the water
surface will prevents oxygen from dissolving
in water. This condition will cause fish and
other aquatic life ti die from oxygen
starvation.
4. Additives such as sodium hydrochlorite
(bleaching agents) releases chlorine gas in
water that is acidic. Chlorine gas is highly
toxic and kills aquatic life.

Purpose of adding detergent additives

Modern detergents used for washing clothes usually contains a few types of additives to :
a) Increase their cleaning power.
b) Make them attractive and saleable.

Builders : Sodium
tripolyphosphate (Na5P3O10)
Sodium tripolyphospathe is usd to
soften hard water. In the presence
of sodium tripolyphosphate, Ca2+
ions and Mg2+ ions are removed.
Sodium tripolyphosphate increases
the pH value of water. In this way,
muddy dirt can be removed.

Whitening /
bleaching agents :
sodium perborate
Bleaches (bleaching
agents) remove
coloured stains by
oxidation process.
When coloured stanis
are oxidized, the
colour will disappear.

Additiv
es in
deterge
nt

Brighteners
Figure below shows the action of
brighteners. The brighteners absorb
the invisible ultra-violet and reradiate it as blue light.Brighteners
make fabrics appear whiter and
brighter because the blue light can
hide any yellowing on the fabrics.
Blue light added to the yellow light
reflected on old fabrics make them
look white.

1.Figure above shows detergent that are commonly used in homes.All of

these detergents contain many addictives such as Perfumes.Perfumes are
added to make clothes smell fresh and clean.