Introduction

Soap
• Soaps are sodium or pottasium salts of long-chain fatty acid.
• Structure of soap:

= Sodium alkyl sulphate

= Sodium alkylbenzene
sulphonate
The History of Soap Manufacturing
• In the past, soap was made by mixing animal fats with alkaline wood
ashes.
• Large-scale commercial soapmaking occurred in 1791 when a french
chemist, Nicholas Leblanc patented a process for making soda ash or
sodium carbonate from common salt. The process yielded large quantities
of quality soda ash.
• Twenty years later, Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay developed a process to
further reduce the cost of obtaining soda ash, thereby reducing the cost of
soap manufacturing.
Soap Preparation Process
• Soaps can be made from animal fats and vegetable oils.
• The animals fats most commonly used are fats from cows and goats.
• The vegetable oils often used are palm oil, olive oil and coconut oil.
• Soaps are prepared by hydrolysing fats or oils under alkaline condition.
The reaction is called saponification.
• The saponification process involves boiling fats or oils with
concentrated sodium hydroxide solution or concentrated potassium
hydroxide solution to produce glycerol and the salts of fatty acids which
are the soaps. The general equation:

Oil or fat + Alkali → Glycerol + Soaps

• 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.
Detergent
• Any cleansing agents that is not a soap is a detergent. Detergents are
usually made from synthetic resources such as petroleum fractions.
• They were developed during the Second World War in response to a
shortage of animal fats and vegetable oils.
• Detergents are usually sodium salts of sulphonic acid.
• Structure of detergent (sodium lauryl sulphate):

Preparation of Detergent
• During the preparation of detergents, a long-chain hydrocarbon obtained
from petroleum fractions is converted into an organic acid trough a series
of steps.
• The organic acid is then neutralised with sodium hydroxide solution to
produce a neutral salt which is detergent.
The Cleansing Action of Soap and Detergent
• The cleansing action of both soaps and detergents results from their
ability to lower the surface tension of water, to emulsify oil or
grease and to hold them in suspension in water.
• This ability is due to the structure of soaps and detergents.
• A soap anion consists of a long hydrocarbon chain with a carboxylate
group on one end.
• The hydrocarbon chain, which is hydrophobic, is soluble in oils or
grease.
• The ionic part is the carboxylate group, which is hydrophilic, is soluble
in water.
• The following explains the cleansing action of a soap or detergent on
a piece of cloth with a greasy stain.
o When soap or detergent is added to water, it reduces the
surface tension of water. This increases the wetting ability of
water. Therefore, the surface of the cloth is wetted thoroughly.
o The hydrophobic part of the soap or detergent anion is soluble
in the grease. The hydrophilic part is soluble in water.
o Mechanical agitation during scrubbing helps to pull the grease
free and also break the grease into small droplets.
o The droplets do not coagulate and redeposit on the surface of
the cloth due to the repulsion between the negatives charges on
their surface. These droplets are suspended in water, forming
an emulsion. Rinsing washes away these droplets and leaves
the surface clean.
The Additives in Detergent
• Detergents generally contains a number of additives
• Additives are added to a detergent to enhance its cleaning efficiency
and to meet the needs of consumers.
• The additives in detergents and their functions are shown in table 1.

Additive Example Function

Biological enzyme Amylases, proteases, To remove protein stains
cellulases and lipase such as blood.
Whitening agent Sodium perborate To convert stains into
colourless substances.
Optical whitener Fluorescents dyes To add brightness and
whiteness to white fabrics.
Table 1: Additives in detergents and their function

Effect to Environment
Soap = soaps are biodegradable and do not cause any pollution

Detergents = Non-biodegradable detergents gives thick foams that kill

aquatic lives.
Food Additives
• A food additive is a natural or synthetic substance which is added to
food to prevent spoilage or to improve its appearance, taste or texture.

Types of food additives:

• Preservatives
• Antioxidants
• Flavourings
• Stabilisers
• Thickeners
• Dyes
(a) Preservatives

• Preservatives are substances added to food to slow down or prevent

the growth of microorganisms, so that food can be kept for longer
periods of time.
• Examples of preservatives:

Preservatives Example How it works

Salt Salted fish Salt or sugar draws the
water out of the cells of
Sugar Jam microorganisms and
retards the growth growth
of microorganism
Vinegar Pickled mango Vinegar provides an acidic
condition that inhibits the
growth of microorganisms.

• Side effects on health:

1. eating too much food preserved with salt such as salted fish
increases the risk of high blood pressure
2. eating too much food preserved with sugar can cause obesity, tooth
decay and diabetes.
(b) Antioxidants