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Chapter 8: Problem 15

Our ancestors kept clean with homemade soap (page 222 ), often called "lye soap." Go to http://wwal wikihow. com/Make-Your-Own-Soap and read the procedure for making lye soap from vegetable oils and lye (sodium hydroxide). What chemical process occurs in the making of lye soap? Draw reactions to explain. How does this soap work as a cleaner?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The process of making lye soap involves a chemical process known as Saponification, where vegetable oil reacts with a base (sodium hydroxide) to form soap and glycerol. The soap cleans by forming micelles in water that emulsify oils and trap dirt, which is then removed by rinsing with water.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the source

Go to the provided URL and read the procedure for making lye soap from vegetable oils and lye (sodium hydroxide). It's crucial to note down the main steps and ingredients involved in the process.
02

Identify the chemical process

The chemical process that occurs in making lye soap is called Saponification. In this process, a fat (in this case, vegetable oil) reacts with a strong base (Sodium Hydroxide, also known as lye) under heat to form soap and glycerol.
03

Draw the reactions

To illustrate this, let's use a generic reaction where a triglyceride (fat) reacts with sodium hydroxide:\[R_1COOR_2 + R_3COOR_4 + R_5COOR_6 + 3NaOH → R_1COONa + R_3COONa + R_5COONa + ROH\]Where \(R_1COOR_2\), \(R_3COOR_4\), and \(R_5COOR_6\) represent the three fatty acid chains of a triglyceride and \(ROH\) represents glycerol.
04

Explain the cleaning action of soap

Now that the soap is formed it can clean. This cleaning action is attributed to the structure of soap molecules. Each soap molecule has a polar 'head' which is hydrophilic (water-loving) and a non-polar 'tail' which is hydrophobic (water-repelling). So, when soap is added to water, these molecules form spherical structures called micelles where the hydrophilic heads face the water and the hydrophobic tails are sequestered in the center of the micelle, away from the water. These micelles are capable of emulsifying oils and trapping dirt. The soap, along with water, can remove the debris, leading to the cleaning effect.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

If most plant-derived food products contain plant sterols and stanols, would it be as effective (for cholesterol-lowering purposes) to simply incorporate plant fats in one's diet as to use a sterol- or stanol-fortified spread like Benecol? Consult a suitable reference (for example, http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/sterols/ #sources at the Linus Pauling Institute) to compose your answer.

Compare and contrast two individuals, one whose diet consists largely of meats containing high levels of cholesterol and the other whose diet is rich in plant sterols. Are their risks of cardiovascular disease likely to be similar or different? Explain your reasoning.

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