The Chemical Reaction of Soap Making

The making of soap is a chemical reaction between fatty acids and alkali.
The fatty acids usually used come in the form of triglycerides (fats and oils).
A triglyceride has a backbone of glycerin with three fatty acids connected to it. 
The alkali breaks off these fatty acids and the sodium or potassium molecule
combines with the fatty acids to create soap while the OH radical attaches to the
glycerin backbone where the fatty acid once resided forming glycerin.
Soap is the salt of an acid. Soap made from tallow is sometimes called sodium
talowate on an ingredients list.
 How Batteries Work: The Lead
Acid Accumulator Reactions

How Batteries Work: The Lead Acid Accumulator Reactions

To understand how a battery backup solar array provides power throughout the night as
well as the day we need to know how batteries work to both store and discharge that
power. The chemistry of the standard lead-acid accumulator battery, which is better known
to us as the car battery, is not simple but it is worth the effort to understand the working of
this marvel of engineering. Not only will this understanding give us insight into the workings
of one of the devices we rely on in daily life, but it will also inform us as to how best to
maintain these batteries to maximize their lifespans.

How Batteries Work: A Single Cell of the Battery

The term battery means repeating identical units grouped together. In terms of our lead-
acid accumulator or car battery, the units that are grouped together are called cells. There
are dozens of cells in each lead-acid battery. By understanding the chemical reactions
occurring in one of these cells we will have a good view of the operation of the whole
battery. We will start our exploration of this battery by assuming that it is fully charged and
ready to release electricity.

The Lead-Acid battery is based on just those two chemicals, lead and acid.

Lead in the Battery

The lead is in two forms, which are pure Lead (Pb) and Lead Dioxide (PbO2). Both of these
versions of Lead are in solid form. If we look at theoxidation number rules for these two
versions of Lead, we can see that pure Lead has an oxidation number of zero whereas the
Lead Dioxide has an oxidation number of +4. This is important as it is
movement away from these starting oxidation numbers that results in the generation of
electricity in the battery. These two solid forms of lead form the twoelectrodes of the
battery cell.

Acid in the Battery

The liquid in the middle is Sulfuric Acid which has the chemical formula H2SO4 and is mixed
with water. This acid is composed of two protons (H+) and the sulfate ion (SO4 2-). In the
battery it is in the ionized form of H+ and HSO4-. This is because Sulfuric Acid easily loses
one of its two protons in water and only loses the second when the acid reacts with
something such as the lead metal.

So we can summarize the situation as follows. The oxidation numbers are shown in green
above the two versions of solid lead in the cell.
We can see that the two versions of Lead are not connected in this picture. This represents
the situation where the battery is not in use; the different metals in the cell are not in
contact (no complete circuit) and so no reactions occur.

The inspiring part of the lead-acid battery is what happens when the circuit is completed.
Both the Lead and the Lead Dioxide form into Lead Sulfate, PbSO4. This is a solid that coats
both metal plates as it forms. This is important, as it is the key to being able to recharge
the battery. Let's have a look at each of these reactions in turn.

Pure Lead to Lead Sulfate

It is best if we track this reaction through the the standard balancing redox

reactions process. First, we line up the reactants (lead and the HSO4- version of the acid)
and then the product, the Lead Sulfate. Again, the oxidation numbers are included on top of
the main chemicals.

Here we can see that the Lead has been oxidized as its oxidation number
has increased from 0 to +2. The electrons released will travel through a circuit and do
some work before they come to the other terminal of the cell where the lead oxide waits to
undergo this reaction:

Lead Oxide to Lead Sulfate

Once again only the Lead has been affected in terms of its oxidation number. In this case
the Lead has gone from +4 to +2 meaning it has beenreduced. The Lead Oxide has
absorbed the electrons given off by the pure Lead.

How Batteries Work: The Overall Reaction

If we combine these two half reactions, again following the rules for balancing redox
reactions, we get the following. Note that the different steps simply result from crossing out
things that are the same on both sides of the arrow.

So that is the reaction that is occurring in each cell of the battery. For each atom of lead
converted to PbSO4 two electrons are produced. These are absorbed by one piece of PbO2
becoming PbSO4.