The reaction produces sodium

salts of these fatty acids, which

SOAP improve

making
the

water
cleaning

better
process

able to
by

lift

the definition away greasy stains from skin,

hair, clothes, and just about

anything else.

Soaps are cleaning agents that are

usually made by reacting alkali (e.g.,

sodium hydroxide) with naturally

occurring fat or fatty acids.

 HIST Records show that

ORY
ancient Egyptians

bathed regularly. The

OF
Ebers Papyrus, a

medical document from

about 1500 B.C.,

SOAP
describes combining

animal and vegetable

oils with alkaline salts

to form a soap-like

material used for

treating skin diseases,

as well as for washing.

The science of modern

soap-making

some in 1991with
was born

the HIST
ORY
discovery of Michel

Eugene Chevreul, a

French chemist, of the

chemical

relationship
nature

of
and

fats, OF
SOAP
glycerine and fatty

acids. His studies

established the basis for

both fat and soap

chemistry.
CHEMISTRY
OF SOAP
how soaps are
Saponification of fats and
made
oils is the most widely used

soap-making process. This

method involves heating

fats and oils and reacting

them with a liquid alkali to

produce soap and water

(neat soap) plus glycerine.

 The other major soap-

making process is the

neutralization of fatty

CHEMISTRY acids

Fats
with

and
an

oils
alkali.

are

OF SOAP
hydrolyzed (split) with

a high-pressure steam

to yield crude fatty

how soaps are
acids and glycerine.
made The fatty acids are

then purified by

distillation and

neutralized with an

alkali to produce soap

and water (neat

soap).
SURFACTANTS
By lowering the surface

tension of water,

surfactants enable the

Surfactants, also called
cleaning solution to wet
surface active agents,
a surface (for example,
are organic chemicals
clothes, dishes,
that change the
countertops) more
properties of water
quickly, so soil can be

readily loosened and

removed (usually with

the aid of mechanical

action).
SURFACTANTS
Surfactants are

generally

classified by
classifications

their ionic

(electrical
ANIONIC
charge)

properties in
NON-IONIC
water. CATIONIC
AMPHOTERIC
 HOW
Let’s assume we SOAPS
WORK
have oily, greasy

soil on clothing.

Water alone will

cleaning
not remove this
mechanism
soil. One

important reason

is that oil and

grease present in

soil repel the

water molecules.
 HOW
These opposing

forces loosen the

soil and suspend

SOAPS it

Warm
in the

or
water.

hot water

WORK helps

grease
dissolve

and oil in

Now let’s add soap or soil. Washing

detergent. The surfactant’s machine agitation

water-hating end is repelled or hand rubbing

by water but attracted to the helps pull the soil

oil in the soil. At the same free.

time, the water-loving end is

attracted to the water

molecules.
 One end of each soap

molecule is hydrophilic, or

attracted to water. The

BUBBLES
other end consists of a

hydrophobic hydrocarbon

BUBBLES chain

water.
that tends to avoid

A soap bubble is a

spherical layer of

soap film

encapsulating air or

gas. The film consists

of a thin sheet of

water sandwiched

between two layers

BUBBLES
BUBBLES
of soap molecules. 
 As a result, water

molecules separate from

each other. The increased

BUBBLES
distance between the

water molecules causes a

BUBBLES decrease

tension,
in surface

enabling bubbles

to form.
The hydrophobic ends

of the soap molecules

crowd to the surface,

trying to avoid the

water, and stick out

away from the layer

of water molecules.
BUBBLES
BUBBLES
TYPES OF by usage

KITCHEN SOAP
SOAP NOVELTY SOAP
MEDICATED SOAP
by process
BEAUTY SOAP
GUEST SOAP
GLYCERIN SOAP
TRANSPARENT
SOAP