Soaps and Detergents
What is soap?
Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of long-
chain fatty acids.
Fatty acid = Long chain of carboxylic acids
General formula : RCOONa or RCOOK
Where R : Alkyl group containing 12 or 18 carbon
atoms.
The history of soap manufacturing
In the past, soap was made by mixing
animal fats with alkaline wood ashes.
Large-scale commercial soap making
occurred when Nicholas Leblanc patented a
process for making soda ash.
Soda ash is the alkali obtained from ashes that
combines with fat to form soap.
Soap preparation process =
Saponification
Soaps are prepared by hydrolising fats or oils
under alkaline condition to produce glycerol
(an alcohol) and soap.
Sources of :
Fat – Cows and goats.
Oils – Palm oil, olive oil, coconut oil
Strong alkali : (Concentrated) NaOH or KOH
Saponification process
Fats and oils are hydrolyzed (split) with a high-
pressure steam to yield crude fatty acids and glycerol.
The fatty acids are then purified by distillation and
neutralized with an alkali to produce soap and water
(neat soap-soap in liquid form).
Saponification process
Fatty acid + NaOH → water+ Sodium soap
Sodium soaps are "hard" soaps.
The more saturated the oil (tropical vegetable oils
such as coconut oil), the harder the soap.
Fatty acid + KOH → water + Potassium soap
Potassium soaps are softer and are found in some
liquid hand soaps and shaving creams.
What is detergent?
Detergents are cleaning agents that is not a
soap.
Made from synthetic resources such as
petroleum fraction.
Developed during the WW2 in response to a
shortage of animals fats and vegetable oils.
Preparation of detergent :
1) Sodium alkyl
sulphate
Formation of organic acid
A) Sulphonation
Long chain + Conc. → Alkyl sulphonic + H2O
Alcohol H2SO4 acid
B)Neutralisation
Alkyl sulphonic + NaOH → Sodium alkyl + H2O
acid sulphate
Preparation of detergent :
2) Sodium alkylbenzene
sulphonate
Formation of alkyl benzene
A) Alkylation
AlCl3
Long chain + Benzene Alkylbenzene
Alkene
B) Sulphonation
Alkylbenzene + Conc. → Alkylbenzene + H2O
H2SO4 sulphonic acid
Preparation of detergent :
2) Sodium alkylbenzene sulphonate
C) Neutralisation
Alkylbenzene + NaOH → Sodium + H2O
sulphonic acid alkylbenzene
sulphonate
Soap manufacturing
Soap bar
Powder detergent
Liquid detergent
Cleansing action of soap and detergents
Soaps and detergents
Lower the surface tension of water
To emulsify (dispersing in water) oil or grease
To hold oil and grease in suspension in water
In water, sodium soap dissolves :
RCOONa → RCOO- + Na+
(soap anion)
In water, detergent dissolves :
ROSO3Na → ROSO3- + Na+
(detergent anion
=alkyl sulphate ion)
R OSO3Na → R OSO3- + Na+
(detergent anion
=alkylbenzene sulphonate ion)
Soap anion
_
(Hydrophobic) COO
= Hate
water (Hydrophilic)
= Love
Detergent anion – Alkyl sulphate ion water
O
_
(Hydrophobic) O-S-O
= Hate
water
O
Cleansing action of soap and detergents
1) The hydrophobic part of the 4) Mechanical agitation 5) The droplets do not
soap is soluble in the grease. during scrubbing coagulate due to the
helps to pull the repulsion between the
2) The hydrophilic part is
grease free and negative charges on
soluble in water.
break the grease into their surface.
3) Soap reduces the surface small droplets.
6) The droplets are
tension of water thus the
suspended in water,
surface of the cloth is wetted
forming an emulsion.
thoroughly
7) Rinsing washes away
the droplets.
Effectiveness of the cleansing action of
soap
Effectiveness of cleansing action of soap is reduced in:
1) Hard water
Hard water contains a great amount of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions.
Ca2+/ Mg2+ + soap → soap scum
2CH (CH ) COO-Na+ + Ca2+ → [CH (CH ) COO] Ca
(s) + 2Na
+
3 2 16 3 2 16 2
2) Acidic water
H+ ion + soap → Long-chain fatty acid
(Insoluble in water = reduces the amount
of soap)
CH (CH ) COO-Na+ + H+ → CH (CH ) COOH + Na+
3 2 16 3 2 16 (s)
Soap scum
It reduces the amount of soap available for cleaning.
It does not rinse away easily.
It forms deposits on clothes become grey or yellow.
It attaches to the insides of bathtubs, sinks and washing
machines.
Effectiveness of the cleansing action of
detergent
Detergent do not form scum with hard water.
They form soluble substances with Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions.
2CH3(CH2)11OSO3-Na+ + Ca2+ →
[CH3(CH2)11OSO3-]2Ca2+ + 2Na+
Detergent do not form precipitates in acidic water.
CH3(CH2)11OSO3-Na+ + H+ →
CH3(CH2)11OSO3-H+ + Na+
Additives in detergent – To enhance its
cleaning
efficiency
Additive Example Function
Biological enzyme amylases, proteases, To remove protein
lipases stains such as blood
Whitening agent Sodium perborate To convert stains into
colourless substances
Optical whitener Fluorescent dyes To add brightness and
whiteness to white
fabrics
Builder Sodium To enhance the
tripolyphosphate cleaning efficiency of
detergent by softening
the water
Additives in detergent – To enhance its cleaning efficiency
Additive Example Function
Suspension agent Carboxymethylcellulose To prevent the dirt
particles removed from
redepositing onto
cleaned fabrics.
Filler Sodium sulphate, To add to the bulk of the
sodium silicate detergent and enable it
to be poured easily
Foam control Silicones To control foaming in
agent detergent
Fragrance to add fragrance to both
the detergent and
fabrics
Advantages and disadvantages of detergents
with respect to soaps
Soap Detergent
Soaps are effective cleaners in soft Detergents are effective cleaners in both
water. hard and soft water.
Soaps form scum in hard water. Detergents do not form scum in hard
water.
Soaps are made from natural Detergents are made from synthetic
resources – animal fats and resources such as petroleum fractions.
vegetable oils.
Soaps form precipitate in acidic Detergents do not form precipitate in
water. acidic water.
Soaps are biodegradable and do not Non-biodegradable detergents give thick
cause pollution. foams that kill aquatic lives.
