4.

5 SOAP MAKING
AND CLEANSING
ACTION
Soap is a cleaning agent that is used to
remove dirt.
We use soap because washing with
water alone is not enough to remove the
dirt.
THE PROCESS OF MAKING SOAP
Saponification = soap making process.
Soap making is a neutralisation process.
When fats/oil is added to alkali, it will broken
down into fatty acids and glycerol.
The fatty acids will react with alkali to form salt
and water.
The salt that produced is a soap.

Fats or oil + alkali soap + water + glycerol
(salt)
Palm oil contain fatty acids called palmitic
acids.
In laboratory, soap can be produced by
boiling palm oil (or other types of vegetable
oil) together with sodium hydroxide solution.
Sodium chloride is used to reduce the
solubility of soap in water.
Palm oil + sodium soap + glycerol
hydroxide
SOAP CLEANSING
ACTION

(eg: oil)
When washing dirty clothes:
the ionic head will dissolve in water.
the hydrocarbon chain will dissolve in the
dirt.
cloth dirt
water
Ionic head
Hydrocarbon chain
Washing action
will cause the
ionic head pull
along the
hydrocarbon
chain which
attached to the
dirt/grease.
Grease/dirt is
thus removed.

cloth
Detergent has
more efficient
cleansing action
than soap,
because it do
not produce
messy scum as
the soap do.
Detergent is
produced from
petroleum, while
soap is produced
by fatty acids
such as palm oil.