STATE WHAT SOAP

AND DETERGENT
ARE
 WHAT IS SOAP?

• A mixture of sodium salts

of various naturally
occurring fatty acids.

• Produced by a
saponification or basic
hydrolysis reaction of a fat
or oil.

SCE3103 – EXPLORING MATERIALS ISL 12

TYPES OF SOAP

 The type of fatty acid and length of the carbon chain

determines the unique properties of various soaps.
 Fatty acids with longer chains are even more insoluble.
 Coconut oil is a source of lauric acid (12 carbons) which
can be made into sodium laurate. This soap is very soluble
and will lather easily even in sea water.
 Fatty acids with only 10 or fewer carbons are not used in
soaps because they irritate the skin and have objectionable
odors.

SCE3103 – EXPLORING MATERIALS ISL 12

WHAT IS DETERGENT?
 A substance used to
enhance the cleansing
action of water.

 A detergent is an
emulsifier, which penetrates
and breaks up the oil film
that binds dirt particles, and
a wetting agent, which
helps them to float off.
SCE3103 – EXPLORING MATERIALS ISL 12
ADVANTAGES OF DETERGENTS OVER SOAPS

 Detergentscan produce better performance in hard water

while the soaps cannot suitable for use in hard water.

 Detergents are made of synthetic petrochemicals while the

soap is made of vegetable oils and fatty acids, so that
consumption of natural resources is high in soaps whereas
in detergents only chemicals is needed, so no consumption
of natural resources highly.

 Productionof soap is costlier than the detergents production

and detergents have more advantages over soap.

SCE3103 – EXPLORING MATERIALS ISL 12

 A detergent doesn’t produce any scum or residue during
washing of clothes and so it is better to wash clothes with
detergents earlier. But soap will produce scum or residue
during washing of clothes and this requires repeated washing
of clothes with water until the scum is removed from the
clothes completely.

 Detergents can perform well even in acidic water but the

soaps cannot fit for use in acidic water because the fatty
acids settled down in the form of precipitate in acidic water.

 Soap is less soluble in water comparing detergents.

SCE3103 – EXPLORING MATERIALS ISL 12
REFERENCES

 http://www.tutorvista.com/chemistry/advantages-of-deterg
ent-over-soap
 http://www.answers.com/topic/detergent#Detergents_Type
s_for_Cleaning
 http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/554soap.html

SCE3103 – EXPLORING MATERIALS ISL 12