Saponification

Saponification is the base-promoted hydrolysis of fats or oils, producing glycerol and fatty-acid salts. The salts act as soaps.

Triglyceride: A lipid composed of glycerol esterified to three fatty acids. Triglycerides are the main fat molecules whose ester bonds saponification cleaves.
Ester: An organic compound containing a carbonyl bonded to an oxygen that is bonded to another carbon group. Ester linkages connect fatty acids to glycerol in the fats being saponified.
Soap: A cleansing substance made from fatty-acid salts or synthetic surfactants. Saponification produces the fatty-acid salts used in traditional soaps.
Acid-catalyzed ester hydrolysis: The cleavage of an ester by water under acidic conditions, yielding a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Unlike alkaline saponification, this route initially yields the un-ionized fatty acid.
Ester hydrolysis: The cleavage of an ester bond by water, often accelerated by acid or base. Saponification is the base-promoted form of ester hydrolysis.
Hydroxide: A negatively charged ion consisting of one oxygen and one hydrogen atom. Hydroxide supplies the nucleophile that initiates base-promoted bond cleavage.
Cold-process soapmaking: A method of making soap by mixing oils with alkali without externally cooking the mixture. The reaction proceeds in the mold as the oil and alkali mixture cures.
Transesterification: A reaction that exchanges the alcohol-derived group of an ester with another alcohol. It converts triglycerides into fuel esters rather than fatty-acid salts.
Nucleophilic acyl substitution: A reaction in which a nucleophile replaces a group attached to an acyl carbon. Hydroxide attacks each ester carbonyl through this reaction pathway.
Sodium hydroxide: An inorganic strong base with the formula NaOH. It is a common alkali used to convert fats into sodium soaps.

Linked from 23 pages