Fats and oils are called lipids. They occur abundantly in nature in plants and animals. Fats are mainly from animals and oils are mainly from plants. Both fats and oils are esters of trihydric alkanol, propane – 1,2,3 – triol (glycerol).
The alkyl groups R, R’ and R’’ may be the same or different.
The fatty acids found in lipids are long chain containing 10 to 18 carbon atoms. The terminal carboxylic group, -COOH is polar, making them soluble in water. Fatty acids are weak acids. They are able to ionize in water to produce carboxylate ion and hydrogen ion.
Properties of Fats and Oils
Fatty acids cannot be represented by a single formula because they contain complex mixtures of esters. Fats are solid at 25oC while oils are liquid at the same temperature. The level of unsaturation in oils is higher than it is in fats.
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