When fats and oil are hydrolyzed with caustic soda or caustic potash, they produce sodium or potassium salts of the corresponding fatty acids and glycerol. This reaction is called saponification. Saponification is the alkaline hydrolysis of fatty acids to produce soap and glycerol. This reaction is widely applied in industries to produce soap. The glycerol is produced as a by-product.
Fat or oil + NaOH or KOH → Soap and propane-1,2,3-triol.
The reaction is a complex one but can be represented as below.
Responses