How does laundry detergent work chemically?
How do detergents work? Soaps and detergents are made from long molecules that contain a head and tail. These molecules are called surfactants; the diagram below represents a surfactant molecule. The head of the molecule is attracted to water (hydrophilic) and the tail is attracted to grease and dirt (hydrophobic).
What is the chemical reaction of soap and detergent?
What is the chemical reaction of soap? Saponification is the term for the soap-producing chemical reaction. Animal or vegetable fat is converted to soap (a fatty acid) and alcohol during the process. The reaction requires an alkali solution in water and also heat (e.g., sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide).
Is mixing detergent with water a chemical reaction?
Is water and detergent a chemical reaction? The mixing of soap and water is a physical rather than a chemical reaction.
How are detergents made chemistry?
A number of fats and oils are heated and mixed with a liquid alkali to produce soap and water (neat soap) plus glycerine. Fats and oils are hydrolyzed with a high-pressure steam to get crude fatty acids and glycerine. The fatty acids are purified by distillation and neutralized with an alkali to produce soap.
How is detergent made chemical reaction?
Saponification is the most common process used for soap making. A number of fats and oils are heated and mixed with a liquid alkali to produce soap and water (neat soap) plus glycerine. Fats and oils are hydrolyzed with a high-pressure steam to get crude fatty acids and glycerine.
What is the chemical reaction of soap?
saponification
Soaps are just potassium or sodium salts of long-chain fatty acids. During saponification, ester reacts with an inorganic base to produce alcohol and soap. Generally, it occurs when triglycerides are reacted with potassium or sodium hydroxide (lye) to produce glycerol and fatty acid salt, called ‘soap’.
What is the chemical properties of detergent?
Detergents are amphipathic molecules that contain polar or charged hydrophilic groups (heads) at the end of long lipophilic hydrocarbon groups (tails) (Figure 1). They are also known as surfactants because they decrease the surface tension of water.
What is laundry detergent made of?
Most homemade laundry ‘detergents’ are made up of water softeners like baking soda, washing soda, and borax and a cleaning agent which is typically a grated bar of soap.
What chemical is in detergent?
The most important are sodium silicate (water glass), sodium carbonate (soda ash), sodium perborate, and various phosphates.
What are the chemical properties of detergent?
What is the chemical structure of detergent?
Detergent molecular structures consist of a long hydrocarbon chain and a water soluble ionic group. Most detergents have a negative ionic group and are called anionic detergents. The majority are alky sulfates. Others are “surfactants” (from surface active agents) which are generally known as alkyl benzene sulfonates.
