In chemistry,soap is a salt of fatty acid. Soaps are mainly used as surfactants for washing,bathing,and cleaning. There are also used in textile spinning and are important components of lubricants.
Soaps for cleaning are obtained by treating vegetable or animal oils and fats with a strongly alkaline solution. Oils and fats are composed of triglycerides (Three molecules of fatty acids are attached to a molecule of glycerol)[2]. The alkaline solution which is often called lye (although the term "lye soap" refers almost exclusively to soaps made with sodium hydroxide),brings out a chemical reaction which known as saponification. In this reaction, the triglyceride fats are first hydrolyzed into free fatty acids, and then these combines with alkali solution to form crude soap ( an amalgam of various soap salts, excess fats and alkali water and liberated glycerol (glycerin). The glycerin is a useful by-product,which can be left in the soap product as a softening agent, or isolated for other uses. The chemical equation of saponification was shown below.
Soaps are key components of most lubricating greases,which are usually emulsions of calcium soap or lithium soap and mineral oil. These calcium-and-lithium-based greases are widely used. Many other metallic soaps are also useful,including those aluminium,sodium,and mixtures of them. Such soaps are also used as thickeners to increase the viscosity of oils. In ancient times,lubricating greases were made by the addition of lime to olive oil.
Soap is very important for effective hand washing and hygiene,but if it is not available in difficult situations,then clean ash or sand/soil can be used as substitute as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO).
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