Function of Handmade Soap
Leblanc, who invented a process for obtaining
sodium carbonate, or soda, from ordinary salt. In the early
American colonies, soap was made from rendered animal fats
and was processed generally in the household, but by 1700 many
areas derived their main income from the export of ashes and
fats used in soap making. In this essay I will discuss the
use and function of soap, the raw material used, the process of
soap making, the difference between detergent and soap and the
type of soaps.
Use and Function of Soap
Most soap removes grease and other dirt because
some of their components are surface-active agents, or surfactants.
Surfactants have a molecular structure that acts as a bond
between water and the dirt particles, loosening the particles
from the original fibers or other surfaces to be cleaned. The
molecule can carry out this function because one end is hydrophilic
(attracted to water) and the other is hydrophobic (attracted to
substances that are not water soluble). The hydrophilic end is
same in construction to water-soluble salts. The hydrophobic part
of the molecule usually consists of a hydrocarbon chain
that is similar to the structure of grease, oil, and many fats.
The net result of this rare structure permits soap to decrease
the surface tension of water (by rising wetting) and to stick
to and make soluble substances otherwise unsolvable in water.
Soap powder is a hydrated combination of soap and sodium
carbonate. The soap used in dispensers in powdered form, is
a dry soap that has been crushed to a fine powder. In the late
1960s, because of the growing concern over the pollution of water
resources, the inclusion of harmful chemicals, such as phosphates,
in soaps and detergents was vigorously discouraged.2
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