Question

What is saponification? Write the reaction involved in this process.

Answer 1

Saponification

• Saponification is the simplest method used for the preparation of soap.
• Esters of fatty acids are hydrolyzed in the presence of a base like sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, to give alcohol and potassium or sodium salts of the corresponding acids which are referred to as soaps.
• This kind of reaction is known as saponification.

Reaction

• The general reaction is as follows,

$\mathrm{Ester}+\mathrm{Base}\to \mathrm{Soap}+\mathrm{Alcohol}$

For example,

• The formation of sodium stearate is depicted below.