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Soaps

Soaps work by having molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends. The hydrophobic end dissolves grease and oils while the hydrophilic end dissolves in water. This allows soaps to form micelles that surround dirt particles and emulsify them so they can be washed away with water. Traditionally, soaps were made from lye and animal fats like tallow. American colonists produced lye from wood ashes and tallow as a byproduct of meat production. Most farmers made soap themselves. The growth of cities and industry in the early 1800s increased soap usage and led to the rise of commercial soap making companies, with Cincinnati becoming a major producer. Manufacturers started replacing lye

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Dhaval Modi
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31 views

Soaps

Soaps work by having molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends. The hydrophobic end dissolves grease and oils while the hydrophilic end dissolves in water. This allows soaps to form micelles that surround dirt particles and emulsify them so they can be washed away with water. Traditionally, soaps were made from lye and animal fats like tallow. American colonists produced lye from wood ashes and tallow as a byproduct of meat production. Most farmers made soap themselves. The growth of cities and industry in the early 1800s increased soap usage and led to the rise of commercial soap making companies, with Cincinnati becoming a major producer. Manufacturers started replacing lye

Uploaded by

Dhaval Modi
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1 SOAPS Soaps are useful for cleaning because soap molecules have both a hydrophilic end,which dissolves in water, as well as a hydrophobic end, which is able to dissolve nonpolar grease molecules. Although grease will normally adhere to skin or clothing,the soap molecules can form micelles which surround the grease particles and allowt h e m t o b e d i s s o l v e d i n w a t e r . T h e h y d r o p h o b i c p o r t i o n ( m a d e u p o f a l o n g hydrocarbo n chain) dissolves dirt and oils, while the ionic end dissolves in water.Therefore, it allows water to remove normally-insoluble matter by emulsification. 1.2 SOAP HISTORY Traditionally, soap has been manufactured from alkali (lye) and animal fats (tallow),although vegetable products such as palm oil and coconut oil can be substituted for tallow. American colonists had both major ingredients of soap in abundance and sosoap making began in America during the earliest colonial days. Tallow came as a by- product of slaughtering animals for meat, or from whaling. Farmers produced alkali asa by-product of clearing their land; until the nineteenth century wood ashes served asthe major source of ly e. The soap manufacturing process was simple, and most farmers could thus make their own soap at home.The major uses for soap were in the household, for washin g c lothes and for toilet soap, and in textile manufacturing, particularly for fulling, cleansing, and scouringwoolen stuffs. Because colonial America was rural, soap making remained widelydispersed, and no large producers emerged.The growth of cities and the textile

industry in the early nineteenth century increasedsoap usage and stimulated the rise of soapmaking firms. By 1840, Cincinnati, then thelargest meatpacking center in the United States, had become the leading soap-makingcity as well. The city boasted at least seventeen soap factories, including Procter andGamble (established 1837), which was destined to become the nation's dominant firm.A major change in soap making occurred in the 1840s when manufacturers began toreplace lye made from wood ashes wi th soda ash, a lye made through a chemical process. Almost all soap makers also produced tallow candles, which for many was5 |P a g e

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