Question

Write the equation for the saponification of this triacylglycerol.

Answer 1

Soap is produced by the saponification (hydrolysis) of a triglyceride (fat or oil). In this process the triglyceride is reacted with a strong base such as sodium or potassium hydroxide to produce glycerol and fatty acid salts. The salt of the fatty acid is called a soap.

Fatty acids are straight-chain monocarboxylic acids. The most common fatty acids range in size from 10-20 carbons and most often have an even number of carbon atoms including the carboxyl group carbon. The carbon-carbon bonds in saturated fatty acids are all single bonds, while unsaturated fatty acids have one or more carbon-carbon double bonds in their chains. One example of a saturated fatty acid is palmitic acid, CH₃-(CH₂)₁₄-CO₂H.