saponication or making soap by neutralisation of fatty acids with an alkali.

Saponification is the process of making soap by hydrolysis of an esther under basic conditions to form an alcohol and salt of carboxilates. Saponification is commonly used to refer to the reaction of a metallic alkali (base) with a fat or oil to form soap. Saponifiable substances are those that can be converted into soap.

Neutralization of fatty acids with an alkali is one of the most common soapmaking process. Fats and oils are hydrolyzed (split) with a high-pressure steam to yield crude fatty acids and glycerine. Fats and oils are made up of mixture of different  tryglycerides which each of their molecule have three fatty acids molecule attached to one molecule of glycerine. The fatty acids are then purified by distillation and neutralized with an alkali to produce soap and water (neat soap). Fatty acids are weak acids and composed of two parts;
1. the carboxylic acid group, consisting of one hydrogen (H) atom, oxygen (O) atom and a carbon (C) atom.
2. Hydrocarbon chain attached to the carboxylic acid group.


THE REACTION BETWEEN TRYGLYCERIN AND SODIUM HYDROXIDE TO FORM SOAP.