Soap

History of Soap Manufacturing

In the past, soaps was made by mixing animal fats with alkaline wood ashes. The wood ashes dissolve in water produce sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. The boiling of animal fats with sodium hydroxide (or potassium hydroxide) produces soap.

Potassium salts produce soft soaps whereas sodium soaps are harder and more widely employed. The quality of soap produced is very dependent on the quality of the materials employed in the reaction. Early attempts at soap production relied on ash, produced by burning various vegetable materials, as a make shift source of alkali.

In Britain early production of soap was usually based on rendered animal fat, such as tallow from beef or mutton. Later, growing imports of oils such as palm, coconut, olive, linseed and cottonseed oils offered a wider choice of raw materials and favoured production of soap in sea-ports such as London and Bristol. Production of soap in Bristol as early as the 12th century has already been referred to.

What is Soap?

Soap are sodium or potassium salts of long-chain fatty acids. The general formula of a soap can be written as:

R is an alkly group usually containing 12 to 18 carbon atoms.

Example of soap, sodium palmitate and potassium stearate.

Soap Preparation Process

Animal fat and vegatables are natural occuring esters.

Soap can be prepares by boiling the animal fats or vegatables oils with concentrated sodium hydroxide. The fats and oils are hydrolyed to produce glycerol and the sodium salts of fatty acids which are soaps.

In general,

Esters + concentrated sodium hydroxide ---> Soap + Glycerol

Alkaline hydrolysis of esters is called saponification.

Example of akaline hydrolysis of animal fat, glycerol tristearate produce sodium stearate(soap) and glycerol.

Properties of Soaps

1- Soaps are slippery.

2- Soaps form lather when shaken with water.

Soaps molecular structure

One soap molecule consists of two parts that is ionic (hydrophilic) part which is soluble in water and hydrocarbon (hydrophobic) chain which is soluble in oils or grease.

Cleansing action

In Soft Water;

Soap reduces the surface tension of water. Therefore, the dirty surface is wetted with water and soap.

During cleaning process, the hydrocarbon part dissolves in grease and the ionic part dissolves in water.

When scrub, the grease is freed from the surface and also break into droplets. These droplets are suspended in water forming an emulsion.

Rinsing washes away these droplets and leaves the surface clean.

Example:

In sodium stearate,

sodium ion is positively charged and stearate ion is negatively charged.

When you apply soap on a surface which has oily dirt, the stearate part embeds itself in the oil as it is attracted to it but repelled by water.

On the other hand, the sodium ion is attracted to water and sticks to it.

When you wash off the soap, the sodium ion gets pulled by the water, it pulls its stearate ion which in turn pulls the oil off.

A diagram of the function of the soap:

Disadvantages of Soaps

As salts of weak acids, they are converted by mineral acids into free fatty acids:
These fatty acids are less soluble than the sodium or potassium salts and form a precipitate.

Because of this, soaps are ineffective in acidic water.

Also, soaps form insoluble salts in hard water, such as water containing magnesium, calcium, or iron. Soaps form scum in hard water. For example:

Effect to Environment

As soaps are made from natural sources.

Soaps are bodegradable .

Do not cause any pollution.

Natural Rubber

Chemical Properties of Natural Rubber:

Natural rubber is a sap obtained from some trees, better known as latex.

Natural rubber is a polymer of isoprene - most often cis-1,4-polyisoprene - with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 1,000,000. It is a hydrocarbon polymer.

The table below show the compositon of natural rubber:

Table below show the properties of Natural Rubber:

Where were the Natural Rubber Come From?

Natural rubber is obtained from the rubber tree which has the biological name of
Hevea brasiliensis.

There are several species of rubber tree in Malaysia, such the following:
Hevea species viz Heveapauciflora, Hevea guianensis, Hevea spruceana, Hevea benthamiana

Tapping for Latex

1: - A tree will be tapped once it has reached maturity, usually at an age of around seven years.

2:- The bark is cut periodically on a 25-30 degree angle from the top left to the bottom right in order to expose the maximum number of latex vessels.

3:- The excision method of reopening the same cut to create a channels in which the latex runs through and collected in a cup because it leaves the trees relatively unharmed, and can therefore be repeatedly used. This method make the smallest cut possible to obtain the maximum amount of latex.

4:- Coagulated the latex has collected in the cup by using a dilute acid or at the instance of naturally occurring agents ("field coagulum"). The resulting cake of raw rubber must be washed to remove any acid and rolled to remove excess moisture. After rolling the rubber is dried on a rack and smoked over a wood fire to stabilise it, before it is finally sold to rubber manufacturers .

5:- The latex can be collected in its liquid state. It is necessary to add a few drops of ammonia solution to the cup, or to the transport tank, to prevent precoagulation of the latex before it reaches the factory.

Vulcanization of Rubber

Disulphur dichloride, S2Cl2, is used in the rubber industry in the process of vulcanication. With a suitable temperature of 140–180°C . Other addictives also used such as accelerators allow the reaction to occur at lower temperature and more faster, and antioxidants prolong the life of rubber product from atmospheric gases (oxygen). Here sulphur atom link hydrocarbon chains which are thus prevented from being pulled apart when the rubber is stretched. A reinforcing agents (carbon black) increase stiffness, tensile strength, and resistance to abrasion. Vulcanised rubber is much harder and more elastic than natural rubber. It is suitable for applications such as car tyres.

Vulcanization was discovered by chance in 1839 by Charles Goodyear, founder of tyre firm.

Natural Environmental Process: "Rusting"

A layer of reddish cover the surface of the steel or iron-Rust.


Rusting, is oxidation of the metal to form a metal oxide.

Conditions for rusting:
Present of water and oxygen.

The corrosion of iron can be explained with theory of voltaic cell.
Process of Rusting:

First
Dents on the surface of iron is no longer protected and contact with water are the typically sites of iron loss. These sites is known as anodic regions and Fe undergoes oxidation donor 2 electron to form Fe2+ ion.

On the regions of high concentration of oxygen where near the water surface;Oxygen react with H ions and electron from Fe to form water. This region is so called cathodic region because oxygen is undergoes reduction.
Then the overall red ox reaction is completed but the rust still haven't form.

Next, the Fe2+ions form from the anodic region disperse through the surrounding of water and react with oxygen.

Finally
The rust is formed at some distance from the pit.

The following diagram show the process of rusting:

Situations that make the rate of rusting increases:

~At low pH value(high concentration of H ion)
~In contact with ionic solution.
~In contact with a less active metal (like Copper)
~The presence of corrosive agents, such as sea water, salt air, acids, acid precipitation, soils, and some sulfur compounds present in the atmosphere, which act as catalysts in the oxidation process.


Corrosion of iron and steel due to rusting is responsible for millions of pounds of damage each year. Rust does not firmly adhere to the surface of the metal allowing it oxide further. The oxide causes damage to the surface of the metal known as pitting which, over time, reduces these structural integrity of the metal.

Methods to protect steel or iron from rusting:-

Barrier methods: introduce a layer that prevent steel in contact with moiture and air .
Ex: a layer of grease, paint, plastic, or an unreactive metal, such as tin, copper, or chromium.
Sacrificial protection is the iron covered by more active metal (stronger reducing agent) such as zinc and magnesium which loss electron more ready than Fe.



Case:Eiffel Tower Maintance


The Eiffel is built by the cast iron, a material will last longer if it is painted regularly.


Maintenance on the tower includes applying 50 metric tons of three graded tones of paint every 7 years to protect the 200,000 square meters of iron lattice work from rust. The darkest paint is used at the bottom and the lightest shade at the top.Each repainting took time for 15 months with 25 painter and used up 1500 brushes. On occasion, the color of the paint is changed. The tower is currently painted to a shade of brown.


The 17th repainted- the application of an anticorrosion treatment lasts one year, so that the tower can stay open and continue to greet visitors.

Caffeine: Only Miracle in Coffee

The following show the 3D model and 2D molecules of caffeine structure:



Caffeine, also known as trimethylxanthine, coffeine, theine, mateine, guaranine, and methyltheobromine, is an alkaloid found naturally





One common source of caffeine is the coffee plant, the beans from which are used to produce coffee.


Coffee is a delicious and wholly natural product that contains several hundred different chemicals such as caffeine and that help to define its distinctive taste and aroma.

Caffeine in its pure form is the chemical standard for bitterness.

This is why coffee become one of the most drank in the world.

The most delicious and expensive coffee is Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee:




The most easy available coffee is Starbucks Coffee:

Caffeine level in a cup of coffee:

It is very difficult to analysis the implications of caffeine in people because the quantities of caffeine in every cup of coffee is different.

One dose of caffeine is generally considered to be 100 mg. In theory, a single serving ( 150 ml) of drip coffee or one-half caffeine tablet would deliver this dose. In the real world, coffee varies considerably in caffeine content per serving, ranging from about 75 mg to 250 mg.

Caffeine's main pharmacological properties are: a stimulant action on the central nervous system with psychotropic effects and stimulation of respiration, a stimulation of the heart rate, and a mild diuretic effect.

After drinking a cup of coffee:

The chemical in our brain called adenosine which slow down nerve cell activity when we are sleepping is replaced by caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors. This cause the cell can not bind with adenosine ,the cells activity speed up. So that, person feel sleeplessness at night.

After that, the pituitary gland detects all this activity and thinking there is a emergency ready to happen, so stimulate the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline to increase our heartbeat rate, the liver release glucose into the bloodstream - provide extra energy to muscle cells for emergency action like running.

Then, person will feel excited, enjoyment and reinforcement.
All this effect can feel by a person who first time consuming a cup of coffee or rarely.


Coffee drink recipes:

Let DIY a cup of aroma coffee ... ...

latt'in lover
Ingredients:

16 ml Philibert Routin amaretto syrup
8 ml Philibert Routin cherry syrup
1 shot of espresso coffee
4 oz (125 ml) cold milk
Sliced almonds
Cherry

Method:Mix together the two syrups and the milk in a jug. Steam foam the mixture. Pour espresso into a 12 oz (350 ml) glass. Fill with steamed milk and stir. Garnish with the almonds and cherry

Recipes copy from: http://www.cafebar.co.uk/coffee_school/coffee_recipes/coffee_drink_recipes.aspx

Panadol: "Common Medicine in Every House"

Panadol is a common medicine for every houses.

Actually "Panadol" is a brand name. Panadol's medicine contains the ingredient of paracetamol alone.
What is paracetamol?

Paracetamol can described as 4-acetamidophenol, 4-hydroxyacetanilide or N-acetyl-p-aminophenol. The formula is as the following:

Paracetamol is white, odourless crystalline powder with a bitter taste. Pacacetamol is soluble in water, alcohol, acetone, glycerol, chloroform or methyl alcohol. It is insoluble in benzene and is stable but not in acids or alkaline situations.

Within all this properties, Panadol tablets are white in colour and came out with the Panadol soluble product.

Paracetamol is a medicine used for moderate pain such as headache, toohcare, sore throat, period pain, joint pain and rheumathic aches and pains.It also suitable medicine for fever with colds and flu.

There are many type of Panadol's product in the market now. Different product have their owm characteristic and function.

List of Panadol's poducts:

Panadol extend, Panadol tablet, Panadol ActiFast , Panadol soluble... ...

All the pakage of Panadol have stated the recommended dose, how to take it and the ingredient of paracetamol.

Recommended dose:
> Adult: 1-2 tablets of the 500mg Panadol for each dose

> Children(age 7-12): 1 tablet of the 500mg Panadol for each dose

Panadol can only take each dose at every 4-6 hourly.

Overdose!!!

It is very dangerous for paracetamol overdose: liver damage.

The symptoms does not seem and fatal when the person urgently sent to hospital.

Warning!

Before taking the Panadol, people should take a caution if their kidney and liver are not working properly, a heavy alcohol drinker and malnourised as paracetamol is a drug that will worse our kidney and liver.

Always remember avoid take this medicine with other medicine that contain paracetamol.

If you taking Panadol for headaches too often can make the headaches worse. So consult a doctor if your headaches become persistent.

Benefit?

Panadol is suitable for prenancy and breastfeeding mother. It benefit to the mother and not leave any risk to unborn baby.

But always inform or listen to advice of a doctor be4 using this medicine.

What Is Chemistry?

Chemistry is the study of the matter and its chemical and physical porperties.

Chemistry tends to focus on the properties of substances and the interactions between different types of matter, particularly reactions that involve electrons.

Matter that undergoes chemical and physical changes are associated with the energy cahnge.

Chemistry is present in our daily life...
Things that you can see, touch, eat, smell and etc... ...