Saponification
Process that converts fat, oil, or lipid into soap and alcohol / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saponification is a process of cleaving esters into carboxylate salts and alcohols by the action of aqueous alkali. Typically aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions are used.[1][2] It is an important type of alkaline hydrolysis. When the carboxylate is long chain, its salt is called a soap. The saponification of ethyl acetate gives sodium acetate and ethanol:
- C2H5O2CCH3 + NaOH → C2H5OH + NaO2CCH3