Metal and alkali Soaps

Things to know about metal and alkali soaps

The chemical compounds of multivalent metals such as e.g. Ca, Zn, Mg and Al with longer-chained, even-numbered and sometimes also unsaturated fatty acids are known as metal soaps. The soaps that are manufactured from normal commercially available fatty acid mixtures of stearic and palmitic acids are referred to as stearates. These almost water-insoluble salts are characterised by their wide range of industrial uses, and are therefore regarded as "all-rounders". Typical properties are: sliding properties and lubricating effect; separation properties, hydrophobicity, gel formation, stabilisation properties, relatively high thermal stability.

In contrast to these, the alkali soaps, mixtures of univalent metals such as Na, K or Li with stearic acid or frequently also with oleic acids, are easily soluble in water. In addition to their classic and historical use as anionic tensides in the field of cosmetics, these products are used very much more frequently than oleates in the field of the construction industry.