Question

If you react vegetable oil with KOH what chemical species will you find at the end of the reaction?

Answer 1

Reacting vegetable oil with potassium hydroxide (KOH) initiates a saponification reaction, producing glycerol and potassium salts of fatty acids, which are the components of soap.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you react vegetable oil with potassium hydroxide (KOH), you typically undergo a process called saponification.

• This reaction transforms the triglycerides present in vegetable oils into glycerol and potassium salts of fatty acids, which are essentially soap.
• The specific chemical species you'll find at the end are glycerol, which is a type of alcohol, and the potassium salts of whatever fatty acids were present in the oil.
• This is a fundamental process in the production of soap from natural oils.