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Mineral Water and Saponification
Mineral Water and Saponification
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its
taste or give it therapeutic value. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the
substances that can be dissolved in the water. Mineral water can often be effervescent.
Mineral water can be prepared or can occur naturally. In many places, mineral water is
often colloquially used to mean carbonated water, which is usually carbonated mineral
water, as opposed to tap water.
Traditionally mineral waters would be used or consumed at their source, often referred to
as taking the waters or taking the cure, and such sites were referred to as spas, baths or
wells. Spa would be used when the water was consumed and bathed in, bath when the
water was not generally consumed, and well when the water was not generally bathed in.
Often an active tourist centre would grow up around a mineral water site (even in ancient
times; see Bath). Such tourist development resulted in spa towns and hydropathic hotels
(often shortened to Hydros).
In modern times, it is far more common for mineral waters to be bottled at source for
distributed consumption. Travelling to the mineral water site for direct access to the water
is now uncommon, and in many cases not possible (because of exclusive commercial
ownership rights). There are over 3000 brands of mineral water commercially available
worldwide.[1]
The U.S. FDA classifies mineral water as water containing at least 250 parts per million
total dissolved solids (TDS), and is also water coming from a source tapped at one or
more bore holes or spring, originating from a geologically and physically protected
underground water source. No minerals may be added to this water.
The more minerals in drinking water, the harder it is said to be; water with few minerals
is described as being soft
Saponification
Saponification is the hydrolysis of an ester under basic conditions to form an alcohol and
the salt of a carboxylic acid (carboxylates). 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.
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a caustic base. If NaOH is used a hard soap is formed,
whereas when potassium hydroxide (KOH) is used, a soft soap is formed. Vegetable oils
and animal fats are fatty esters in the form of triglycerides. The alkali breaks the ester
bond and releases the fatty acid salt and glycerol. If necessary, soaps may be precipitated
by salting it out with saturated sodium chloride. The saponification value is the amount of
base required to saponify a fat sample.
Mechanism
The carbonyl group reforms with generation of a carboxylic acid and an alkoxide:
This alkoxide is less acidic than the carboxylic acid, which determines the direction of
proton transfer in step three:
Corpses
Saponification can also refer to the other soft tissue in a conversion of the fat of a corpse
into adipocere, often called "grave wax." This process is more common where the amount
of fatty tissue is high, the agents of decomposition are absent or only minutely present,
and the burial ground is particularly alkaline.
Fire extinguishers
Fires involving cooking fats and oils (classified as Class K) burn hotter than other typical
combustible liquids, rendering a standard class B extinguisher ineffective. Such fires
should be extinguished with a wet chemical extinguisher. Extinguishers of this type are
designed to extinguish cooking fats and oils through saponification. The extinguishing
agent rapidly converts the burning substance to a non-combustible soap. This process is
endothermic, meaning it absorbs thermal energy from its surroundings, decreasing the
temperature and eliminating the fire.