Stearic acid

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Stearic acid

Stearic acid (first syllable rhymes with either bear or gear) (IUPAC systematic name

Systematic name

There are millions of possible objects that can be described in science, too many to create common names for every one. As a response, a number of systems of systematic names have been created....
: octadecanoic acid) or 18:0 is a saturated fatty acid

Fatty acid

In chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid often with a long unbranched aliphatic tail , which is either saturation or Unsaturated compound....
. It is a waxy solid, and its chemical formula is C₁₈H₃₆O₂. Its name comes from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
word stéar (genitive: stéatos), which means tallow

Tallow

Tallow is a rendering form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation....
. The salts and ester

Ester

An ester is an often Aroma compound organic chemistry or partially organic compound formed by the reaction between an acid and an alcohol or aromatic alcohol with the elimination of water....
s of stearic acid are called stearates.

ccurs in many animal and vegetable fats and oils. One important source is cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao from which chocolate is made. "Cocoa" can often also refer to the drink commonly known as hot chocolate; Cocoa solids, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids; or it may refer to the combination of both cocoa p...
.

ric acid is prepared by treating animal fat with water at a high pressure and temperature, leading to the hydrolysis

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which one or more water are split into hydrogen and hydroxide ions which may go on to participate in further reactions....
of triglyceride

Triglyceride

is a glyceride in which the glycerol is esterified with three fatty acids. It is the main constituent of vegetable oil and animal fats....
s.

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Food sources

It occurs in many animal and vegetable fats and oils. One important source is cocoa

Cocoa

Production

Stearic acid is prepared by treating animal fat with water at a high pressure and temperature, leading to the hydrolysis

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which one or more water are split into hydrogen and hydroxide ions which may go on to participate in further reactions....
of triglyceride

Triglyceride

is a glyceride in which the glycerol is esterified with three fatty acids. It is the main constituent of vegetable oil and animal fats....
s. It can also be obtained from the hydrogenation

Hydrogenation

Hydrogenation is the chemical reaction that results from the addition of hydrogen . The process is usually employed to a redox or Saturation organic compounds....
of some unsaturated vegetable oils. Common stearic acid is actually a mix of stearic acid and palmitic acid

Palmitic acid

Palmitic acid,CH314COOH or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in animals and plants....
, although purified stearic acid is available separately.

Uses

Stearic acid is useful as an ingredient in making candle

Candle

A candle is a source of light, and sometimes a source of heat, consisting of a solid block of fuel and an embedded candle wick.Today, most candles are made from paraffin....
s, plastic

Plastic

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic chemistry solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products....
s, dietary supplement

Dietary supplement

A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to provide nutrients, such as vitamins, Dietary minerals, fatty acids or amino acids, that are missing or are not consumed in sufficient quantity in a person's diet ....
s, oil pastel

Oil pastel

Oil pastel is a painting and drawing medium with characteristics similar to pastels and wax crayons. Unlike "soft" or "French" pastel sticks, which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, oil pastels consist of pigment mixed with a non-drying oil and wax binder....
s and cosmetics

Cosmetics

Cosmetics are substances used to enhance or protect the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care Cream , lotions, Powder , perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and gels, deodorants, baby products, bath oils, bubb...
, and for softening rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber is an elastomer?an Elasticity_ hydrocarbon polymer?that was originally derived from a milky colloidal suspension, or latex , found in the sap of some plants....
. It is used to harden soap

SOAP

SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks....
s, particularly those made with vegetable oil.

Stearic acid is also used as a parting compound when making plaster castings from a plaster piece mold or waste mold and when making the mold from a shellacked clay original. In this use, powdered stearic acid is dissolved in water and the solution is brushed onto the surface to be parted after casting.

Ester

Ester

Ethylene glycol

Ethylene glycol is an alcohol with two -OH groups , a chemical compound widely used as an automobile antifreeze. In its pure form, it is an odorless, colorless, syrupy, sweet tasting, toxic liquid....
, glycol stearate and glycol distearate, are used to produce a pearly effect in shampoos, soaps, and other cosmetic products. They are added to the product in molten form and allowed to crystalize under controlled conditions.

In fireworks

Fireworks

A firework is classified as a low explosive material pyrotechnics device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display....
, stearic acid is often used to coat metal

Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
powders such as aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
and iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
. This prevents oxidation, allowing compositions to be stored for longer.

It is used along with simple sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
or corn syrup

Corn syrup

Corn syrup is a syrup, made using cornstarch as a feedstock, and composed mainly of glucose. A series of two enzyme reactions are used to convert the cornstarch to corn syrup....
as a hardener in candies.

Stearic acid is one of most commonly used lubricants during injection molding and pressing of ceramic powders

Ceramic forming techniques

Ceramic forming techniques are ways of forming ceramic shapes. This can be used to make everyday tableware from teapots, to engineering ceramics such as computer parts....
.

Reactions

Stearic acid undergoes the typical reactions of saturated carboxylic acids, notably reduction to stearyl alcohol

Stearyl alcohol

Stearyl alcohol is a substance prepared from stearic acid by the process of catalytic hydrogenation. It is a fatty alcohol. It takes the form of white solid granules or flakes which are insoluble in water, with a melting point of 60 ?C and boiling point of 210 ?C ....
, and esterification with a range of alcohols.

Stearic Acid is used along with Castor Oil for preparing softners in Textile Sizing. They are heated and mixed with Caustic Potash or Caustic Soda. The mixture is allowed to stay overnight to get softners.

Metabolism

An isotope labeling study in humans concluded that the fraction of dietary stearic acid oxidatively

Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
desaturated to oleic acid

Oleic acid

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid fatty acid found in various animal and vegetable sources. It has the formula C18H34O2 ....
was 2.4 times higher than the fraction of palmitic acid

Palmitic acid

Palmitic acid,CH314COOH or hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature, is one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in animals and plants....
analogously converted to palmitoleic acid

Palmitoleic acid

Palmitoleic acid, or -9-hexadecenoic acid, is an Fatty acid monounsaturated fat fatty acid that is a common constituent of the glycerides of human adipose tissue....
. Also, stearic acid was less likely to be incorporated into cholesterol

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a lipidic, waxy alcohol found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. It is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and membrane fluidity....
esters. These findings may indicate that stearic acid is less unhealthy than other saturated fatty acids.

Stearic acid

Food sources

Production

Uses

Reactions

Metabolism

See also

External links