Lithium soap

Lithium soap is a collective name for lithium salts of individual fatty acids or - more often - mixtures of lithium salts of several fatty acids.

Production

The saponification of natural fats and oils with lithium hydroxide provides mixtures of lithium salts of fatty acids and glycerol. The proportions of the individual fatty acid anions in the mixture of lithium salts depends on the nature and provenance of the triglyceride used as raw material. A substantially chemically uniform lithium soap can be obtained by reaction of a pure fatty acid with a stoichiometric amount of lithium hydroxide. An example of such lithium soap is lithium stearate, the lithium salt of stearic acid ( octadecanoic acid ), a colorless powder, soluble in water and ethanol.

Use

Find use lithium soaps mainly as a thickener in high quality mineral oil -based greases and waxes, as well as for the manufacture of pencils.

See more Soap

• Metal soaps
• Sodium soap
• Potassium soap
• Calcium soap
• Barium soap