Esters 6. Alkaline hydrolysis of esters (inc. saponification)
Frank Scullion
This short video looks at the alkaline catalysed hydrolysis of both simple and complex esters - the later making a soap in what is also known as a saponification reaction. The hydrolysis of ethyl ethanoate is shown first, followed by the hydrolysis (saponification) of tristearine. The next video in the series looks at how we determine the saponification value of a fat or oil.