Stearic acid is prepared by treating animal fat with water at high pressure and temperature, leading to the hydrolysis of triglycerides. It can also obtained from hydrogenation of some unsaturated vegetable oils.
Apllications of stearic acid:
- Usefull as an ingredient in making candles, soaps, plastics, dietary supplement, oil pastels, cosmetics, and for softening rubber.
- Used to help bind and thicken lotions and creams in cosmetics and personal care products.
- Used to harden soaps, particulary those made with vegetable oil.
- Ester of stearic acid with ethylene glycol, glycerol stearate and glycerol distearate are used to produce a pearly effect in shampoos, soaps, and other cosmetics products. They are added to the product in molten form and allowed to crystalize under controlled conditions.
- Used in firework to coat metal powders such as aluminium and iron. This prevent oxidation allowing compositions to be store for longer.
- Used as a parting compound when making plaster castings from a plaster piece mold or waste mold and when making the mold from 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.
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