15 Facts About Stearic acid

Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain.

Stearic acid is more abundant in animal fat than in vegetable fat .

In terms of its biosynthesis, stearic acid is produced from carbohydrates via the fatty acid synthesis machinery wherein acetyl-CoA contributes two-carbon building blocks.

Stearic acid is obtained from fats and oils by the saponification of the triglycerides using hot water .

Commercial stearic acid is often a mixture of stearic and palmitic acids, although purified stearic acid is available.

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In general, the applications of stearic acid exploit its bifunctional character, with a polar head group that can be attached to metal cations and a nonpolar chain that confers solubility in organic solvents.

Stearic acid undergoes the typical reactions of saturated carboxylic acids, a notable one being reduction to stearyl alcohol, and esterification with a range of alcohols.

Stearic acid is mainly used in the production of detergents, soaps, and cosmetics such as shampoos and shaving cream products.

Stearic acid is used along with castor oil for preparing softeners in textile sizing.

Stearic acid is a common lubricant during injection molding and pressing of ceramic powders.

Stearic acid is used as a negative plate additive in the manufacture of lead-acid batteries.

Stearic acid is used along with simple sugar or corn syrup as a hardener in candies.

In fireworks, stearic acid is often used to coat metal powders such as aluminium and iron.

Also, stearic acid is less likely to be incorporated into cholesterol esters.

In epidemiologic and clinical studies, stearic acid was found to be associated with lowered LDL cholesterol in comparison with other saturated fatty acids.