A by-product of the alkaline hydrolysis of tristearin is a

Answer Details

Tristearin is a fat (triglyceride) formed from glycerol and three molecules of stearic acid. Alkaline hydrolysis of a triglyceride is the reaction of the fat with a strong alkali such as sodium hydroxide. This reaction is known as saponification and produces soap (the sodium salt of the fatty acid) and glycerol as a by-product:

\[\text{(C}_{17}\text{H}_{35}\text{COO)}_3\text{C}_3\text{H}_5 + 3\text{NaOH} \rightarrow 3\text{C}_{17}\text{H}_{35}\text{COONa} + \text{C}_3\text{H}_5\text{(OH)}_3\]

The by-product is glycerol, also known as propane-1,2,3-triol. Its structural formula shows three hydroxyl (-OH) groups, one on each of the three carbon atoms. An alcohol with three -OH groups is classified as a trihydric alkanol.

A dihydric alkanol has two -OH groups (e.g. ethane-1,2-diol). A secondary alkanol has the -OH group on a carbon bonded to two other carbon atoms. A tertiary alkanol has the -OH on a carbon bonded to three other carbons. Glycerol has two primary -OH groups and one secondary -OH group, but its defining classification is that it is trihydric, since it carries three hydroxyl groups in total.