Hydrolysis is a type of reaction where one of the reactants is water which is used to break chemical bonds in the other reactant. That is for example, ester, on heating with aqueous acids or bases gives back the original alcohol and carboxylic acid. This reaction is called hydrolysis.

A substance capable of removing dirt and grease is called detergent. Detergents are better cleaning agents than soaps as they are used for cleaning clothes even in hard water. The detergents are of two types namely, soapy detergents and non-soapy detergents.

Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of long-chain carboxylic acids. They can be manufactured from animal fat or vegetable oils through alkaline hydrolysis. They are usually basic in nature.

What is denatured alcohol?

To prevent the misuse of industrial alcohol for drinking purpose, the ethanol meant for industrial purpose is denatured by adding small amounts of poisonous substance like copper sulphate or methanol or pyridine. This addition makes this ethanol unfit for drinking. This alcohol is called as denatured alcohol.

Isomers are the organic compounds having same molecular formula, but different arrangements of carbon atoms or simply different structures. For example, butane can exist in two isomeric forms such as n-butane and iso-butane.