What is the chemical formula of beef fat? Can it be used to make soap? TINA YEE St Paul's Secondary School Beef fat and fats from other animals is usually combined and treated at high temperatures in a process called rendering. Rendering produces a product called tallow which contains chemicals called fatty acids such as olein and stearin; and fatty esters. Tallow is used to make a range of things from soap, candles, chemicals for industrial purposes to food for both humans and animals. To make soap from tallow, sodium hydroxide is added at temperatures ranging from 95 to 140 degrees Celsius for varying lengths of time and at high pressures, depending on the process. Soap is the sodium salts produced when fatty acids react with sodium hydroxide. What is snow? Snow is solidified water. Before falling to Earth, the water crystallises in the atmosphere and covers 23 per cent of the Earth's surface, permanently and temporarily. Snow only falls in the very north and south of the globe (more precisely 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south towards the Poles). When snow melts in spring, it becomes liquid water. As the water runs into rivers and streams, it provides water for irrigation and other human purposes. Why do some people need a kidney transplant? When the functioning of the kidney declines, the patient becomes extremely weak and anaemic. Fluid collects in bodily tissues, producing swelling because the kidney cannot remove excess water. Fluid in the lungs may cause difficulty in breathing and creates an excessive strain on the heart. Waste products that cannot be removed from the body can cause grave risk to the patient. A kidney transplant can eliminate such problems and the patient has a good chance of returning to a normal life. Unfortunately for the majority of patients, the biggest problem is the shortage of donor kidneys. Just as the kidney can be transplanted, there are also other organs that are successfully transplanted such as the heart, lung and eye. Graphic: SPBRAIGLO
