Question

State true or false.
Vanaspati ghee is obtained by the hydrogenation of vegetable oil.
(A) True
(B) False

Answer 1

Hydrogenation is a process in which the unsaturated hydrocarbon having a double or triple bond is converted into saturated hydrocarbon having only a single bond and vanaspati ghee is a saturated hydrocarbon.

Complete step by step solution:
Hydrogenation is a process in which the unsaturated hydrocarbon having a double or triple bond is converted into saturated hydrocarbon having only a single bond. This process can be done only in the presence of catalysts like Raney nickel, palladium, or platinum and this process is also known as reduction.
Since the double bond is eliminated by adding hydrogen molecules this process is also known as saturation. The reaction of ethane converting into ethane is given below:
$C{{H}_{2}}=C{{H}_{2}}+{{H}_{2}}\xrightarrow{Pd/Pt}C{{H}_{3}}-C{{H}_{3}}$
We know that vegetable oil is a polar molecule having a long chain of hydrocarbon with unsaturation either double or single bond. So when this liquid vegetable oil is heated at a high temperature and a catalyst is added. As the oil starts heating the hydrogen gas bubbles into the solution and process to get hydrogenated. Now, this mixture is filtered to remove the metal, the filtrate contains the hydrogenated vegetable oil. From this hydrogenated vegetable oil, vanaspati ghee is prepared which is a saturated hydrocarbon.

So the above statement “Vanaspati ghee is obtained by the hydrogenation of vegetable oil” is true.

Note: It must be noted that this reaction only takes place at high temperatures. The catalyst Raney nickel, palladium, or platinum is added for the reaction to occur smoothly and the reaction to occur at moderate temperature.