FOAMING CAPACITY OF SOAPS

Acknowledgements

Contents

Preface
Introduction
Commercial preparation
Introduction to experiment
Objective and theory
Procedure
Observation table
Result
Test for hardness
Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is a matter of great pride for me to carry out this type of project
which helps a lot to broaden my mind and increase my knowledge
regarding C++.
I would like to thank Computer teacher Mr.Santosh Kumar Singh for
providing as opportunity to work on this project, related to C++. I
would also like to thank computer lab incharge to help us in every
possible manner. Besides this, I would like to thank the Principal Mrs.
Banita Agrawal for providing us an organization to learn computer in a
fruitful manner.
Besides, a number of individuals have inspired me in preparing this
project work. I am even grateful to my friends and well wishers for
their engagement and support. I would like to express my thanks to all
individual involved in making this project

PREFACE
Soaps and detergents remove dirt and grease from skin and clothes.
But all soaps are not equally effective in their cleaning action. Soaps
are the Na and K salts of higher fatty acids such as Palmitic acid,
Stearic acid and Oleic acid.
The cleansing action of soaps depends on the solubility of the long
alkyl chain in grease and that of the -COONa or the -COOK part in
water.
Whenever soap is applied on a dirty wet cloth, the non polar alkyl
group dissolves in grease while the polar -COONa part dissolves in
water. In this manner, an emulsion is formed between grease and
water which appears as foam.
The washing ability of soap depends on foaming capacity, as well as
the water used in cleaning. The salts of Ca and Mg disrupt the
formation of micelle formation. The presence of such salts makes the
water hard and the water is called hard water. These salts thus make
the soap inefficient in its cleaning action.
Sodium Carbonate when added to hard water reacts with Ca and Mg
and precipitates them out. Therefore sodium carbonate is used in the
treatment of hard water.
This project aims at finding the foaming capacity of various soaps and
the action of Ca and Mg salts on their foaming capacity.

INTRODUCTION

Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for

washing and cleaning, which historically comes either in solid bars or in
the form of a viscous liquid. Soap consists of sodium or potassium
salts of fatty acids and is obtained by reacting common oils or fats
with a strong alkaline in a process known as saponification. The fats
are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude
soap) and glycerol.
The general formula of soap is
Fatty end water soluble end
CH3-(CH2)

COONa

Soaps are useful for cleaning because soap molecules have both a
hydrophilic end, which dissolves in water, as well as a hydrophobic end,
which is able to dissolve non polar grease molecules. Applied to a

soiled surface, soapy water effectively holds particles in colloidal

suspension so it can be rinsed off with clean water. The hydrophobic
portion (made up of a long hydrocarbon chain) dissolves dirt and oils,
while the ionic end dissolves in water. The resultant forms a round
structure called micelle. Therefore, it allows water to remove
normally-insoluble matter by emulsification.

Commercial production of soap

The most popular soap making process today is the cold process
method, where fats such as olive oil react with strong alkaline
solution, while some soapers use the historical hot process.
Handmade soap differs from industrial soap in that, usually, an excess
of fat is sometimes used to consume the alkali (super fatting), and in
that the glycerin is not removed, leaving a naturally moisturizing soap
and not pure detergent. Often, emollients such as jojoba oil or Shea
butter are added at trace (the point at which the saponification
process is sufficiently advanced that the soap has begun to thicken),
after most of the oils have saponified, so that they remain unreacted
in the finished soap.

Fat in soap
Soap is derived from either vegetable or animal fats. Sodium
Tallowate, a common ingredient in much soap, is derived from
rendered beef fat. Soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such as
palm oil, and the product is typically softer.

An array of saponifiable oils and fats are used in the process such as
olive, coconut, palm, cocoa butter to provide different qualities. For
example, olive oil provides mildness in soap; coconut oil provides lots of
lather; while coconut and palm oils provide hardness. Sometimes
castor oil can also be used as an ebullient.
Smaller amounts of unsaponifable oils and fats that do not yield soap
are sometimes added for further benefits.

Preparation of soap
In cold-process and hot-process soap making, heat may be required
for saponification.
Cold-process soap making takes place at a sufficient temperature to
ensure the liquification of the fat being used.
Unlike cold-processed soap, hot-processed soap can be used right
away because the alkali and fat saponify more quickly at the higher
temperatures used in hot-process soap making. Hot-process soap
making was used when the purity of alkali was unreliable.
Cold-process soap making requires exact measurements of alkali and
fat amounts and computing their ratio, using saponification charts to
ensure that the finished product is mild and skin-friendly.

Hot process

In the hot-process method, alkali and fat are boiled together at 80

100 C until saponification occurs, which the soap maker can
determine by taste or by eye.
After saponification has occurred, the soap is sometimes precipitated
from the solution by adding salt, and the excess liquid drained off.
The hot, soft soap is then spooned into a mold.

Cold process
A cold-process soap maker first looks up the saponification value of
the fats being used on a saponification chart, which is then used to
calculate the appropriate amount of alkali. Excess unreacted alkali in
the soap will result in a very high pH and can burn or irritate skin. Not
enough alkali and the soap are greasy.
The alkali is dissolved in water. Then oils are heated, or melted if they
are solid at room temperature. Once both substances have cooled to
approximately 100-110F (37-43C), and are no more than 10F
(~5.5C) apart, they may be combined. This alkali-fat mixture is
stirred until trace. There are varying levels of trace. After much
stirring, the mixture turns to the consistency of a thin pudding.
Trace corresponds roughly to viscosity. Essential and fragrance oils
are added at light trace.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPERIMENT

Soap samples of various brands are taken and their foaming capacity
is noticed.
Various soap samples are taken separately and their foaming capacity
is observed. The soap with the maximum foaming capacity is thus, said
to be having the best cleaning capacity.
The test requires to be done with distilled water as well as with tap
water. The test of soap on distilled water gives the actual strength of
the soaps cleaning capacity. The second test with tap water tests the
effect of Ca2+ and Mg2+ salts on their foaming capacities.

Objective: To the foaming capacity of various soaps. compare

Theory: The foaming capacity of soap depends upon the nature of
the soap and its concentration. This may be compared by shaking equal
volumes of solutions of different samples having the same
concentration with same force for the same amount of time. The
solutions are then allowed to stand when the foam produced during
shaking disappears gradually. The time taken for the foam to
disappear in each sample is determined. The longer the time taken for
the disappearance of the foam for the given sample of soap, greater
is its foaming capacity or cleansing action.

Requirements: Five 100ml conical flasks, five test tubes, 100ml

measuring cylinder, test tube stand, weighing machine, stop watch.

Chemical Requirements: Five different soap samples, distilled

water, tap water.

Procedure:

1. Take five 100ml conical flasks and number them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Put

16ml of water in each flask and add 8 Gms of soap.
2. Warm the contents to get a solution.
3. Take five test tubes; add 1ml of soap solution to 3ml of water.
Repeat the process for each soap solution in different test tubes.
4. Close the mouth of the test tube and shake vigorously for a minute.
Do the same for all test tubes and with equal force.
5. Start the timer immediately and notice the rate of disappearance
of 2mm of froth.

Observations: The following outcomes were noticed at the end of

the
experiment

2. Lux

8ml
8ml

16ml
16ml

Time taken for

disappearance of
2mm
1142
328

3. Tetmosol

8ml

16ml

510

4. Cinthol
5. Santoor

8ml
8ml

16ml
16ml

940
1532

Test Tube no
1.

Dove

Result

Vol. of soap
solution

Vol. of water
added

The cleansing capacity of the soaps taken is in the order:

Santoor > Dove > Cinthol > Tetmosol > Lux
From this experiment, we can infer that Santoor has the highest
foaming capacity, in other words, highest cleaning capacity.
Lux, on the other hand is found to have taken the least amount of
time for the disappearance of foam produced and thus is said to be
having the least foaming capacity and cleansing capacity.
Test for hardness in water
Test for Ca2+ and Mg2+ salts in the water supplied
Test for Ca2+ in water
H2O + NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4) 2CO3
No precipitate
Test for Mg2+ in water
H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)3PO4
No precipitate
The tests show negative results for the presence of the salts causing
hardness in water. The water used does not contain salts of Ca 2+ and
Mg2+. The tap water provided is soft and thus, the experimental
results and values hold good for distilled water and tap water.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Parts of this project have been referred from foreign sources and
have been included in this investigatory project after editing.

The references of the sources are as follows:

Books:
Together With Lab Manual Chemistry-XII
Comprehensive Chemistry 12

Internet sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com