On The History And

Use Of Naphtha In Soap

Natalie Ball
Phoenix Press
2009

In my own quest to live a more sustainable and green lifestyle I have read many websites, books, and
other literature where people often recommend and highly extol the virtues of a particular brand of
naphtha soap, especially as a base for making your own inexpensive and environmentally friendly
household cleaners. But I also saw a lot of questions about what was in this particular brand of naphtha
soap. And what exactly is naphtha? Is it safe? What is the impact of using a naphtha soap on our
environment both at home and on the planet? So began my search for the history and usage of
naphtha in soap and where better to start than at the beginning. The worlds first naphtha soap FelsNaptha Laundry Soap.
The story of naphtha and cleaning actually begins quite a few years before the advent of Fels-Naptha
soap. It is, in effect, the birth of the dry cleaning industry, but the details, unfortunately, are somewhat
sketchy. On the one hand, Wikipedia tells us that "dry cleaning uses non-water-based solvents to
remove soil and stains from clothes. The potential for using petroleum-based solvents in this manner
was discovered in the mid-19th century by French dye-works owner Jean Baptiste Jolly, who noticed
that his tablecloth became cleaner after his maid spilled kerosene (paraffin) on it..." (Dry Cleaning).
William T. Brannt, however, in The Practical Dry Cleaner, Scourer, and Garment Dyer, H.C. Baird &
Co, 1907, p1 says "In 1866, a Frenchman, M. Judlin, laid the foundation of an entirely new industry by
discovering the detergent powers of benzine, and the art of dry cleaning has now spread over the entire
civilized world." At least they agree on the general time frame and we are left with no doubt that it was
a Frenchman who made the discovery.
On the soap side of things, Lazarus and Susanna Frieburg Fels, Bavarian immigrants to the US in 1848
had settled their family in Yanceyville, North Carolina. According to the Caswell County Historical
Association's blog "...an odd series of events led to the establishment of the Fels family soap business.
The story goes like this. The leading citizens of Yanceyville decided that a distillery was needed to spur
the local economy. Much joy came to Yanceyville with the first batch of locally brewed whiskey. The
waste mash, however, not being fully cooked, killed a herd of swine that ate but could not digest it. The
enterprising Lazarus Fels bought the carcasses, cooked the fat, and mixed it with lye to make a large
batch of soap. He sold the soap to the Yanceyville General Store marking the start of the Fels family
soap business..." (http://ncccha.blogspot.com/2007/04/samuel-simeon-fels-1860-1950.html). Lazarus
and his brother Abraham moved the family to Baltimore in 1866 starting the Fels Soap Company which
later failed and then settled in Philadelphia in 1873. They purchased Worsley and Company Soap
Manufacturers in the mid-1870s and renamed it Fels & Company. Two sons of Lazarus and Susanna,
Joseph (1853-1914) and Samuel Simeon (1860-1950) joined the new manufacturing business, Joseph
in 1875, and Samuel a year later in 1876.
The next event of importance has conflicting dates among the several resource documents that were
found. A now defunct web page from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of
Pennsylvania states "In 1893, the company acquired a process for adding naphtha, or benzene solvent,
to laundry soap..."(History of the Fels Institute). This page existed between 30 Apr 2003 and 14 Feb
2007 and can be viewed through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine at
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.sas.upenn.edu/fels/history.htm. The source cited for the
information for this history was Rosen, E.B., The Philadelphia Fels, 1880-1920: A Social Portrait,
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, Associated University Presses, Inc. (2000). Mary Fels, wife of
Joseph, in her book Joseph Fels: his life-work, B.W. Huebsch, 1916, p8 states that "...a Philadelphia
company had for some time been applying the naphtha process to a laundry soap; but the business was
badly managed...". And the Collection 1953 Joseph and Mary Fels Papers 1840-1966, The Historical
Society Of Pennsylvania, http://www.hsp.org/files/findingaid1953fels.pdf states that it was "...1894
Joseph Fels acquired Charles Walter Stantons formula for soap when he purchased Stantons

mismanaged soap company. The soap was remarkable for its ability to cut through grease and grime
due to the presence of a benzene solvent called naphtha.". And yet another author, John Mayer,
Workshop of the World, Oliver Evans Press, 1990 that it was in 1895 that "Joseph Fels acquired the
rights to a new soap-making process that "fixed a naphtha or benzine solvent" into the laundry soap"
(http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/southwest_phila/fels.html).
So, we wonder, which date is the correct date for the event and how, exactly, did Joseph Fels acquire
the rights to this new process in the purchase of the Stanton Manufacturing Company? Here, things get
a little confusing. To start with, the actual patent inventor was Ephraim Wintworth Stanton, Charles
Walter Stanton's brother. The original patent was not found but I guess it to have been filed either in
1890 or 1891. On 1 Dec 1891, most likely due to the mismanagement mentioned previously, the
Stanton brothers were in need of funds and assigned the patent and all future improvements to a
William McFarland. The New Jersey Court of Chancery, Law Reports & Digest, 1896 gives an
account of an action filed by Stanton Manufacturing Company against McFarland to compel him "...to
convey to complainant company a patent granted to him as assignee of E.W. Stanton, the complainant
claiming it under an assignment prior to that to McFarland...On October 31, 1893, Stanton filed an
application for an improvement in his patent or for a patent for an additional discovery, and in May,
1893, a patent was granted to him, which he assigned to McFarland." (http://books.google.com/books?
id=rUYaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA650&dq=Stanton
%27s+Soap+Manufacturing+Company#v=onepage&q=Stanton%27s%20Soap%20Manufacturing
%20Company&f=false). Interestingly enough, the NJ Chancery's account states the additional patent
was filed in 1893 and the actual patent titled Method Of and Apparatus For Producing Naphtha-Soap,
Patent number 499762, Filed 31 Oct 1892 clearly states it as being filed 31 October 1892
(http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en). Somehow, in all of this, the Fels were involved as the
Chancery's record further relates "...the assignment to the company was not recorded when McFarland
took the assignment in 1893, but I think that the testimony of Woodruff and of Fels, and the testimony
of McFarland himself, show that he had notice of the previous assignment to the company." Which
Fels brother it was and what truly transpired is lost but the bottom line was that Fels & Company
acquired Stanton Manufacturing Company and it's patent for producing naphtha soap. And somewhere
between 1893 and 1895 the manufacturing of Fels-Naptha Soap commenced.
And, yes, I did spell that correctly. The Fels decided to drop the first h from naphtha so the name
would be easier to spell and remember. Fels-Naptha was well on it's way to becoming a household
name when it was introduced in England at the turn of the century as we find the accounting of another
case of litigation by Goble, George W. in The Law of Unfair Competition and Trade-Marks, University
of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register, Vol. 78, No. 3, 455-459 documenting "Fels v
Christopher Thomas & Bros 21 RPC 85 1903 Court of App Plaintiffs were Americans who made Fels
Naphtha Soap which contained naphtha They introduced it into England in 1900 It appears that after
this customers and dealers began to use term Naphtha Soap when plaintiffs was the only naphtha soap
on the market In 1902 defendant began to make Naphtha Soap Although in the two years while
plaintiffs soap was the only naphtha soap on the market buyers asking for Naphtha Soap undoubtedly
meant plaintiffs soap there was nevertheless no evidence of any secondary meaning which the word
naphtha had acquired in this two years as applied to plaintiffs soap." (Goble, p439). So, we can
surmise, that up until 1902 Fels was the only naphtha soap on the market and after the Thomas brothers
in 1902 others would soon join in.
Though I can find no definitive record of when William Proctor, candle maker, and James Gamble,
soap maker began producing their White Naphtha Soap I highly suspect it was between 1902 and 1906
when Mary Beals Vail tells us in her Approved Methods For Home Laundering, Proctor & Gamble,

1906 that "...As a rule, naphtha soaps are lighter in color than ordinary laundry soaps and contain no
resin. Naphtha or a petroleum product akin to naphtha but less volatile is incorporated in the soap. The
petroleum oil is a valuable solvent and adds to the effectiveness of the soap. The Procter & Gamble (P.
& G.) Naphtha Soap is white; showing the high grade of materials that are used to form the neutral
soap which is its foundation.". It is interesting to note that a website by one Danny Goodwin sharing a
plethora of old-time commercials has a page relating to P&G's sponsorship of the daytime radio soap
opera The Guiding Light and points out that "...it was a popular and inexpensive cleaning product of
the early 20th century - but it had an uncanny ability to disappear during wartime...during World War I
the White Naphtha Soap wasn't sold, because naphtha was needed for military purposes...Procter &
Gamble made sure there was a soap for home use. On the shelves where the original naphtha soap used
to be was P&G White Laundry Soap... When World War I came to a successful conclusion for the
Allied troops, The White Naphtha Soap returned." (http://www.oldtime.com/commercials/1930%27s/PandG%20Guiding%20Light.html). P&G has discontinued
production of their White Naptha Soap.
The only other naphtha soap I've found mention of was manufactured by the Henry Roever Company
which was granted a US patent in 1903 for Roever's Blue-Naphtha Soap. Their factory in Old Chester,
PA was abandoned by 1910. Though not a soap, there was a spot remover on the market from about
2001 through 2003 named Energine Spot Remover which contained, according to the MSDS, Solvent
naphtha, petroleum, light aliphatic 100%. One hundred percent naphtha! We find in a press release
from the California Air Resources Board that "...Between 2001 and 2003, Reckitt Benckiser sold,
supplied, offered for sale, and manufactured for sale in California approximately 65,016 units of
Energine Spot Remover. ARB found that these units contained concentrations of VOCs exceeding the
8% clean air regulation limit. It was determined that this resulted in 11 tons of excess VOC emissions "
(http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/nr120204.htm). VOCs by the way, "react with other pollutants under
sunlight to form ground-level ozone and particulate matter, the main ingredients in smog," (ARB
Executive Officer, Catherine Witherspoon). The production of Energine was discontinued by Reckitt
Benckiser, Inc.
Now that we've discovered how Fels-Naptha soap came about let's see if we can discover what it
consists of, beginning with the recipe straight out of Ephraim Stanton's patent:
the following ingredients in the proportions specified hereunder: naphtha, at 65
gravity, one hundred gallons; a saponifiable substance or mixture comprising pulverized
rosin, seven hundred and fifty pounds; caustic potash dissolved in lime water and
reduced to about 60, one hundred pounds; caustic soda in solution at 38 Baume, one
hundred pounds.
Method Of and Apparatus For Producing Naphtha-Soap, Patent number 499762, Filed
31 Oct 1892
Now, the references to degrees gravity, and Baume have nothing to do with temperature but are a
measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water. A petroleum liquid of less than
10 is heavier than water while greater than 10 is lighter and floats. Soap making requires an
oil/fat/wax component that is saponified by the base. Often animal fat or vegetable oils are used, but
Ephraim is specifying pulverized rosin. Rosin is a waxy solid produced by heating liquid resin, usually
from conifers, to vaporize the volatile liquid terpenes. Why use rosin instead of tallow or oils? Rosin is
a far cheaper material. Brittle at room temperature, it melts at stove-top temperatures, is semitransparent and presents in shades from yellow to black. Interestingly, this soap recipe uses both
caustic potash (soda ash or potassium hydroxide) and caustic soda (lye or sodium hydroxide) as the

base components. Usually, only one base is used with sodium hydroxide producing a harder soap and
potassium hydroxide making a softer soap. Also, the caustic potash is to be dissolved in lime water
which is a saturated calcium hydroxide solution and the degrees here is in reference to temperature as
the slaking of lime (making lime water) is an exothermic process. The lime water must be cooled to 60
before adding the caustic potash. So, the ingredients of this soap are naphtha, rosin, soda ash, lime
water, and lye.
We cannot be absolutely certain that Fels made their soap following this recipe precisely, but given the
color, texture and smell of the bars available today, I would willing to wager that they did...and that
Dial Corporation still does. But the wrapper says Cleaners, soil and stain removers, chelating agents,
colorants, perfume. That's all the label says. That's all it is required to say. Of course, the obvious
distinction here is that the soap is named Fels-Naptha and should immediately inform us that the soap
does indeed contain naphtha. Returning to The Philadelphia Fels, 1880-1920: a social portrait we find
that "...the United States Federal Trade Commission ruled that at least 1 percent naphtha content had to
be present in a soap for it to be termed a naphtha soap" (Rosen, p54). The chelating agents in soaps are
most usually citric acid which softens the wash water by reacting with metal cations and thereby
inhibiting scaling. So, is there anything in a naphtha soap that is not safe? For the answer, we turn to a
document called an MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet.
The first thing to note is that any product only has an MSDS if there is a substance identified by one of
several regulations as a hazard in some respect. The other thing of importance is that an MSDS is
designed, for the most part, for informing emergency and medical personnel in dealing with exposures
to large quantities of the substances so identified such as a spill or leak in public or the workplace or
acute or prolonged exposure, usually in the workplace.
The first MSDS found was dated March 27, 1997 and we find the following chemicals of interest:
Chemical

CAS#

Fatty acids, C8-C18 unsaturated, sodium salts

067701-10-7

Stoddard solvent

008052-41-3

Hydrocarbons, terpene processing by-products

068956-56-9

The fatty acids line item, the sodium salts, is the actual soap yes, soap is classified as an irritant and
must be included in an MSDS. We can now see that sometime after 1924 Fels & Company added a
substance called Stoddard solvent to their naphtha soap. How do we know it was after 1924? Because
Stoddard solvent wasn't discovered until 1924 in Atlanta GA by a dry cleaner named J.W. Stoddard and
Lloyd E. Jackson of the Mellon Research Institute. Stoddard solvent, also known as white spirit, is
another petroleum based, paraffin-derived substance. Individuals exposed to this material have reported
eye irritation, acute CNS symptoms such as headache, dizziness, performance speed reductions,
cyanosis, apnea and cardiac arrest. The hydrocarbons, terpene processing by-products is the naphtha.
Also note that there are no percentages listed. (http://whatsinproducts.com/information.php?
brandNo=04-002-005)
The next MSDS is dated October 28, 1988 and we find the following changes in the listing:

Chemical

CAS#

Fatty acids, C14-18 and C16-18 unsaturated, sodium salts

067701-11-5

Fatty acids, C8-18 and C18 unsaturated, sodium salts

067701-11-4

Hydrocarbons, terpene processing by-products

068956-56-9

Well, the Stoddard solvent is gone, but the soap formulation seems to have changed. Notice the slight
modifications of the carbon chains, the Cnn designators, and the new CAS (Chemical Abstracts
Service) numbers. But again, no percentages are given.
The current MSDS issued March 9, 2009 (revision 10) displays the following:
Chemical

CAS#

Sodium Soap

067701-11-5 & 067701-11-4

60-100

Hydrocarbons, terpene processing by-products

068956-56-9

1-5

While it may appear that the formula has changed again, sodium soap is just a synonym for the longer
sodium salt entries of the previous MSDS. The CAS numbers have not changed they are merely both
listed on one line item. We do, however, have percentages for the ingredients.
(http://www2.prosarcorp.com/dialconsumer/)
So how can we be certain that the mysterious ingredient hydrocarbons, terpene processing byproducts is indeed the naphtha and not something else? On one particular website I found a comment
by George who states "CAS 68956-56-9 Hydrocarbons Terpene Processing Byproducts are derived
from turpentine not petrochemicals. Complex mixture of limonene, terpinolenes and similar isomers. "
and another comment by Allen adding "Dipentene CAS Registry Number 68956-56-9 Someone posted
the CAS number about chemicals in Fels Naptha. A google search shows it as Dipentene. ..."
(http://www.dld123.com/q&a/index.php?cid=61) First and foremost, the CAS# for Dipentene is 13886-3. You can verify this for yourself at the National Institute of Health ChemIDplus site http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Now, to be accurate, I must point out that there are plant based
sources of terpenes, conifers and citrus, but naphtha is not produced from these sources, only from
petroleum. And I assure you that the chemical identified by CAS# 068956-56-9 is indeed a petroleum
distillate it is THE naphtha in Fels-Naptha Soap. If it weren't, it couldn't be called a naphtha soap.
The very word itself, of Latin and Greek origin, means petroleum, and in archaic use simply meant
crude oil.
Naphtha is, in fact, the residue of the refining process of petroleum or coal tar. This residue is used
primarily as a feedstock for producing hydrocarbon components to increase the octane rating of
gasoline such as toluene. Naphtha is a complex mixture of chemicals that is broken into other
chemicals through a process called steam cracking or a process called catalytic reforming, and the
resulting products are graded and isolated, quite often by their specific gravity and volatility, for other
applications. Naphtha, and it's derivatives, are volatile, flammable, and insoluble in water. They
present from colorless, with a strong kerosene odor, to a red-brown color with a highly aromatic odor.
Naphthas are incompatible with strong oxidizers.
The naphtha derivatives are also distinguished by their volume percentage of paraffin, olefin,
naphthene, and aromatic content. In general, lighter, or less dense, naphthas will contain more paraffin.

The primary products of steam cracking are olefins such as ethylene, ethene, propylene, propene, and
butadiene that are used to produce plastics, synthetic fibers and other industrial chemicals. Some of the
more well known products of the catalytic reforming process are benzene, xylene, and toluene. All
fractions of naphtha and the first distillate feedstock itself can be referred to as naphthas. They have
been used as solvents, fuels for lighters, camp stoves, and fire juggling, cleaning and degreasing agents,
leather, shoe, wood, and furniture polishes, car waxes, paint stripping and furniture refinishing products
just to name a few. According to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration's Cameo
Chemical database "Many aromatic hydrocarbons are poisons by inhalation and irritants to the skin and
eyes. Some are poisons by skin contact. Aromatic hydrocarbons are very often carcinogenic (benzene is
an example)." (http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/react/16). The other naphthas, the paraffins, olefins,
and naphthenes are not known carcinogens. They are identified as possible central nervous system
depressants (CNS), and definite skin, eye, and mucous membrane irritants. Ingestion can cause
vomiting, bloating and gastrointestinal distress.
But what of naphtha in our soap? Is it an effective cleaning agent? Yes, without a doubt, naphtha soap
will remove stains from fabrics and will clean almost any surface that I can think of sufficiently. Is it
safe? Not really, not in my opinion. Let's begin with the fact that most of the recipes I've seen using a
naphtha soap require that the soap be grated. Considering naphthas are known irritants possible dust
inhalation during this process is not very appealing. I've also seen suggestions on melting the soap
with hot water inhalation of the fumes doesn't seem wise either. I've read many comments and
discussions at various websites where people have used naphtha soap for years with no problems, even
as a body soap or shampoo and just as many who said they broke out in rashes, got headaches, or
their eyes burned just treating a stain on a garment. As one sensitive to chemicals that's a risk I am not
willing to take. And remember, naphthas are incompatible with strong oxidizers that means oxygen,
chlorine, bromine, iodine and peroxides, and can react the same way ammonia does with bleach.
But is naphtha soap earth friendly? Is it green? Does it support a sustainable lifestyle? Oh, but it's
organic! said a comment on a recent discussion thread. Well of course it's organic. Petroleum is a
naturally occurring substance. Is it earth friendly? The aromatic chains, benzene and the like, are most
definitely NOT earth friendly and benzene is absolutely carcinogenic. The other naphthas, in large
quantities, could impact the air, aquatic life, and contaminate the soil fortunately they degrade
quickly but the Government says that in normal household use products containing naphtha shouldn't
cause any environmental problems. But the Government also said it was okay to use lead paint and
pipes, asbestos, mercury, and many, many other substances. Is a naphtha soap green and sustainable? A
sustainable petroleum product... do I really have to answer that?

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