Echavia, Vernadette Olympiad T. Varquez, Karen F. Herrera, Kenneth Jake B. Fernandez, Joel B.

EXPERIMENT NO. 2 Laundry Soap Making

One of the organic chemical reactions known to ancient man was the preparation of soaps through an exothermic reaction called saponification of a triglyceride (fat or oil). Natural soaps are sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids, originally made by boiling lard or other animal fat together with lye or potash (potassium hydroxide). Hydrolysis of the fats and oils occurs, yielding glycerol and crude soap. The balanced chemical equation for the formation of laundry soap using coconut oil and sodium hydroxide is shown below.

Materials:
pail stainless steel mixer and mixing tank dipper ladle weighing scale stove graduated cylinder thermometer beaker or Erlenmeyer flask dropper stirring rod funnel hydrometer mixing bowl hand gloves and nose mask katsa or cheese cloth soap frame

Procedures:
Quantity (grams) coconut oil lye CDEA sodium silicate lemon fragrance soda ash TOTAL 605 370 5 5 5 10 1000 grams % to Total Weight 60.5 37 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 100%

Note: Each 36Be (30%) lye concentration, lye solution uses:

caustic soda: 110 g; plus water: 275 g; total: 385 g

A. Preparing the lye solution: 1. In a pail, slowly add 110 g of caustic soda in 275 g of water. Mix thoroughly. This mixture is the lye solution with 36Be (30% concentration). 2. Allow the lye solution to cool by dipping the pail in a bigger pail containing cold water. Continue stirring until lye solution cools. 3. Using a hydrometer, check if the lye solution has reached the right concentration level, which should be 36Be. B. Mixing the oil and lye solution: 1. Weigh 370 g lye solution. Set aside. 2. Measure 605 g coconut oil and pour it into the mixer. 3. Switch on the mixer. After a few minutes, pour the lye solution. Mix very well. C. Adding other components as additives: 1. When the oil and lye solution mixture has thickened, add 5 g of coco diethanol amide or CDEA. Then add 10 grams soda ash. 2. While mixing the ingredients continuously, add 5 grams of lemon fragrance. 3. With a stirring rod, test the consistency of the mixture from time to time while mixing it continuously for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture becomes as thick as condensed milk. 4. When the mixture reaches the right consistency, pour it evenly into the

soap frame or mold lined with katsa cloth.

D. Hardening the soap before it is sliced: 1. Let the soap stand in the frame overnight for the saponification process. The chemical elements added to the soap will take effect during this process. 2. Wipe the soap once in a while with a rag to remove moisture. 3. After 24 hours, slice the soap according to desired size and weight. 4. The soap should only be used after 2-7 days when if has achieved the desired hardness and has passed the effects of caustic soda. Note: 1. Sodium hydroxide solution can burn your skin. If any should be spilled, first add water, then wipe up completely. If any should come in contact with your skin, wash with lots of water. Be very careful to wear your goggles at all times since the solution can splatter a good distance. Remove the beaker from the hot plate before the splattering becomes excessive. 2. Always add lye to COLD water, never to hot water, because the chemical action heats the cold water to the boiling point. It also produces harsh fumes which are harmful if breathed deeply. Stand back and avert the head while the lye is dissolving. The use of a draft vent is recommended. 3. Cooking oils are sensitive to air and light, and soap made from cooking oils will spoil in a few weeks unless it is refrigerated. 4. Volatile fragrance oils or even dried herbs or spices may be added to the soap to scent it. Fragrance is optional. 5. Liquid waste may be flushed down the drain with lots of water. Solid waste may be placed in the trash. The lye soap should be discarded in the trash can when you are finished.

Characteristics Product and Application

A good soap is biodegradable when it does not contain chemicals that cannot be reverted to their natural elements neither does it contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment or cause undue destruction to the environment. It dissolves easily and remove stains from clothes, human skin or any material being cleaned. It dissolves in water and produces enough suds. It gives a clear and sparkling kind of cleanliness. It gives a pleasant smell. A good soap does not leave sticky traces on the clothes or on

the skin. It has a color that is even and does not streak. It disinfects or kills germs. It does not damage the fibers of textiles. When used for cleaning, soap serves as a surfactant in conjunction with water. The cleaning action of this mixture is attributed to the action of micelles, tiny spheres coated on the outside with polar carboxylate groups, encasing a hydrophobic (lipophilic) pocket that can surround the grease particles, allowing them to dissolve in water.

The hydrophobic portion is made up of the long hydrocarbon chain from the fatty acid. In other words, whereas normally oil and water do not mix, the addition of soap allows oils to dissolve in water, allowing them to be rinsed away. Synthetic detergents operate by similar mechanisms to soap. The cleansing action of soap is determined by its polar and non-polar structures in conjunction with an application of solubility principles. The long hydrocarbon chain is of course non-polar and hydrophobic (repelled by water). The "salt" end of the soap molecule is ionic and hydrophilic (water soluble).

Theoretical Background
Soap is produced by the saponification (hydrolysis) of a triglyceride (fat or oil). In this process the triglyceride is reacted with a strong base such as sodium or potassium hydroxide to produce glycerol and fatty acid salts. The salt of the fatty acid is called a soap. Fatty acids are seldom found as free molecules in nature but are most often a part of a larger molecule called a triglyceride. Triglycerides consist of a three-membered carbon chain (glycerol backbone) with a fatty acid bonded to each of the three carbon atoms in the glycerol backbone. The bond between the fatty acid and the glycerol backbone is referred to as an ester linkage. In the saponification process the ester linkage is broken to form glycerol and soap. The triglyceride found in the coconut oil is widely used in making laundry soap. The high saponification number of coconut oil is due to the large proportion of lauric acid and myristic acid that they contain. These oils therefore yield quite soluble soaps. It is important to familiarized ourselves with the common chemical ingredients used and their uses. These ingredients give the desired quality and feature of the soap. Coco Diethanol Amide (CDEA) is used for foam booster. Sodium silicate is for hardening and leavening agent. It prevents separation or deterioration of ingredients in

liquid products. Caustic soda (also called sodium hydroxide) neutralizes or adjust the acidity of other ingredients. Though you can make soap using only one oil, the best soap recipes have a balance of oils. Each oil will contribute a different quality to the final bar of soap. The qualities can be categorized in four ways hard, lathering, moisturizing and luxury or super moisturizing. Coconut oil provides lots of lather. Coconut and palm oils provide hardness. Sometimes castor oil can also be used as an humectant. Most common, though, is a combination of coconut, palm, and olive oils. The nature of the soap depends on the alkali metal. Sodium soaps, prepared from sodium hydroxide, are firmer. Potassium soaps, derived from potassium hydroxide, are softer or often liquid.