EXPERIMENT No: 4 LAB SCALE SOAP PRODUCTION 1.0 OBJECTIVES The objectives of this experiment are: © To calculate weights of materials to be used in the formulation of soap * To produce average quality of soap bar using basic formulations from palm oil. 2.0 INTRODUCTION Soap is a surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning, It usually comes in a solid molded form, termed bars The use of thick liquid soap has also become widespread, especially from soap dispensers in public washrooms. Applied to a soiled surface, soapy water effectively holds particles in suspension so the whole of it can be rinsed off with clean water. In the developed world, synthetic detergents have superseded soap as a laundry aid. Much soap are mixtures of sodium (soda) or potassium (potash) salts of fatty acids which can be derived from oils or fats by reacting them with an alkali (such as sodium or potassium hydroxide) at 80 - 100°C in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding glycerol and crude soap. Historically, the alkali used was potassium hydroxide made from the deliberate buming of vegetation such as bracken, or from wood ashes. Soap is derived from either oils or fats. Sodium tallowate, a common ingredient in many soaps, is in fact derived from rendered beef fat. Soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such as olive oil, Soap made entirely from such oils, or nearly so, is called castile soap. The use of the word "soap" has become such a household name that even cleaning solutions for the body that don't have soap in the ingredients are referred to as soap. Cold Process Cold process is a method of making soap (saponification) which does not require an external hheat source to initiate saponification, (Heat may still by applied in order to melt fats of oils that are solid at room temperature, and to speed the reaction.) This process is often used by soapers, or home soapmakers. A Lye solution, either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide and IEXPERIMENT No: 4 LAB SCALE SOAP PRODUCTION water, is mixed with an appropriate amount of fats and/or oils to start the saponification process that leads to soap. Once the warmed or melted oils or fats and the lye solution have cooled to about 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit, the lye solution is poured into the oils and stirred, A stick blender is often used to speed this process. The two thin, clear substances become cloudy and begin to thicken. Soapmakers refer to the thickening process as "tracing". Afier many minutes of stirring, the mixture tums to the consistency ofa thin pudding. Essential oils, fragrance oils, herbs, oatmeal or other additives are added at light trace, just as the ‘mixture starts to thicken, Soap is then typically poured into wooden molds lined with heavy wax paper, covered and/or insulated with towels or blankets and allowed to continue saponification for 18-24 hours. During this time, it is normal for the soap to go through a "gel phase” where the opaque soap will tur somewhat transparent for several hours before turing opaque again. The soap will continue to give off heat for many hours after trace. After the insulation period the soap is firm enoughto be removed from the mold and cut into bars. At this time, it is safe to use the soap since the saponification process is complete. However, most soapmakers prefer to cure the bars for 2-6 weeks, depending on initial water content, to allow for the bars to harden significantly before using. For successful cold-process soap making, one needs to measure the exact amount of ye to be used and know the saponification values ofthe oils being used in the soap. Excess unreacted lye in the soap will result in a very high pH and can bum or irritate the ski Not enough lye, and the soap is greasy and oily. Most soap makers formulate their recipes with 3-15% excess oil so that all of the lye is reacted and that excess fat is left {{ skin conditioning benefits. Other processes used by soapers are the hot process, and the melt and pour process, and rebatching.EXPERIMENT No: 4 LAB SCALE SOAP PRODUCTION Hot Process Hot process is a traditional method of making soap, still used by some soapmakers. In the hot process method, fats and oils are boiled in a lye solution (either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide). After saponification has occurred, the soap is sometimes precipitated from the solution by adding salt, after which the liquid component is drained. Most modem soapmakers add the correct amount of lye and water to the hot oils and stir until full saponification occurs- either by taste (a quick touch to the tip of the tongue - I has a very bright and distinct taste which goes away upon saponification) or by eye (m( experienced soap makers know what gel stage and full saponification looks like), The hot, soft soap is then spooned into a mold. Hot process soap can be used right away (co process needs to be insulated so the saponification can finish). Historically salt has been added to harden the bars- potassium hydroxide (a.k.a potash) makes a soft soap. Sodium hydroxide (most commercially available lye) makes a quite satisfactorily hard bar. Although more time consu ig than the cold process, the hot process was used in the time before pure Iye was available, as it can use natural lye solutions such as potash. T; main benefit of hot processing was that the exact concentration of the lye solution did] need to be known to perform the process with adequate success. Today's hot process soap makers do use accurate amounts of lye thereby taking the guesswork out of soap making. Other processes or techniques used by soapers are the cold process, the melt and pour process, and rebatching. Literature Saponification is the hydrolysis of an ester under basic conditions to form an alcohol and the salt ofa carboxylic acid, Saponification is commonly used to refer to the reaction of a metallic alkali (base) with a fat or oil to form soap. Saponifiable substances are those ean be converted into soap. The reaction is stated below: