A Report On

SOAP MANUFACTURING

SUBMITTED BY:

NAME: AMBRISH ABHIJNAN

DEPARTMENT: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
SESSION: 2015-19
CLASS ROLL NO.: 15/ChE/06
PAPER NAME: FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
PAPER CODE: CHE 692
COLLEGE: HALDIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY NAME: MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

UNIV. ROLL NO.:10300615006

 Acknowledgement

I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Department of Chemical

Engineering, Haldia Institute of Technology, Haldia for helping me to make a Report on
“SOAP MANUFACTURING”.The work carried out in completing the report will surely be
useful throughout our careers as an Engineer.

I would like to express my sincere thanks towards Dr. B.MONDAL sir for his encouragement
and his consistent support.

Signature:
Name:- AMBRISH ABHIJNAN

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 Contents

Sl. No. Topic Page No.

01 Objective 04

02 Introduction 04

03 Categorization of soap 05

04 Raw materials 06

05 Properties of the component 06

06 Procedure 07

07 Process layout 09

08 Reactions involved 09

09 Material balance 10

10 Technical aspect 14

11 Financial aspect 16

12 Financial analysis 17

13 Conclusion 18

14 References 19

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 Manufacturing of Soap

1. Objective

To manufacture 200 tonnes soap per year

2. Introduction

Soap is a salt of fatty acid. Soap is a basic cleaning agent, called as surfactant means
surface active agent. Vegetable oils and fats are commonly used as raw material to make
soap. . Through the ages soap has been used to cleanse, to cure skin sores, to dye hair, and
as a salve or skin ointment. But today we generally use soap as a cleanser or perfume.

Early soap manufacturers simply boiled a solution of wood ash and animal fat. A foam
substance formed at the top of the pot. When cooled, it hardened into soap. Around 1790,
French soap maker Nicolas Leblanc developed a method of extracting caustic soda (sodium
hydroxide) from common table salt (sodium chloride), replacing the wood ash element of
soap. The French chemist Eugene-Michel Chevreul put the soap-forming process (called
in English saponification) into concrete chemical terms in 1823. In saponification, the
animal fat, which is chemically neutral, splits into fatty acids, which react with
alkali carbonates to form soap, leaving glycerin as a byproduct. Soap was made with
industrial processes by the end of the 19th century, though people in rural areas, such as
the pioneers in the western United States, continued to make soap at home.

Soap requires two major raw materials: fat and alkali. The alkali most commonly used
today is sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide can also be used. Potassium-based soap
creates a more water-soluble product than sodium-based soap, and so it is called "soft
soap." Soft soap, alone or in combination with sodium-based soap, is commonly used
in shaving products.

Animal fat in the past was obtained directly from a slaughterhouse. Modern soap makers
use fat that has been processed into fatty acids. This eliminates many impurities, and it
produces as a by-product water instead of glycerin. Many vegetable fats, including olive
oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil, are also used in soap making.

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Additives are used to enhance the colour, texture, and scent of soap. Fragrances and
perfumes are added to the soap mixture to cover the odour of dirt and to leave behind a
fresh-smelling scent. Abrasives to enhance the texture of soap include talc, silica, and
marble pumice (volcanic ash). Soap made without dye is a dull grey or brown colour, but
modern manufacturers colour soap to make it more enticing to the consumers.

3. Categorization of Soap

Soaps can be classified based on their origin. There are handmade and commercially
made soaps. Another way to look at soap is by its use. Soap is available for personal use,
laundry use, and dishwashing, and pet cleaning products that are soaps can also be found.

• Novelty soaps include the soap in the shape of a rubber ducky and the soap-on-
a-rope, made not only to clean, but for enjoyment as well. Soaps may be made
novel by their shape and/or colouring. There are novelty soaps for children, for
example, a bar of soap can have a toy inside or be formed like a crayon and used
to draw on the tub. As with other types of soap, you can purchase novelty soaps
or make your own. Many specialty soap moulds are available in a vast array of
ethnic, holiday, and other shapes.
• Beauty soaps are likely to feature attractive fragrances, and ingredients to
address a variety of skin types. Beauty soaps may feature glycerin, or special
oil blends, for example, combining Shea butter, with coconut palm oil and other
oils.
• Guest soaps are usually miniature soaps, moulded into attractive shapes and
designed for use by guests in the main bathroom, or in a separate guest
bathroom. Popular shapes are flowers, sea shells, and rounds.
• Laundry soap is specially formulated to clean clothes. Be sure to follow package
directions for best results.
• Dish soap is the counterpart of dish detergent and comes in a variety of scents.
As with laundry soap, be sure to follow package directions, and do not use dish
soap in a dishwasher.

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4. Raw materials:
(a) Olive oil
(b) Coconut oil
(c) Palm oil
(d) Shea butter
(e) Sodium Hydroxide
(f) Fatty acids present in tallow (beef) such as mysteric acid (6%), palmitic acid (28%),
lauric acid (2%), oleic acid(36%), linoleic acid(3%),linolenic acid (1%), Stearic
acid (22%)
(g) Nutrients such as Aloe Vera, honey
(h) Preservatives such as grape fruit seed extract, rosemary oil extract
(i) Water
(j) Borax
(k) Sodium chloride
(l) Brine
(m) Sulphuric acid as stabilizer
(n) Color and fragrances
Usually 75% to 80% tallow and 15 to 25% oil is used in soap making. For
saponification caustic lye (50% caustic soda) is used. Some other ingredients in
soap are talc as filler which acts as a carrier for perfume. Sodium silicate gives
firmness to the soap.

5. Properties of the components

 Coconut oil
o Colorless at 30°C, white when in solid form.
o Odour: Smell of coconuts
o Melting point: 25°C
o Density: 924.27kg/m3
o Coconut oil is composed of saturated fatty acid (about 94%)
 Stearic acid
o White solid with characteristic odour
o B.P: 721°F at 760 mm Hg
o M.P: 156.7°F

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 o Density: 0.86 at 68°F
 Sodium hydroxide
o White deliquescent solid
o M.P.: 318.4°C
o B.P.: 1390°C
o Specific gravity: 2.13
 Borax
o White solid
o Density: 1.73 g/cc
o M.P.: 743°C
o B.P.: 1575°C

6. Procedure

The industrial soap making involves four basis steps -

 Saponification
 Glycerin Removal
 Soap Purification
 Finishing

These different steps involve various processing steps and operations in their own. A
brief description of these different steps is given below -

Saponification

The saponification process involves the mixing of tallow (animal fat) and coconut oil
with sodium hydroxide and the application of heat. The process results in formation of
soap, which is a salt of long chain carboxylic acid.

Glycerin Removal

Glycerin is more valuable than soap, and hence most of it is removed for its uses in
more expensive cosmetic products. Some of the glycerin is left in the soap to make it

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soft and smooth. Soap is generally not very soluble in salt water, while glycerin is,
hence the salt is added to the wet soap thereby causing it to separate out into glycerin
and soap in salty water.

Soap Purification

In the soap purification stage, any remaining sodium hydroxide is neutralized with a
weak acid, like citric acid and two thirds of the remaining water is removed to obtain
pure soap.

Finishing
The final stage of industrial soap manufacturing process, finishing stage involves
mixing of additives, such as colors, preservatives, and perfume into soap, which is then
shaped into bars for sale.

TOILET SOAP M ANUFACTURING

Toilet soap generally has less water and more fatty material than laundry soap and
because of this, the base soap intended for manufacturing toilet soap usually has extra
fatty acids that are blended with preservatives before it is vacuum dried. These measures
ensure that there is no unreacted caustic remains in the soap by the time it reaches the
consumer, and also make the soap softer. Additives, such as perfume, dye and opacifier
are then mixed to the dried soap and the mixture is milled to ensure even mixing. It is
then plodded and extruded out as a continuous bar, which is cut into billets and stamped
ready for packaging and sale.

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7. Process Layout

Fig 1: Process diagram for industrial soap manufacturing

8. Reactions involved

The procedure is to split or hydrolyze the fat and then after separation from the valuable
glycerin, the fatty acids are neutralized with a caustic soda solution to soap.

(C17H35COO)3C3H5 + 3 H2O  3 C17H35COOH + C3H5(OH)3

Glyceryl stearate + Water  Stearic acid + Glycerine

C17H35COOH + NaOH  C17H35COONa + C3H5(OH)3

Stearic acid + Caustic soda  Sodium stearate (soap) + Glycerine

OVERALL REACTION

3 NaOH + (C17H35COO)3C3H5  3 C17H35COONa + C3H5(OH)3

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 GENERAL REACTION

9. Material balance

Amount of soap to be produced per annum=200 ton/annum

Therefore, amount of soap to be produced per day=(200*1000) kg/365 days=547.95
kg/day
Molecular weight of sodium stearate= C18H35COONa=306 gm/mol
Therefore,
Amount of soap that needs to be produced in a day= 547950/306 *(gm/day)(gm/mole)=
1.790 kmol/day
As we know, 3 moles of NaOH are required to produce 3 moles of sodium stearate
Therefore, the no. of moles of NaOH=1.790 kmol/day
The amt. of NaOH required= 1.790 kmol/day * 40 gm/mol= 71600 gm/day
Amount of NaOH required=71.6 kg/day

We also know that,

1 mole of glyceryl stearate produces 3 moles of soap
Therefore, the no. of moles of glyceryl stearate = 1/3 * 1.790 kmol/day= 0.597
kmol/day
Molecular weight of glyceryl stearate C27H46O11 = 890 gm/mol
Amount of glycerol stearate used per day= 890 gm/mol*0.597 = 531.33 kg /day
Also, 1 mole of glycerine is produced along with 3 moles of soap
Therefore, No. of moles of glycerin produce per day= 1/3 * 1.790 kmol/day= 0.597
kmoles/day
Molecular wt. of glycerine (C3H8O3)= 92 gm/mol

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Thus, the amt. of glycerine produced per day= 92 gm/mol * 0.597 kmol/day= 54924
gm/ day= 54.924 kg/day
Soap manufactured per day= 547.95 kg/day
NaOH requires per day= 71.6 kg/day
Glyceryl stearate used per day= 531.33 kg/day
Glycerine produced per day= 54.924 kg/day

Material balance

NaOH (reqd.) + Glyceryl stearate  Soap manufactured/day + Glycerine/day

531.33 + 71.6  547.95 + 54.924
=602.93 kg/day  =602.87 kg/day

Material present in feed (F)

Oil and fat required:

Theoretically, for 1000 kg feed, 650 kg of oil is required

For 603 kg/day feed  (603 * 650)/1000 = 391.95 kg/day of oil is required.

Water requirement:

Theoretically, 1000 kg feed  230 kg water is required

For 603 kg/day -- 138.7 kg water/dry is required

Borax requirement:

Theoretically, 1000 kg feed - 13.16 kg borax is required

For 548 kg/day 7.21 kg/day borax is required

Color & Fragrance requirement:

Theoretically, 1000 kg feed - 3.2 kg color and fragrance is required

For 548 kg/day 1.7536 kg/day color and fragrance is required

Material Balance across dryer:

Basis: 548 kg/day of soap

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1. Moisture in soap before drying is taken to be 40%

Moisture content=548*0.40=219.2 kg

2. Pure soap content is 60%=548*0.60=328.8 kg.

Let “x” kg be the moisture in the soap after drying:-

Weight of soap after drying=328+x

Practically observed,

Moisture in soap after drying is 20%

Weight percentage of moisture=(x/wt. of soap)*100

=x/(x+328.8)*100

x/(x+328)*100 =20

x=82.22 kg/day

NET RESULT (FOR DRYING):

SL.NO COMPOUNDS BEFORE AFTER

DRYING DRYING

1. SOAP 328.8 328.8

2. MOISTURE 219.2 82.2

3. TOTAL 548 411

The net weight of soap after drying per batch is calculated to be =394.56 kg/batch

Energy balance on Dryer:

The mass input supplied in dryer =548 kg

Output mass from dryer contains soap cake at a rate of 394.56kg/batch.

% weight loss during = (548-394.56)/548 *100%=28%

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 Thus, the moisture lost is 28%.

Energy balance on flash tank:

From literature survey, we get;

If basis is 1 ton of anhydrous soap, then we require 1.1 tons of oil & soap and 0.8 ton
of H2O.

Therefore,

For 547.95 kg/day of soap production we require,

1000 kg of anhydrous soap requires 1100 kg oil & fat.

1 kg of anhydrous soap requires 1100/1000= 1.1 kg oil & fat.

Similarly,

1000 kg of anhydrous soap requires 0.8 ton of H2O.

1000 kg of anhydrous soap requires 800 kg H2O.

1 kg of anhydrous soap requires 800/1000= 0.8 kg of H2O.

Therefore,

For 547.95 kg of soap will require (0.8*547.95) kg of H2O= 438.36 kg of H2O is

required.

Therefore, mass of water, m= 438.36 kg

Heat generated in cooling the process= m*Cp*dT =438.36*4.18*(250-25)=412277.58

kJ

10. Technical Aspects

Raw materials per month

Sl. No. Name of raw Quantity(kg)/month Rate (as per Amount(₹)

material kg)

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 1. Oil (coconut oil)& 11758.5 60 705510
Fats (Glyceryl
stearate)

2 Water 4161 10 41610

3 Sodium hydroxide 2148 40 85920

4 Borax 216.3 1600 346080

5 Color & fragrance 55 1500 82500

6 Packaging 30,000

Total 1291620

11. Financial Aspects

Material & Equipment

Serial Number Description Qty nos. Capacity Amount (₹)

1. Soap plodder machine 1 1-10 ton/hr 300000

(Duplex Vacuum Type soap

Plodder Machine)

2. Soap making Machine 1 2,50,000

3. Soap stamping machine 1 70,000

4. Soap Cutting machine 1 500-2000kg/hr 2,00,000

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5. Mixer machine 1 100kg to 1 ton 100000
per batch

6. Blender 1 88,000

7. Hydrolizer 1 0.9 ton-1 ton 1,00,000

8. Frames for cooling soap 5 50,000

Total 11,58000

Land & Building

1 Covered Land Sq ft 1090

2 Uncovered Land Sq ft 42470

3 Total area Sq ft 43560

4 Whether constructed
or rented

5 If constructed, ₹ 2000000
construction value

Total ₹ 20,00,000

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Fixed Capital Investment= ₹ (11, 58000+ 20,00,000)

=₹ 3,158,000

Staff & Labour per month

Sl . No Particulars Nos. Salary per Amount(₹)

month

1 Managing 1 75,000 75000

Director

2 Chemist 2 25000 50000

3 Skilled Worker 2 20000 40000

4 Technical- 5 10000 50000

Unskilled
worker

5 Clerk 2 9000 18000

6 Peon/Watchman 2 7000 14000

7 Sub-total 247000

8 Prerequisites 24700
@10% of
salaries

Total 271700

Other Expenses (per month)

Sl. Various Charges Amount(₹.)

No.

1. Power & Electricity Charges 50,000

2. Water Charges 1500

3. Maintenance Repair 18000

4. Printing Postage & stationary 75000

5. Cartage & transportation Charges 300000

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 6. Selling/advertisement 1,50,000

7. Telecom 7000

8. Insurance 70000

Total 671500

Working Capital for one month

Sl. No Description Amount (₹)

1 Raw Materials 1291620

2 Salary & wages 271700

3 Other Expenses 671500

Total 22,34,820

Total Capital Investment

Fixed Capital Investment ₹ 3,158,000

Working Capital for 12 months ₹ 2,68,17,840

Total Investment ₹2,99,75,840

12. Financial Analysis

Cost of production(per annum)

Total recurring cost per year(W.C for 12 months) ₹ 2,68,17,840

Depriciation on equipments( @ 10%) ₹ 115800

Depriciation on building (@ 5%) ₹. 1,00,000

Total cost of production ₹2,70,33,640

Sales Proceeds (per annum)

Quantity(kg/yr) Amount(₹)

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 Total capacity of project 2,20,047 kg

Wastage( @8%) 17,603.804

Net production (2,20,047-17,603)=2,02,444

If each soap is of 100gm 2,02,444/0.100=2024440

each, number of soaps bars
produced throughout the
year

Cost of each bar 20

Total Sale (20*2024440)=Rs.

4,04,88,800

Profit Analysis (P.A)

Net Profit= (Sale-Cost of production)

= ₹ (4,04,88,800-2,70,33,640)

=₹ 1,34,55,160

Income tax at 25 %=₹ 3363790

Profit per annum= ₹.( 1,34,55,160-3363790)

=₹1, 0091,370

Rate of return

On total sale= (profit*100)/cost of production

= (1,0091,370*100)/ 2,70,33,640

=37.32%

On total capital investment=(profit*100)/total capital investment

=(1,0091,370*100)/ 2,99,75,840

=33.66%

Payback period for the investment= Total Capital Investment/ Profit per annum

= 2, 99, 75,840/1, 0091,370

= 2.97 year

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 Conclusion

Feasibility report for soap manufacturing of capacity 200 tons per year was prepared. Soap
industry is considered to be a promising industry for young entrepreneurs. A typical soap
making industry can be set-up at small investment of 15 lakhs. This report aims to provide a
detailed analysis of soap manufacturing of high quality and low investment. All the technical
and financial aspects has been taken into consideration. Anomalies whether small or big has
been solved with precision. The soap manufacturing process used in this report is Kettle process
which is a batch process. Kettle process was found to be efficient yet economical, producing
glycerine as by- product. The glycerine obtained as a by-product can be further sold to other
industries after stringent purification. The amount of glycerine obtained is dependent on brine
concentration rather than on its quantity. Also, the rate of return on basis of total capital
investment was determined to be 33.66%. A profit of 33.72% was estimated while
manufacturing of 200 tons of soap which clearly suggest that the report prepared is feasible.

References

 Austin G.T., “ Shreve’s Chemical Process Industries”, ‘ Soaps and Detergents’, 29th
chapter, 5th edition, Mc Graw Hill Publications, 1975, Pg 529
 Rao, M. Gopala, “ Dryden’s Outlines of Chemical Technology” , ‘ Soaps and
Detergents’, 3rd edition, East West Press, 1997, Pg 293
 http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Soap.html
 http://www.inclusive-science-engineering.com/soaps-manufacture-from-fatty-acid-and-
oil-for-variety-of-soap-products/
 http://intranet.tdmu.edu.ua/data/kafedra/internal/lik_tex/classes_stud/en/pharm/prov_pha
rm/ptn/Technology%20of%20cosmetic%20products/5/practical%204.htm
 http://www.jagdishindia.com/images/toilet-soap-making_plant.jpg

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