Tugaoen, Sam Denielle S.

Date Performed: October 10 & 14, 2016

3 – CheB Date Submitted: December 10, 2016

Experiment No. 2
Preparation of Powdered Detergent

INTRODUCTION

Detergent is a surfactant, or a mixture of surfactants, which acts as a cleaning

agent that increases the ability of water to penetrate through fabric and break down
greases or dirt. [1] Normally, water molecules have strong attraction to each other which
causes surface tension [2]. By reducing this effect, water soaks more easily in clothes and
removes stains faster. A type of detergent used for laundry is the anionic detergent [3] and
a detergent may be liquid, powdered or solid. Generally, powdered detergents are
cheaper since they are easier to make and sometimes also used for other cleaning
purposes.

The objective of this experiment is to prepare a powdered detergent that is

comparable to commercial ones and to know the raw materials used in the manufacturing
of detergents.
METHODOLOGY
Ingredients:

 Laundry bar soap (perla)

 Sodium Sulfate
 Sodium Tripolyphosphate
 Tergitol
Materials and Apparatus:

 Analytical Balance
 Cheese grater
 Basin
 Beakers
 Graduated Cylinder
 Jar containers
Procedure:

A piece of laundry bar soap (in this case, perla) was grated into fine dry soap chips
that weighed 150 grams. The soap chips were mixed with sodium sulfate, sodium
tripolyphosphate and tergitol. The resulting mixture was mixed by hand and transferred
to a jar. In the jar, the mixture was mixed again by shaking the jar.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The final output of powdered detergent can be summarized by table 1.
Table 1. Composition of Finished Powdered Detergent

Weight of Soap Chips 60g

Weight of Sodium Sulfate 60g
Weight of STPP 30g
Weight of tergitol 0.15g
Weight of Detergent produced 100.82g
pH 9.77

Table 2 shows the comparison between commercial detergent and the detergent
produced from this experiment. The texture of the produced detergent is not as fine as
the commercial ones, there were still bulk powders of detergent formed. Also, the
detergent was able to produce suds as it was dissolved in water.

Suds Formation =
Texture ≠
Effectiveness =

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Oils and fats are still used as base ingredients in powdered detergents in the form
of soap chips. The soap produced weighs about 100 grams with a pH of 9.77. Comparing
the produced detergent to commercial ones available in the market, the texture is not as
fine but exhibits suds formation and effectiveness as that of the commercial ones.

It is recommended to use other brands of detergent and to find other means in

which the soap chips will be finely grated. Also, using solid sodium sulfate would yield to
a better product because it doesn’t need to be dried anymore.
REFERENCES
[1]. Ali, M. F., Ph.D, & Speight, J. G., Ph.D. (2005). Handbook of Industrial Chemistry:
Organic Chemicals. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill Education.
[2]. Jung, J. (2013). Surface Tension. Retrieved September 21, 2016, from
https://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/liquids/tension.html
[3]. Investigating enzymes used in laundry detergents. (n.d.). Retrieved December
08, 2016, from http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-biology/investigating-
enzymes-used-laundry-detergents