Soaps

CONTENTS : Introduction Mechanism of cleansing soaps Action of soap Effect of the alkali Effects of fats History Liquid soap Manufacturing process Cold process Hot processes Molds Purification and finishing

INTRODUCTION:
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps are mainly used as surfactants for
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washing, bathing, and cleaning, but they are also used in te tile spinning and are important components of lubricants. Soaps for cleansing are obtained by treating !egetable or animal oils and fats with a strongly al"aline solution. #ats and oils are composed of triglycerides$ three molecules of fatty acids are attached to a single molecule of glycerol. The al"aline solution, which is often called lye %although the term &lye soap& refers almost e clusi!ely to soaps made with sodium hydro ide', brings about a chemical reaction "nown as saponification. In this reaction, the triglyceride fats are first hydroly(ed into free fatty acids, and then these combine with the al"ali to form crude soap, an amalgam of !arious soap salts, e cess fat or al"ali, water, and liberated glycerol %glycerin'. The glycerin is a useful by)product, which can be left in the soap product as a softening agent, or isolated for other uses.

Soaps are "ey components of most lubricating greases, which are usually emulsions of calcium soap or lithium soaps and mineral oil. These calcium) and lithium)based greases are widely used. *any other metallic soaps are also useful, including those of aluminium, sodium, and mi tures of them. Such soaps are also used as thic"eners to increase the !iscosity of oils. In ancient times, lubricating greases were made by the addition of lime to oli!e oil.

Mechanism of cleansing soaps

Structure of a micelle, a cell)li"e structure formed by the aggregation of soap subunits %such as sodium stearate': The e terior of the micelle is hydrophilic %attracted to water' and the interior is lipophilic %attracted to oils'.

Action of soaps:
+hen used for cleaning, soap allows otherwise insoluble particles to become soluble in water and then be rinsed away. #or e ample: oil,fat is insoluble in water, but when a couple of drops of dish soap are added to the mi ture, the
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oil,fat apparently disappears. The insoluble oil,fat molecules become associated inside micelles, tiny spheres formed from soap molecules with polar hydrophilic %water)lo!ing' groups on the outside and encasing a lipophilic %fat)lo!ing' poc"et, whichshields the oil,fat molecules from the water ma"ing it soluble. -nything that is soluble will be washed away with the water.

Effects of alkali:
The type of al"ali metal used determines the "ind of soap product. Sodium soaps, prepared from sodium hydro ide, are firm, whereas potassium soaps, deri!ed from potassium hydro ide, are softer or often li.uid. /istorically, potassium hydro ide was e tracted from the ashes of brac"en or other plants. 0ithium soaps also tend to be hard1these are used e clusi!ely in greases.

Effects of fats:
Soaps are deri!ati!es of fatty acids. Traditionally they ha!e been made from triglycerides %oils and fats'. Triglyceride is the chemical name for the triesters of fatty acids and glycerin. Tallow,. Its saponified product is called sodium tallowate. Typical !egetable oils used in soap ma"ing are palm oil, coconut oil, oli!e oil, and laurel oil. Each species offers .uite different fatty acid content and, hence, results in soaps of distinct feel. The seed oils gi!e
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softer but milder soaps. Soap made from pure oli!e oil is sometimes called Castile soap or *arseille soap, and is reputed for being e tra mild.
Lauric aci fats C$% saturate * &( M!risti c aci C$& saturat e & $( $' * * $ "almitic aci C$' saturate %( ( * $$ + #tearic aci C$( saturate %+ + + * % % Oleic aci

C$( monou satura +, . $% $, .( ,(

Tallo) Coconut oil

"alm kernel &' oil Laurel oil ,& Oli/e oil Canola * *

0istor! :
The earliest recorded e!idence of the production of soap) li"e materials dates bac" to around 2344 5C in ancient 5abylon. - formula for soap consisting of water, al"ali, and cassia oil was written on a 5abylonian clay tablet around 2244 5C.The Ebers papyrus %Egypt, 6774 5C' indicates the ancient Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and !egetable oils with al"aline salts to create a soap)li"e substance. Egyptian documents mention a soap)li"e substance was used in the preparation of wool for wea!ing.8citation needed9
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The word sapo, 0atin for soap, first appears in :liny the Elder;s /istoria Naturalis, which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes, The 0atin word sapo simply means &soap&$ animal. - 62th) century Islamic document describes the process of soap production. It mentions the "ey ingredient, al"ali, which later becomes crucial to modern chemistry, deri!ed from al).aly or &ashes&.In modern times, the use of soap has become uni!ersal in due to a better understanding of the role of hygiene in reducing the population si(e of pathogenic microorganisms. Industrially manufactured bar soaps first became a!ailable in the late 63th century,. +illiam /es"eth 0e!er and his brother, <ames, bought a small soap wor"s in +arrington in 633, founded what is still one of the largest soapbusinesses, formerly called 0e!er 5rothers and now called =nile!er

Li1ui

soap was not in!ented until the 6344s. In

63>7, +illiam Shepphard patented li.uid soap. In 63?3, B.J. Johnson de!eloped a soap formula, and his company %the 5.<. <ohnson Soap Company' introduced Palmolive soap the same year. This new soap was made of palm and oli!e oils and became popular in a short amount of time$ :almoli!e became so popular that 5.<. <ohnson Soap Company changed its name to :almoli!e. -t the turn of the century, :almoli!e was the world;s best)selling
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soap.In the early 6?44s, other companies began to de!elop their own li.uid soap. :roducts such as :ine) Sol and Tide appeared on the mar"et. -s a detergent, li.uid soap tends to be more effecti!e than fla"e soap, and there is a smaller chance of residue being left on clothing with li.uid soap. 0i.uid soap also wor"s better for more traditional washing methods, such as using a washboard.

Manufacturing process :
The industrial production of soap in!ol!es continuous processes, such as continuous addition of fat and remo!al of product. Smaller)scale production in!ol!es the traditional batch processes. The three !ariations are: the ;cold process;, wherein the reaction ta"es place substantially at room temperature, the ;semiboiled; or ;hot process;, wherein the reaction ta"es place near the boiling point, and the ;fully boiled process;, wherein the reactants
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are boiled at least once and the glycerol is reco!ered. There are two types of ;semiboiled; hot process methods.. Typically soapma"ers choose the hot process methods if they wish to remo!e the cure time to a three)day air dry process. *ost soapma"ers, howe!er, continue to prefer the cold process method.. The glycerine remains in the soap and the reaction continues for many days after the soap is poured into moulds. The glycerine is left during the hot)process method, but at the high temperature employed, the reaction is practically completed in the "ettle, before the soap is poured into moulds. .

Col

process :E!en in the cold soapma"ing

process, some heat is usually re.uired$ the temperature is usually raised to a point sufficient to ensure complete melting of the fat being used. The batch may also be "ept warm for some time after mi ing to ensure the al"ali %hydro ide' is completely used up. /istorically, lye used in the cold process was made from scratch using rain water and ashes. Soapma"ers deemed the lye solution ready for use when an egg would float in it. /omemade lye ma"ing for this process was unpredictable and therefore e!entually led to the disco!ery of the Sodium
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/ydro ide by English chemist Sir /umphry @a!y in the early 6344s. The lye is dissol!ed in water. Then oils are heated, or melted if they are solid at room temperature. Once the oils are li.uefied and the lye is fully dissol!ed in water, they are combined. This lye)fat mi ture is mi ed until the two phases %oils and water' are fully emulsified. Emulsification is most easily identified !isually when the soap e hibits some le!el of &trace&, which is the thic"ening of the mi ture. %*odern)day amateur soapma"ers often use a stic" blender to speed this process'. There are !arying le!els of trace. @epending on how additi!es will affect trace, they may be added at light trace, medium trace, or hea!y trace. -fter much stirring, the mi ture turns to the consistency of a thin pudding. . Essential oils and fragrance oils can be added with the initial soaping oils, but solid additi!es such as botanicals, herbs, oatmeal, or other additi!es are most commonly added at light trace, Aust as the mi ture starts to thic"en. -fter the insulation period, the soap is firm enough to be remo!ed from the mould and cut into bars. -t this time, it is safe to use the soap, since saponification is in essence complete.

0ot processes :/ot)processed soaps are created by

encouraging the saponification reaction by adding heat to speed up the reaction. =nli"e cold)processed soap, in
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hot)process soaping, the oils are completely saponified by the end of the handling period, whereas with cold) pour soap, the bul" of the saponification happens after the oils and lye solution emulsification is poured into molds. . This e cess li.uid carries away with it much of the impurities and color compounds in the fat, to lea!e a purer, whiter soap, and with practically all the glycerine remo!ed. The hot, soft soap is then pumped into a mould. The spent hydro ide solution is processed for reco!ery of glycerine.

Mol s *any commercially a!ailable soap molds are

made of silicone or !arious types of plastic, although many soapma"ing hobbyists may use cardboard bo es lined with a plastic film. +ooden molds lined with silicone slee!es are also readily a!ailable to the general public. Soaps can be made in long bars that are cut into indi!idual portions, or cast into indi!idual molds.

"urification an finishing :
The soap is further purified to remo!e any e cess sodium hydro ide, glycerol, and other impurities, colour compounds,.

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Soap pellets are combined with fragrances and other materials and blended to homogeneity in an amalgamator %mi er'. The mass is then discharged from the mi er into a refiner, which, by means of an auger, forces the soap through a fine wire screen. #rom the refiner, the soap passes o!er a roller mill %#rench milling or hard milling' in a manner similar to calendering paper or plastic or to ma"ing chocolate li.uor. The soap is then passed through one or more additional refiners to further plastici(e the soap mass. Immediately before e trusion, the mass is passed through a !acuum chamber to remo!e any trapped air. It is then e truded into a long log or blan", cut to con!enient lengths, passed through a metal detector, and then stamped into shape in refrigerated tools. The pressed bars are pac"aged in many ways.Sand or pumice may be added to produce a scouring soap. The scouring agents ser!e to remo!e dead cells from the s"in surface being cleaned. This process is called e foliation. Nanoscopic metals are commonly added to certain soaps specifically for both colouration and antibacterial properties..

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