Project Description Paper

Student’s Student’s Surname Student’s E-mail Student’s School

Name
Erlisa Demneri gdemneri@yahoo.com TOD
Samantha Mustafaj samanthamustafaj@gmail.com TOD

1. How and where did you get the idea of your project?
“Saponification: investigating the effect of sodium carbonate, foaming capacity of different soaps and
the dangers of SLS (Sodium lauryl sulfate)” is the topic of our project. Soaps are cleaners that are able
to remove oil particles from surfaces due to unique chemical properties. We use soaps every day for
different purposes like bathing or cleaning. We may notice that some soaps produce more foam than
others and that they alter their texture when put in contact with different substances. The general idea
of our projects is to identify these changes and give the soap options to choose.
2. What is the purpose of your project?
The purpose of our project is to investigate the foaming capacity of various washing soaps and the effect
of adding sodium carbonate over them.
3. How have you made your research?
We have used information from different websites on the internet like:
- https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Sup
plemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Equilibria/Solubilty/Hydrolysis
- https://www.slideshare.net/humpty99/chemistry-investigatory-project-87070829
- http://greenyards.com.my/2017/02/25/types-of-soaps/
- https://www.scribd.com/doc/41549959/Foaming-Capacity-of-Soaps
4. What are the steps of your project’s development (the procedure)?
I. How are soaps formed? What is saponification?
- Soaps are created by the chemical reaction of a cast acid with alkaline metal hydroxide. In the
chemical sense, soap is a salt consisting of a carboxylic acid and an alkali such as sodium
potassium.
- Soaps are produced by saponification or basic reaction of hydrolysis of fat or oil.
Saponification is a process that involves the conversion of fat or oil into soap and alcohol by
the action of heat in the presence of aqueous alkali (e.g. NaOH).

II. The materials we used for investigating the foaming capacity of different washing soaps are:
- five 100ml conical flasks
- five 20ml test tubes
 - 100ml measuring cylinder
- test tube stand
- weight box
- stop watch
- five different samples of soap
- distilled water

III. The procedure:

- We took five 100ml conical flasks and labeled them as A, B, C, D and E.
- Then, we added 50ml of water in each conical flask and then added 2g of different samples of
soap in each flask.
- We warmed the flasks to get a clear solution. Next, we arranged five test tubes on a test tube
stand and labeled them as A, B, C, D and E.
- We took the ICC of the soap solution from each conical flask and added it to the
corresponding test tube.
- We shook the test tube for 1 minute by covering its mouth with the thumb.
- Foam was formed in the test tube. Then, we started the stop watch and noted the time taken
for the disappearance of the foam.
- We repeated the same procedure for the test tubes B, C, D and E.
- The longer it took for the disappearance of the foam in a given sample of soap, the greater
was its foaming capacity.

IV. What is SLS and is it dangerous?

- The ingredient that indicates the foaming capacity of the different types of soaps is called SLS
(Sodium lauryl sulfate). It is also used by companies in shampoos, shower creams,
toothpaste, etc. SLS is used in more than 1000 different types of cosmetic products in a
concentration ranging from 0.01-50%.
- Proved by many experiements, SLS is generally bad for the skin and hair, it can seriously
damage the epidermal water barrier, it is comedogenic (can cause blackheads by blocking the
pores of the skin) and increases the risk of contact allergies. It may not kill you and there are
definitely more toxic cosmetic ingredients out there, but it is definitely not something you
want to include in your daily cleaning routine either.
- An alternative for this problem are natural soaps. They are made with natural ingredients
such as coconut oil, flowers, and herbs. These natural ingredients are just as effective as
 synthetic ones and are a lot safer. Coconut oil creates a rich lather naturally, without the use
of corrosive cleaning and foaming agents.

V. The materials we used for investigating the effect of Sodium Carbonate on the foaming capacity
of a soap are:
- one 100ml conical flask
- 20ml test tubes
- 100ml measuring cylinder
- test tube stand
- weight box
- stop watch
- burner
- soap samples
- distilled water
- tap water
- m/10 Na2Co3 solution
VI. The procedure:
- We weighed accurately 0.5g of the given amount of soap and transferred it to a 100ml of conical
flask.
- Then, we added 50ml of distilled water and warmed the flask to dissolve until a clear solution
was obtained.
- We took three 20ml test tubes and labeled them as A, B and C. We added 10ml of distilled water
to test tube A, 5ml of tap water to test tube B and 5ml of M/10 Na2CO3 solution to test tube C.
- Then, we added 1ml of soap solution to each tube.
- We corked test tube A tightly and shook it vigorously for one minute.
- Next, we placed the test tube on the test tube stand and started the stop watch immediately.
We noted the time taken for the disappearance of the foam.
- We repeated the same procedure for test tube B and C.
- The time taken for the disappearance of the foam determined if the foaming capacity changed
by adding Sodium Carbonate.
5. Have you done any experiments or prepared any demonstrations/prototypes?
Yes, we have.
6. How have you had your data? Have you used any data from national or international
institutions?
 We mostly used data from international institutions. Also, we spoke with other chemists who advised
us about our topic and the materials we had to use.
7. Have you kept a log book?
Yes, we have.
8. Have you written a research paper (no matter if it is not finished yet)?
Yes, we have.
9. What conclusions are you expecting from your project?
We want to prove the above theses and to demonstrate and advise for the best alternatives to choose
for such a simple and important product of everyday as the soap.
10. Please insert some photos that show you (yourself) are actually involving the development of
your project.

How are soaps formed?

Soaps are produced by saponification or basic reaction of hydrolysis of fat or oil. Saponification is a process
that involves the conversion of fat or oil into soap and alcohol by the action of heat in the presence of
aqueous alkali.

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Organic_Chemistry)/Est
ers/Reactivity_of_Esters/Saponification