SOAP

SOAP
Soap is a cleansing agent created by the chemical reaction
of a fatty acid with an alkali metal hydroxide.

Water-soluble sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids.

General chemical formula: RCOOX

Soap is of natural origin, so it is biodegradable and eco

friendly
 Composition of Soap
The typical composition of a couple of common classes
of commercial soap are:

- Tallow soaps: 40-45% oleate, 25-30% palmitate, 15-

20% stearate

- Coconut oil soaps: 45-50% various C12 carboxylates,

16-20% various C14 carboxylates, 8-10% various C16
carboxylates, 5-6% oleate, 10-15% various C12 or shorter
carboxylates
 Raw Materials for Soap
Tallow- obtained from cattle, sheep, goat etc. animals.
Olein 40%; Stearin 60%.
Soap prepared from tallow alone is hard and water insoluble.
In order to make it soft and water soluble it is mixed with coconut oil,
palm oil, cotton seed oil.

Grease or Lard-obtained from mail pig and smaller domestic animals.

Olein 60%; Stearin 40%.

It is soft like butter. Used for making best quality soap

 Raw Materials for Soap
Coconut oil- rich in Lauric (CH3(CH2)10-COOH) and Myristic acid
(CH3(CH2)12-COOH)

Gives hard white soap lathers even in salty water. So used as a marine soap

Palm oil- Toilet soaps Palmitin (CH3(CH2)14-COOH)

Olein (CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH)

Castor oil- Trasperent Soaps Ricinolic acid (Hydroxy unsat. Acid)

CH3(CH2)6CH=CH(CH2)7-CH-COOH.

OH
 Raw Materials for Soap
Linseed oil- soft soaps

Linoleic acid C17H31-COOH

CH3(CH2)4CH=CH-CH2 -CH=CH-(CH2)7-COOH.
Di unsaturated

Cotton seed oil- olein ,stearin and palmitin

Soap lathers freely

Ground nut oil- Large proportion of unsaturated oleic acid

so form very soft soap.

Maize oil- Linoleic and oleic acid

Oleic acid Monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid

CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH.

Occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils

Sodium Oleate (Soap)

 Sodium Palmitate (Soap)

Chemical formula CH3(CH2)14COOH.

Palmitic acid, or hexadecanoic acid

Most common fatty acid (saturated) found in animals,
plants and micro-organisms.
 Sodium
Stearate-
a soap

Sodium
dodecyl
Sulfate-
a detergent
 Additives
1.Rosins Plant product obtained from pine tree.
Abietic acid

Modified by hydrogenation, polymerization

Increases Lathering property.
 Additives
2. Alkali: The common alkalis used in soap-
making are sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also
called caustic soda; and potassium hydroxide
(KOH), also called caustic potash.

3. Sodium Chloride: Sodium Chloride is

used for salting out about 12.5 parts per 100
parts of oil to be saponify is used.
 Additives
4. Binding Materials: Sodium metasilicate
(Na2SiO3), Soda Ash, Tri Sodium
Phosphate, Borax, starch are used as
Binding materials. They improve the soap
texture and prevent the formation of
precipitate in hard water.
 Additives
5. Fillers: talc, starch, magnesium carbonate,
chalk.

6. Coloring matter: methyl violet, Bismarck

brown, saffranine for red, zinc oxide for
white color, chrome green for green color,
cadmium for yellow color, ultra marine for
blue color, eosin for pink color, vermilion for
rose shade. Intermediate colors are obtained
by blending the above colors.
 Additives

7. Optical brighteners: phenyl benzothizole,

benzocoumarin
 Additives
8. Perfumes & Perfume Fixatives: These impart
fragrance for the soap. They may be natural or synthetic.
Examples are sandalwood oil, lemon grass oil, clove oil,
eucalyptus oil, lavender oil and cinnamon oil, etc.

The synthetic perfumes are

Jasmine (Benzyl Acetate)
Rose (Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol)
Lylac (Terpenol)
Musk (Benzoate)

9. Antioxidants: Sodium thiosulphate , EDTA, Sodium

hyposulphite
 Mechanism of Soap
Soap molecule is made up of two very different ends.

One end love the water called hydrophilic

Other end hate the water called hydrophobic

Hydrophobic end attached to the dust, dirt, oils or the

materials which we want to remove, detaching takes
place, get suspended in water and can be easily removed.

while hydrophilic end remains in water.

Mechanism
of Soap
Mechanism
of Soap

Micelle
Mechanism of Soap
 Mechanism of Soap
• When enough soap is added to water the
soap molecules (sodium stearate) aggregate
into micelles.
• Micelles are colloid particles
• Colloid particles stay suspended in solution
due to collisions with other molecules in the
solution
• The specific colloid formed is called an
Emulsion
– Emulsion: when the dispersing solute
(micelles) is in liquid form within a liquid
solvent (water)
• When viewed under a microscope, colloids
are very jittery due to Brownian Motion
Micelle
 Micelles to the rescue
• The micelles carry the oily dirt particles away
from the skin (or surface).
• The water molecules hold the micelles in solution
and carry them down the drain!
micelle
Water Hardness Affects Micelles Formation

What is water hardness?

–Water that has a lot of dissolved ions in it
is considered hard water.
–A common dissolved ionic compound in
water is Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
• 0-60 mg/L CaCO3 (Soft Water)
• 61-120 mg/L CaCO3 (Moderately Hard)
• 121-180 mg/L CaCO3 (Hard Water)
Water Hardness Affects Micelles Formation
How does hard water affect soap?
– The hydrophilic (polar) end of an individual
soap molecule is negatively charged. So
what do you think happens when using soap
in hard water?
Water Hardness Affects Micelles Formation
• (IN WATER) CaCO (s)  Ca2+ (aq) + CO 2⁻ (aq)
3 3

• Micelles will not form because the soap molecule will

no long be amphoteric, it will become non-polar
• “Soap Scum” will form and the soap will not clean
properly.
 Soap Scum:
Calcium Ions attached to Soap Molecules
 Types of soaps

1. Laundry Soap

2. Toilet Soap
Soaps are being advertised as…
- Beauty soaps
- Health soaps
- Deodorant soaps
- Freshness soaps
- Baby soaps
- Herbal or medicinal soaps
- Complexion soaps

Note: soaps are salts particularly sodium or potassium

of long chain fatty acids. These carboxylic acids are
derived from fatty oils. The principal active cleaning
agent is sodium carboxylate.
SOAPS VS. DETERGENTS
SOAPS VS. DETERGENTS
 WHAT ARE DETERGENTS?
Detergents are sodium salts of long chain benzene sulphonic acid or
sodium salts of long chain alkyl hydrogen sulphate. A detergent
molecule consists of a large hydrocarbon group that is non-ionic and a
sulphonate (SO3- Na+) or a sulphate (SO4- Na+) group that is ionic.
 PRINCIPLE GROUPS OF SYNTHETIC DETERGENTS (SURFACTANTS)
Four main groups of surfactants: anionic, cationic, non-cationic and
amphoteric.
1. Anionic Surfactants are compounds in which the detergency is
realized in the
anion.R-SO3- Na+ Alkylsulfonates (anionic surfactants)

2. Cationic Surfactants are compounds in which the detergency is in

the cation.
R2N+(CH3)2Cl- Dialkyl dimethylammonium chlorides (cationic
surfactants)
3.Non-ionic Surfactants contain non-ionic constituents.
RO-(CH2-CH2-O)nH Alkyl poly(ethylene glycol)ethers (non-ionic
surfactants)
4. Amphoteric Surfactants includes both acidic and basic groups in
the same molecule.
PHYSIOCHEMICAL
AND CHEMICAL
ANALYSIS OF SOAP
Determination of Saponification Value
Determination of Iodine Value
Determination of Acid Value
Determination of Free Fatty Acids
Determination of Ash Content
Determination of pH
Emulsification Test
Reaction of Soap with Metals
Reaction of Soap with Acid
Foam Test
…
 PREPARATION A SOAP IN LAB

1. Place oil in a beaker.

2. Slowly and carefully add concentrated sodium
hydroxide solution.
3. Gently heat the mixture, stirring with glass rod until the
oil layer becomes invisible.
4. Add water and sodium chloride into the mixture and
stir.
5. Cool the mixture.
6. Filter the mixture.
7. Rinse the solid soap with distilled water and dry the
solid soap.
Why is NaCl added to the mixture?

Sodium chloride, NaCl is added to:

- Reduces the solubility of soap in water

- To precipitate the soap produced
 Home Soap Making
Selecting Oils

- Coconut Oil gives big, fluffy bubbles

- Olive oil gives very fine, silky bubbles
- Palm oil, something in-between
- Avocado Oil feels very soft to the skin and
makes an excellent shaving soap
 Home Soap Making
Selecting other Ingredients

Sugar can be used in soap recipes for

making clear soap.

Salt: It may be of interest to know that the

commercial soap makers use salt to separate
out the glycerin which is a natural
byproduct of soap making and curdle a
batch of soap
 Home Soap Making
Selecting other Ingredients
Ammonia is an emulsifying agent that helps a
mixed batch of impure oils to get together closely
enough to saponify readily. As the soap cures the
ammonia evaporates, leaving your bar ammonia
free.

Borax is an emulsifying agent that helps a mixed

batch of impure oils to get together closely enough
to saponify readily. When the soap is used the borax
acts as a water softener.
 Home Soap Making-Methods
Cold Process Method: This process is widely
used by home-based soap makers. The
neutralization stage takes place during the
molding stage. Our kits follow this method.

Semi-boiled Method: After the soap mixture

traces, heat is added using a double-boiler to
cause the soap to neutralize before being
molded.
 Home Soap Making-Methods
Full-boiled Method: This method is where all
ingredients are prepared in one large container. Heat
is added causing neutralization. Large commercial
manufacturers use this method to achieve the by-
product called glycerin.

Transparent Soap: This soap is made clear by

adding solvents such as alcohol to prevent crystals
from forming as the soap cools. Transparent soap is
often referred to as Glycerin Soap.
 Soap
Manufacture
HOME MADE SOAP RECIPE-EXAMPLE

Olive oil 500 g

Coconut oil 100 g
NaOH 80 g
Essential oil 10 g
Water 195 g