PREPARATION OF SOAP USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF OILS AND EXPLORING ITS PROPERTIES

PREPARATION OF SOAP USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF OILS AND EXPLORING ITS PROPERTIES

ABSTRACT

Soaps are the sodium salts or potassium salts of stearic acids or any other fatty acids. They are prepared by the saponification process, which is, reacting the oil which contain triglycerides with caustic soda (NaOH) to give the soap. However different oils have different composition of fatty acids which are responsible for different properties of soaps made out of them. In the present work 5 different types of oils are taken. They are blended in various ratios to prepare 14 different samples of soap. Different properties of these samples were analyzed to see which soap is the best one. The cleansing and lathering properties of all samples were compared. The blend of coconut oil and castor oil at 3:1 ratio is found out to be the best with 76.8% of TFM and 89.46% of yield. The best blend is analyzed for various properties and they were compared with that given in the literature. The saponification values, iodine values of coconut oil and castor oil were found out and these values were also found for the blend. It was found that the blend was having SAP value of 230.4 and iodine value of 40 which are higher than the individual values. Thus soap prepared using blend of both these oils has better properties than the soaps prepared by individual oils.

CHAPTER ONE

 Introduction:

A soap is a salt of a compound, known as a fatty acid. A soap molecule has a long hydrocarbon chain with a carboxylic acid group on one end, which has ionic bond with metal ion, usually sodium or potassium. The hydrocarbon end is non polar which is highly soluble in non polar substances and the ionic end is soluble in water. The structure of the soap molecule is represented below:

The cleaning action of soapsbecause of their ability to emulsify or disperse water-insoluble materials and hold them in the suspension of water. This ability is seen from the molecular structure of soaps. When soap is added to water that contains oil or other water-insoluble materials, the soap or detergent molecules surround the oil droplets. The oil is, dissolved in the alkyl groups of the soap molecules while the ionic end allows it to be dissolved in water. As a result, the oil droplets are to be dispersed throughout the water and can be washed away.

A number of things affect the soap-making process and the quality of this soap produced. The characteristics of this soap depend on the quality of oil, and the amounts of the caustic soda and water used to make it. The speed of the reaction between the oil and the caustic soda is influenced by free fatty acid content of the oil, the heat of the components before mixing, and how vigorously the mixing is to be done. Free fatty acid contents, vigorous mixing, and heat, speed up the given soap-making process.

PREPARATION OF SOAP USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF OILS AND EXPLORING ITS PROPERTIES