Foaming Capacity Of Soaps

Lourdes Central School, Bejai, Mangalore Investigatory Project On Foaming Capac

ity Of Soaps Kenneth Lobo Class XII
Contents Acknowledgements 3 Preface 4 Introduction 5 Commercial preparation 6 In
troduction to experiment 9 Objective and theory 10 Procedure 11 Observation tabl
e 12 Result 13
Test for hardness 14 Bibliography 15 Acknowledgement I will treasure the knowled
ge imparted to me by Mrs. Anita Thomas, my grateful thanks to her for the able t
eaching and guidance. I thank Mr. Harsha Kumar, the Lab assistant for his cooper
ation. I also thank my parents and my friends for their constant support and coo
peration. Preface Soaps and detergents remove dirt and grease from skin and clot
hes. But all soaps are not equally effective in their cleaning action. Soaps are
the Na and K salts of higher fatty acids such as Palmitic acid, Stearic acid an
d Oleic acid. The cleansing action of soaps depends on the solubility of the lon
g alkyl chain in grease and that of the -COONa or the -COOK part in water. Whene
ver soap is applied on a dirty wet cloth, the non polar alkyl group dissolves in
grease while the polar -COONa part dissolves in water. In this manner, an emuls
ion is formed between grease and water which appears as foam. The washing abilit
y of soap depends on foaming capacity, as well as the water used in cleaning. Th
e salts of Ca and Mg disrupt the formation of micelle formation. The presence of
such salts makes the water hard and the water is called hard water. These salts
thus make the soap inefficient in its cleaning action. Sodium Carbonate when ad
ded to hard water reacts with Ca and Mg and precipitates them out. Therefore sod
ium carbonate is used in the treatment of hard water. This project aims at findi
ng the foaming capacity of various soaps and the action of Ca and Mg salts on th
eir foaming capacity. Introduction Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunc
tion with water for washing and cleaning, which historically comes either in sol
id bars or in the form of a viscous liquid. Soap consists of sodium or potassium
salts of fatty acids and is obtained by reacting common oils or fats with a str
ong alkaline in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by th
e base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol. The gene
COON
ral formula of soap is Fatty end water soluble end CH3-(CH2) n
a Soaps are useful for cleaning because soap molecules have both a hydrophilic e
nd, which dissolves in water, as well as a hydrophobic end, which is able to dis
solve non polar grease molecules. Applied to a soiled surface, soapy water effec
tively holds particles in colloidal suspension so it can be rinsed off with clea
n water. The hydrophobic portion (made up of a long hydrocarbon chain) dissolves
dirt and oils, while the ionic end dissolves in water. The resultant forms a ro
und structure called micelle. Therefore, it allows water to remove normally-inso
luble matter by emulsification. Commercial production of soap The most popular s
oap making process today is the cold process method, where fats such as olive oi
l react with strong alkaline solution, while some soapers use the historical hot
process. Handmade soap differs from industrial soap in that, usually, an excess
of fat is sometimes used to consume the alkali (super fatting), and in that the
glycerin is not removed, leaving a naturally moisturizing soap and not pure det
ergent. Often, emollients such as jojoba oil or Shea butter are added at trace (th
e point at which the saponification process is sufficiently advanced that the so
ap has begun to thicken), after most of the oils have saponified, so that they r
emain unreacted in the finished soap. Fat in soap Soap is derived from either ve
getable or animal fats. Sodium Tallowate, a common ingredient in much soap, is d
erived from rendered beef fat. Soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such as
palm oil, and the product is typically softer. An array of saponifiable oils and
fats are used in the process such as olive, coconut, palm, cocoa butter to prov
ide different qualities. For example, olive oil provides mildness in soap; cocon
ut oil provides lots of lather; while coconut and palm oils provide hardness. So
metimes castor oil can also be used as an ebullient. Smaller amounts of unsaponi
fable oils and fats that do not yield soap are sometimes added for further benef
its. Preparation of soap In cold-process and hot-process soap making, heat may b
e required for saponification. Cold-process soap making takes place at a suffici
ent temperature to ensure the liquification of the fat being used. Unlike cold-p

rocessed soap, hot-processed soap can be used right away because the alkali and
fat saponify more quickly at the higher temperatures used in hot-process soap ma
king. Hot-process soap making was used when the purity of alkali was unreliable.
Cold-process soap making requires exact measurements of alkali and fat amounts
and computing their ratio, using saponification charts to ensure that the finish
ed product is mild and skin-friendly. Hot process In the hot-process method, alk
ali and fat are boiled together at 80 100 C until saponification occurs, which the
soap maker can determine by taste or by eye. After saponification has occurred,
the soap is sometimes precipitated from the solution by adding salt, and the exc
ess liquid drained off. The hot, soft soap is then spooned into a mold. Cold pro
cess A cold-process soap maker first looks up the saponification value of the fa
ts being used on a saponification chart, which is then used to calculate the app
ropriate amount of alkali. Excess unreacted alkali in the soap will result in a
very high pH and can burn or irritate skin. Not enough alkali and the soap are g
reasy. The alkali is dissolved in water. Then oils are heated, or melted if they
are solid at room temperature. Once both substances have cooled to approximatel
y 100-110F (37-43C), and are no more than 10F (~5.5C) apart, they may be combined. T
his alkali-fat mixture is stirred until trace . There are varying levels of trace.
After much stirring, the mixture turns to the consistency of a thin pudding. Trac
e corresponds roughly to viscosity. Essential and fragrance oils are added at lig
ht trace. Introduction to the experiment Soap samples of various brands are take
n and their foaming capacity is noticed. Various soap samples are taken separate
ly and their foaming capacity is observed. The soap with the maximum foaming cap
acity is thus, said to be having the best cleaning capacity. The test requires t
o be done with distilled water as well as with tap water. The test of soap on di
stilled water gives the actual strength of the soaps cleaning capacity. The seco
nd test with tap water tests the effect of Ca2+ and Mg2+ salts on their foaming
capacities. Objective: To compare the foaming capacity of various soaps. Theory:
The foaming capacity of soap depends upon the nature of the soap and its concen
tration. This may be compared by shaking equal volumes of solutions of different
samples having the same concentration with same force for the same amount of ti
me. The solutions are then allowed to stand when the foam produced during shakin
g disappears gradually. The time taken for the foam to disappear in each sample
is determined. The longer the time taken for the disappearance of the foam for t
he given sample of soap, greater is its foaming capacity or cleansing action. Re
quirements: Five 100ml conical flasks, five test tubes, 100ml measuring cylinder
, test tube stand, weighing machine, stop watch. Chemical Requirements: Five dif
ferent soap samples, distilled water, tap water. Procedure: 1. Take five 100ml c
onical flasks and number them 1,
2,3,4,5. Put 16ml of water in each flask a
nd add 8 Gms of soap. 2. Warm the contents to get a solution. 3. Take five test
tubes; add 1ml of soap solution to 3ml of water. Repeat the process for each soa
p solution in different test tubes. 4. Close the mouth of the test tube and shak
e vigorously for a minute. Do the same for all test tubes and with equal force.
5. Start the timer immediately and notice the rate of disappearance of 2mm of fr
oth. Observations: The following outcomes were noticed at the end of the experim
ent Test Tube no
Vol. of soap solution Vol. of water added
Time tak
en for disappearance of 2mm 1.
Dove 8ml
16ml
11 42 2.
Lux
8ml
16ml
3 28 3.
Tetmosol
8ml
16ml
5 10 4.
Santoor
8ml
16ml
15 32 5.
Cinthol
8ml
16ml
9 40 Result The cleansing capacity of the s
oaps taken is in the order: Santoor > Dove > Cinthol > Tetmosol > Lux From this
experiment, we can infer that Santoor has the highest foaming capacity, in other
words, highest cleaning capacity. Lux, on the other hand is found to have taken
the least amount of time for the disappearance of foam produced and thus is sai
d to be having the least foaming capacity and cleansing capacity. Test for hardn
ess in water Test for Ca2+ and Mg2+ salts in the water supplied Test for Ca2+ in
water H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)2CO3 No precipitate Test for Mg2+ in water H2O
+NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)3PO4 No precipitate The tests show negative results for th
e presence of the salts causing hardness in water. The water used does not conta
in salts of Ca2+ and Mg2+. The tap water provided is soft and thus, the experime
ntal results and values hold good for distilled water and tap water. BIBLIOGRAPH

Y Parts of this project have been referred from foreign sources and have been in
cluded in this investigatory project after editing. The references of the source
s are as follows: Books: Together With Lab Manual Chemistry-XII Comprehensive Ch
emistry
12 Internet sources: www.wikipedia.org www.google.com www.yahoo.com