[Chemistry 2] Experiment No.

ACID-BASE TITRATION
M.V.L LIM, J. JANEA, L.V. MEDRANO, J.M. OLARITA, AND C. ZOZOBRADO
X- Gluon
Philippine Science High School Central Visayas Campus
Talaytay, Argao, Cebu
Date Performed: January 22, 2016
Date Submitted: February 10, 2016

ABSTRACT
Soap is one of the commercial products essential to our health as it promotes
cleanliness and preserves our skin from the scorching heat of the sun and from
external pollution such as dust, germs, and bacteria. Learning how to make soap
and the chemistry behind it is as important as its benefit. In order to make basic
soap, an experiment was performed, dealing with the process of saponification, a
process that produces soap, usually from fats and lye. In the experiment, the fats
used were common oils, such as olive oil, vegetable oil, and unsalted butter,
whereas the lye used was sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The fats, which are the acids
and the lye, which is the base underwent saponification to form a glycerin and a
salt, which is the soap, the final product of the experiment.

INTRODUCTION
Straight-chain monocarboxylic
acids, called fatty acids, are seldom
found as free molecules in nature but
are most often a part of a larger
molecule called a triglyceride. Soap is
produced
by
the
process
of
saponification, or the hydrolysis of a
triglyceride, the fats and oil, to
produce glycerol and fatty acid salts
from the reaction of the triglyceride
with a strong base such as sodium or
potassium
hydroxide.
The
bond
between the fatty acid and the
glycerol backbone is referred to as an

ester

linkage.

In

the

saponification process, as shown in

Figure 1, the ester linkage is broken to
form glycerol and soap. [1]
Figure 1. Saponification of a
triglyceride
In the experiment, the oils used were
olive oil, vegetable oil and butter while
the base used was sodium hydroxide.
Sodium
hydroxide
(NaOH)
was

preferred over potassium hydroxide

(KOH) because the aim was to make a
bar soap rather than a liquid soap.
Also, the hot process method was
preferred over the cold process due to
insufficient amount of time, as cold
process soap take a longer time to
harden or cure than hot process soap.
The hot process uses heat to speed
the
reaction
resulting
in
fully
saponified soap by the time the soap
is poured into molds. The groups
experiment consisted of two trials, the
first one being a failure. Following the
hot process procedure, 50 g of olive oil
and 50 g of unsalted butter were
heated and mixed thoroughly. The
amount of lye was calculated by
totaling the amount of fats in grams
and multiplying it by 13 %, yielding an
amount of 13 g. The ratio for the
amount of lye to water used was 1:1,
13 g of tap water was also used. Two
grams of vanilla was used. Table 1
depicts the ingredients used and its
corresponding amounts. [2]
Table 1. Amounts for ingredients used
Poun
Ounc Gra
ds
es
ms
Water
0.028
0.44
12.56
Lye (NaOH)
0.028
0.44
12.56
Oils
0.220
3.53
100.0
0
Fragrance
0.004
0.07
2.00
The lye was carefully poured to the
water and was mixed using a stirring
rod. At the same time, the oil mixture
was heated in a hot pot to 33-43C
and was constantly stirred. When the
mixture was viscous enough, the
solution of NaOH and water was added
while ceaselessly stirring. The mixture

was continually stirred until it began to

thicken. During this stage, the vanilla
was
now
added
and
mixed
scrupulously. When the mixture was
already thick and viscous, it was
bathed in cold running water to cool
its temperature. Afterwards, the mold
was prepared using empty water
bottles and a tray-like container,
greased with plastic wrap, and the
mixture was poured. About 6 hours
passed and two soap bars were
produced.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soap is formed through the
process of saponification where fats
and oils are treated with strong bases
such as lye (NaOH) or potash (KOH) to
form glycerol and the salt of a longchain fatty acid (soap), as shown
previously in Figure 1. There are two
methods used to prepare soap, the hot
process and cold process. Both require
a heat source and careful calculations
to ensure that no caustic base is left
unreacted in the soap. The hot process
uses heat to speed the reaction
resulting in fully saponified soap by
the time you pour your soap into
molds. The cold process uses just
enough heat to ensure that all the fat
is melted prior to reacting it with the
base.
The first trial of making the
soap was a failure because the
measurements werent exact and the
other ingredients werent measured
properly. The amount of oil used
exceeded 100% thus the ratio was
wrong which resulted to a soap which

is too basic and a soap that is too soft.

Another contributing factor to its
basicity was that 5 % excess of the oil
was not applied that only little sodium
hydroxide
is
consumed
in
the
saponification process. The soap was
tested and burned a skin, thus the
soap isnt advisable to be used and
applied to the skin.
Due to the first soap being a
failure, another one was made through
the same process but with concise
measurements, which was a success
since
the
ratio
between
the
ingredients were calculated and added
carefully, in order to avoid failures.
The soap produced took a longer time
to harden, because olive oil bars also
take considerably longer to react. The
soap from olive oil, however, was
softer and can be a good moisturizer.
The length of the hydrocarbon chain
and number of double bonds in the
carboxylic acid salt of the carboxylic
acid portion of the fat or oil determine
the properties of the resulting salt. For
example, the salt of a saturated long
chain acid make a harder, more
insoluble soap. [3].
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In its overall, the experiment
semi-succeeded in yielding a partiallyhardened soap through the traditional
hot process method where oils and
fats are mixed with a solution of
sodium hydroxide. In this experiment,
the triglyceride (oils and fats) is
reacted with a strong base (lye) to

produce glycerol and fatty acid salts

(soap). The aforementioned process is
called saponification, the main process
in making soaps, where the principal
acids are hydrolyzed.
The
conducted
experiment
produced a soft soap with excess oil
and vanilla scent, but due to lack of
time, it wasnt able to harden. Hence,
the soap, Kurislim, wasnt good
enough to compete with commerciallyprepared soaps.

REFERENCES
[1] Chemistry 122: Synthesis of Soap.
(n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2015,
from
https://hoeggerfarmyard.com/thefarmyard/soap-making2/saponification-explained/

[2] Retrieved September 19, 2015,

from http://soapcalc.net

[3] Fisher, D. (n.d.). Olive Oil (Castile)

Soap Recipes. Retrieved September
20,
2015,
from
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/s
oaprecipes/a/castrecipe.htm

APPENDIX
RAW DATA
Table 1. Amounts for ingredients used
Pounds

Ounces

Grams

Water

0.028

0.44

12.56

Lye (NaOH)

0.028

0.44

12.56

Oils

0.220

3.53

100.00

Fragrance

0.004

0.07

2.00

Figure 2. Set-up for basic soap making