CONTENTS

o Abstract
o Introduction
o Commercial preparation of soap
o Introduction to experiment
o Objective and theory
o Materials Required
o Procedure
o Observation table
o Result
o Test for hardness
o Bibliography
Abstract:
Soaps and detergents remove dirt and grease from skin
and clothes. 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 and Oleic
acid. The cleansing action of soaps depends on the
solubility of the long alkyl chain in grease and that of the -
COONa or the -COOK part in water. Whenever 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 emulsion is formed between
grease and water which appears as foam. The washing
ability of soap depends on foaming capacity, as well as the
water used in cleaning. The 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 added to hard water
reacts with Ca and Mg and precipitates them out.
Therefore, sodium carbonate is used in the treatment of
hard water. This project aims at finding the foaming
capacity of various soaps and the action of Ca and Mg salts
on their foaming capacity.
Introduction:
Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with
water for washing and cleaning, which historically comes
either in solid 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 strong
alkaline in a process known as saponification. The fats are
hydrolysed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids
(crude soap) and glycerol.
The general formula of soap is
Fatty end water soluble end
CH3-(CH2) n - COONa
Soaps are useful for cleaning because soap molecules
have both a hydrophilic end, which dissolves in water, as
well as a hydrophobic end, which is able to dissolve non-
polar grease molecules. Applied to a soiled surface, soapy
water effectively holds particles in colloidal suspension so
it can be rinsed off with clean 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 round structure called micelle.
Therefore, it allows water to remove normally-insoluble
matter by emulsification.
Commercial production:
The most popular soap making process today is the cold
process method, where fats such as olive oil 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 glycerine is not
removed, leaving a naturally moisturizing soap and not
pure detergent. Often, emollients such as jojoba oil or
Shea butter are added 'at trace' (the point at which the
saponification process is sufficiently advanced that the
soap has begun to thicken), after most of the oils have
saponified, so that they remain unreacted in the finished
soap.
Fat in soap:
Soap is derived from either vegetable or animal fats.
Sodium Tallowate, a common ingredient in much soap, is
derived 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
provide different qualities. For example, olive oil provides
mildness in soap; coconut oil provides lots of lather; while
coconut and palm oils provide hardness. Sometimes
castor oil can also be used as an ebullient.
Smaller amounts of unsaponifable oils and fats that do not
yield soap are sometimes added for further benefits.
Preparation of soap
In cold-process and hot-process soap making, heat may be
required for saponification.
Cold-process soap making takes place at a sufficient
temperature to ensure the liquification of the fat being
used.
Unlike cold-processed 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 making. 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 finished product
is mild and skin-friendly.
Hot process:
In the hot-process method, alkali 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
excess liquid drained off. The hot, soft soap is then
spooned into a mould.
Cold process:
A cold-process soap maker first looks up the
saponification value of the fats being used on a
saponification chart, which is then used to calculate the
appropriate 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 greasy.
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 approximately 100-110°F (37-
43°C), and are no more than 10°F (~5.5°C) apart, they may
be combined. This 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. "Trace"
corresponds roughly to viscosity. Essential and fragrance
oils are added at light trace.
Introduction to experiment:
Soap samples of various brands are taken and their
foaming capacity is noticed.
Various soap samples are taken separately and their
foaming capacity is observed. The soap with the maximum
foaming capacity is thus, said to be having the best
cleaning capacity.
The test requires to be done with distilled water as well as
with tap water. The test of soap on distilled water gives
the actual strength of the soaps cleaning capacity. The
second 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 concentration. 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 time. The solutions are then allowed to
stand when the foam produced during shaking 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 the given sample of
soap, greater is its foaming capacity or cleansing action.
Materials Required:
Apparatus Required: Five 100 ml conical flasks, five
test tubes, 100 ml measuring cylinder, test tube stand,
weighing machine, stop watch.
Chemical Requirements: Five different soap
samples, distilled water, tap water.

Procedure:
1. Take five 100ml conical flasks and number them 1, 2,
3, 4, 5. Put 16ml of water in each flask and add 8
grams 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 soap solution in
different test tubes.
4. Close the mouth of the test tube and shake 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 froth.
Observations:
The following outcomes were noticed at the end of the
experiment
Test Tube Vol. of Vol. of Time taken for
soap water disappearance of
solution added foam
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 soaps 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 said to be having the least foaming capacity
and cleansing capacity.
Test for hardness 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 the presence of the
salts causing hardness in water. The water used does not
contain salts of Ca2+ and Mg2+. The tap water provided is
soft and thus, the experimental results and values hold
good for distilled water and tap water.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Parts of this project have been referred from foreign
sources and have been included in this investigatory
project after editing.
The references of the sources are as follows:
Books:
Together With Lab Manual Chemistry-XII
Comprehensive Chemistry - 12
Internet sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.google.com
Structure of soap molecule and micelle formation
www.icbse.com