CONTENTS

 Acknowledgement
 Preface
 Introduction
 Commercial Preparation
 Introduction To Experiment
 Objective And Theory
 Procedure
 Observation Table
 Result
 Bibliography
 Acknowledgement

I will treasure the knowledge imparted to

me by Mrs. Ramya Ma'am, my greatful
thanks to her for the able teaching and
guidance. I thank my lab assistant for her
cooperation.

I also thank my parents and my friend for

their constant support and cooperation.
 Preface
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 hydrolyzed 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 of Soap
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 glycerin 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 mold.

 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 The 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.

Requirements
Three 100ml conical flasks, three test tubes,
100ml measuring cylinder, test tube stand,
weighing machine, stop watch.

 Chemical Requirements:
Three different soaps samples
Distilled Water
Tap Water
 Procedure
1. Take three 100ml conical flasks and
number them 1, 2,3,. Put 16ml of water
in each flask and add 8 Gms of soap.
2. Warm the contents to get a solution.
3. Take three 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.
 Observation

The following outcomes were noticed at end of the

experiment:

Test tube no. Vol. of soap Vol. of water Time taken for
sol. added disappearence
of 2mm
1.LUX 8ml 16ml 3'28"
2.SANTOOR 8ml 16ml 15'32"
3.CINTHOL 8ml 16ml 9'40"
 Result
The cleansing capacity of the soaps taken is
in the order:
Santoor > Cinthol > 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
www.yahoo.com