Ronquillo, Mon Carlo L.

January 23, 2018

G210- Res03

Narrative Report: Production of Dishwashing Liquid

The purpose of this experiment is to produce a dishwashing liquid that can be used in

household chores and in the experiments in the following week. Also, it can give the students

knowledge about making dishwashing liquid and the significance of the reagents used in the

experiment. First reagent that has been used is Sodium laureth Sulfate (SLES), its texture can range

depending on the state. In this experiment, it is in solid state and it have a very slimy texture. Feels

almost like a gel. The 140 g of SLES is purely dissolved in a 1000 ml beaker with 772 ml tap water

in 10-15 minutes making it in liquid state. SLES is commonly used in preparing household

cleaning products because it has minimum irritating effect compare than other surfactant reagents,

and it used as a foaming agent and aid to efficient cleaning Next reagent is the Coconut

Diethanolemide (CDEA). 60 ml of CDEA has been poured in the beaker and dissolved for 5 mins.

CDEA can balance the foam and thicken the liquid. Also, it can lessen the effect of other reagents

that can cause irritation in the skin.

The third and fourth reagents are 10 ml Glycerin and 1 ml Benzalkonium chloride. It was

poured in the beaker respectively. First one is the Glycerin and it has been dissolved in 2.5 minutes

and afterwards the Benzalkonium chloride was also dissolved in the mixture in 2.5 minutes.

Glycerin is being used widely in various household product and its main function is to moisture

our skin, making it hydrated and soft. While the Benzalkonium chloride is mainly used as a
preservative and antimicrobial reagent. Benzalkonium chloride works by taking out

microorganisms and inhibiting their future growth, and for this function it is frequently used in

antibacterial household products.

For the color of the mixture, drops of powdered colorant was added. Second to the last

reagent is the essential oil. 1.5 ml essential oil is added in the solution and it has been dissolved

for 5 minutes. Its main function is to add essence in the product. The essence that has been used in

this experiment was lemon oil and it has a soothing smell accompanied to it. Lastly, the Sodium

Chloride. This salt differs than those of table salt in terms of that this salt granules are bigger than

those of table salt. It also regenerates ion exchange resins and get rid of the calcium and magnesium

ions that will result in increasing the viscosity of the solution. This is used plainly as a thickener

in shampoos and dishwashing liquids. The students have been reminded that the adding of sodium

chloride should be in small quantity to avoid over amount of the reagent that can result to too much

viscosity and improper texture of the product.

After the last reagent, the solution is mixed for 10-15 minutes to totally dissolved all the

reagents. As for the observation of the student, there is little to none problem encountered in

performing the experiment. However, compare to the other group, the color of the final product

differs from the other. The color of the final product was light yellow, and others turn to be dark

yellow. The color of the texture lead to confusion to the student if its appropriate to have a light-

colored product. The students carefully add small amount of the colorants because they thought it

can lead to too much vibrant to the product and may cause side effect caused by the colorant. In

this problem, the students recommend that it should have an exact amount of colorant to be added

to avoid the mis confusion to the part of the students. Also, the students observed that texture of

the final product also differs to other groups. This is also caused by not having a proper equipment
to measure the exact amount of Sodium Chloride. Although the instructor said that the students

should put the Sodium chloride until the proper viscosity is reached, however despite of this, the

final product of all the groups differ from each other. Again, in this problem, the student

recommends that a uniform amount of the reagents should be given to the students to acquire

proper texture of the product. Overall, this experiment helped the students to know more about the

reagents used in the experiment. The student has a small family dishwashing liquid production

business and this experiment provide additional information and experience in making

dishwashing liquid.