SOAP PRODUCTION

Soaps are substances that can be used for cleaning.

The basic ingredients for soap production include fats from animals and oils from vegetables
and sodium hydroxide.
General equation
Fat + alkali soap + glycerol
Glycerol is a by-product which can be used for other industrial processes which include
among others:
(i) Precursor to explosives
(ii) Skin moisturisers
(iii) Sweetened drinks
(iv) Hair care products
(v) Manufacture of paints
(vi) Processing of tobacco

INDUSTRIAL PREPARATION OF SOAP FROM VEGETABLE OIL

Stage one
 Oil is extracted from the seeds of plants e.g. maize palm and sun flowers.
 The seeds are crushed, steamed and crushed again in order to produce as much oil as
possible.

Stage two
 The oil is pumped together with sodium hydroxide solution into a sealed reaction
vessel.
 The mixture is then heated under pressure.
 The conditions applied allow saponification to occur in the shortest time possible.

Stage three
 The liquid containing soap and glycerol is allowed to cool before concentrated brine
(sodium chloride) is added.
 The solid soap is separated by centrifuging.

Stage four
 Some perfume and other additives are added
 The soap is dried and formed into bars.
HOW SOAP WORKS
A soap molecule has one hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail.
Hydrophilic means ‘water loving’
Hydrophobic means ‘water hating’
When washing the hydrophilic end is attracted to the water while the hydrophobic tail is
attracted to the oily particles on dirt clothes.
The oily particles detach themselves from the clothes and attach themselves to the soap. Thus
they dissolve in the water.
Diagram