DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL INDIRAPURAM INVESTIGATORY PROJECT ON PREPARATION OF SOAP FOR

THE ACADEMIC SESSION 2013-2014

EFFORTS BY: ISHAN BHATNAGAR CLASS: XII-E ROLL NO: 12

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is my duty to express my gratitude to my Respected chemistry teacher

Mrs. Jyoti Samant

For her valuable guidance, interest and constant encouragement for the fulfillment
of the project on preparation of soap for the academic session 2013-2014. I am also
highly obliged to our lab assistant Mr. Mohan who provided me the required
apparatus and material
CERTIFICATE Delhi Public School
This is to certify that Ishan Bhatnagar of class XII-E has satisfactorily completed
the course of his project on preparation of soap for the academic session 2013-
2014.
Date:

Signature of Teacher

Signature of Student
CONTENTS
 Soap  Aim  Requirement  Basic principle involved  Procedure  Precautions 
Theory of soap  Soap, fat and oil  Safety  Bibliography
SOAP SAMPLE
EXPERIMENTS
AIM: To prepare soap by cold process.

REQUIREMENTS:
 Oil  Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)  Sodium Chloride (NaCl)  Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3
 China Dish
BASIC PRINCIPLES INVOLVED
 Soaps are alkali salts of higher fatty acids.  Soap is prepared by the action of
an alkali like NaOH on vegetable oil.  The reaction is called Saponification. 
NaCl is added to the reaction.  Mixture causes the precipitation of soap.

 To make soap hard, some filter e.g. sodium carbonate or sodium silicate is added
to it.
PROCEDURE
 We took about 15 ml of vegetable oil in a beaker.
 After pouring 15 ml of water in a beaker add 6 gm of NaOH and stir well for the
formation of solvent.  Add above prepared solution to vegetable oil.  After
stirring the mixture thoroughly it becomes thick paste.
 Add sodium chloride and sodium carbonate to the paste of soap and stir.  Caste
the paste on china dish for desired shape.
PRECAUTIONS
 NaOH should be handled with care.
 The mixture of oil and alkali should be stirred thoroughly  The soap thus formed
is not pure. Therefore it should not be used in daily life.
THEORY OF SOAP
To understand more about soaps, it is necessary to have an overview of Surface
Tension –basic property of water and surface chemistry. Water, the liquid commonly
used for cleaning, has a property called Surface Tension. In the body of the water,
each molecule is surrounded and attracted by other water molecules. However, at the
surface, water molecule only on the water side surrounds those water molecules. A
tension is created as water molecules at the surface are pulled into the body of
water. This tension causes the water to bead up on the surfaces which slows wetting
of the surface and inhibits the cleaning process.
In the cleaning process the surface tension must be reduced so that the water can
spread and wet the surfaces. Chemicals that are able to do this efficiently are
called surface active agents, or “Surfacants”. They are said to make water
“wetter”. Surfacants perform other important functions in cleaning, loosening,
emulsifying and holding soil in suspension until it can be rinsed away. Surfacants
also provide alkalinity and are useful in removing acidic soils. Surfacants are
classified by their ionic properties in water:
1. Anionic (negative charge) 2. Nonionic (having no charge) 3. Cationic (positive
charge) 4. Amphoteric (either +ve or –ve charge)
SOAPS, FATS AND OILS
Soaps are water-soluble sodium or potassium salts of fatty acid. They are made from
fats and oils by treating them with a strong alkali like NaOH.
The fats are oils used in soap making come from animal or plant resources. Each fat
or oil is made up of a distinctive mixture of several distinct triglycerides. In a
triglyceride molecule, 3 fatty acid molecules are attached to 1 molecule of
glycerin and each type consists of its own particular combination of fatty acids
Fatty acids are the components of fats and oils that are used in soap making. They
are weak acids composed of two parts- a carboxylic acid group, and a hydrocarbon
group. Generally it is made up of a long straight chain of carbon atoms each
carrying 2 hydrogen atoms. ALKALI: An alkali is a soluble salt of an alkali metal
like sodium or potassium. The common alkalis used in soap making areSodium
Hydroxide (NaOH) – Caustic soda Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) – Caustic potash
HOW SOAPS ARE MADE
“Saponification” of fats and oils is the most widely used soap making process. This
method involves heating fats and oils and reacting them with a liquid alkali to
produce soap and water plus glycerin. GLYCERYL ESTER OR STEARIC ACID (FAT) + ALKALI
> SODIUM STEARATE + GLYCEROL Other major soap making process is neutralization of
fatty acids with an alkali. Fats and oils are hydrolyzed (split) with a high
pressure steam to yield crude fatty acids and glycerine. The fatty acids are then
purified by distillation and neutralization with an alkali to produce soap and
water.
SAFETY
A commitment to safety is the top priority from the time a company begins working
on a new product and continues as long as the product is in the market. To
determine the safety of a cleaning product ingredient, industry scientists evaluate
the toxicity of the ingredient, which is generally defined as any harmful effect of
a chemical on a living organism. Since all chemicals including water are toxic
under certain conditions of exposure, scientist must consider factors like duration
and frequency of exposure to the ingredient; concentration of the ingredient at the
time of exposure; routine and manner
in which exposure occurs e.g. eyes, skin or ingestion. Scientist evaluate the
safety of the product to determine if it is safe for consumers and the environment.
Toxicologists are concerned with the effects of 2 types of exposure: ‘INTENDED’ and
‘UNINTENDED’. Intended exposures occur with the use of a cleansing product
according to directions. Unintended exposures can result from misuse, through
improper storage or by contact , such as when a liquid detergent is accidently
splashed into the eye.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 www.stericycle.com  www.countryscent.com

 www.soapgateway.com
 NCERT TEXTBOOK XII

 PRADEEP’S CHEMISTRY XII

 www.wikipedia.org