Project work of Chemistry

“Process of soap manufacturing”

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Name: Suraj Pariyar Name: Junu Kapali
Class: XII DEPARTMENT OF
Roll no: 274 CHEMISTRY
Section: M11 NATIONAL SCHOOL OF
National School of Sciences SCIENCES
KATHMANDU, NEPAL

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 CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
This project work entitled, “Process of soap manufacturing” by Mr.Suraj Pariyar
under the supervision of Supervisor Ms.Junu Kapali is here submitted for the partial
fulfillment of project work of chemistry of grade 12.

Supervisor
Ms. Junu Kapali
Department of Chemistry
National School of Sciences
Kathmandu, Nepal
Date:

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 Acknowledgement
It is my good fortune to get very cooperative teacher Ms. Junu Kapali. During
the work in progress, support, helpfulness and constant encouragement kept me
motivated in research work. She provided invaluable interest, guidance during the
course of work. I have not only learned but also got important suggestions regarding
scientific writing and other related matters. I am very grateful to her.
I would like to thank all faculty members who have provided encouragement and
suggestions during course of work and special thanks to lab assistants.
Further, I would also like to extend my gratitude to the principle Dr. Madhav
Prasad Baral and NSS Executive Director Ma’am Pranitha Sharma Baral for
providing me the entire faculty that was required.
Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the greatest mentor, my
parents. All the thanks are due to them for everything that I have achieved.

Suraj Pariyar

Date:202
2/02/09

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ABSTRACT:
Soap is a salt of fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a
domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing and other
types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used as thickeners components
of some as lubricants and precursors to catalysts.
In this project, process through which soap is manufactured is researched through the
means of various websites related to soaps and its production. The research was not
done outside due to Covid-19.

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INTRODUCTION:
Soaps and detergents are similar in what they do, however they are produced
completely differently. Soaps are produced by mixing fats and oils with a base as
opposed to detergent that is created by combining chemical compounds in a mixer.

Some people make soap in their own homes, often due to the cost effectiveness and the
fact that it allows them to choose ingredients and scents they want to use for the soap
themselves . However, most people simply prefer buy soaps sold in shops. This makes
the industries that produce soap important.

Scope and Purpose of the research

The main scope of this study is to study over how soaps are generally prepared at
industrial scales in different ways rather than domestic or local soap making through
their physical and chemical mechanism.

OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this project is to simply study the various methods of preparation of
soaps at industrial level along with the chemistry behind its manufacture.

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Literature Review
Humans have been using soap for millennia, as evidence found showing the
production of soap like materials around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon shows. The
earliest recorded formula of production of soap, dating to around 2500 BC and written
on a Sumerian clay tablet, mentions heating of a mixture of oil and wood ash.
Coincidentally, this was also the first recorded chemical reaction.
Soap making first started becoming an established industry around the 9th century in
the Middle East, with hard toilet soaps with pleasant smells first originating there.
There, soap was found to be made via the reaction between fatty acids and alkali. By
the 13th century it had virtually become industrialized in that area.
Soaps from the Middle East were imported to Europe around the 15th century, and
industrialization also started there, firstly through France and later England. Quality
later improved with the use of vegetable oils rather than animal oils. Liquid soap was
also later introduced for the first time around the mid-19th century.

Marseille soap, produced in Marseille, France since the 12th century.

With the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and new chemical discoveries relating
to soapmaking, the small-scale and rough soap industries improved and turned into
large businesses manufacturing professional, high-quality soaps. With the founding of
large companies like Unilever, soapmaking has now become a large chemical industry,
more so with the increased public awareness relating to health and hygiene.

In the context of Nepal, soapmaking started out around the late 20th century. A
popular Nepali soap product is the "Himalayan herbal soap" made from "100% natural
ingredients", which carved out a niche market when it was first introduced. The
production of this soap is mostly all manual. As an example, a company known as
Wild Earth, established around the mid-1990s by entrepreneur Carroll Dunham created
soaps with fresh yak milk from Langtang, carried in ice coolers by porters from 8,000
ft. The Himalayan herbal soaps are primarily produced via the cold process. Unlike
many other Nepali products, the herbal soaps carry an almost spotless reputation.
These handmade soaps are popular abroad, but the local market is taking time to catch
on, primarily because of the prices being the detergent.
There are two main types of soaps produced today, which are toilet and non-toilet
soaps.

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Non-toilet soaps are important components of lubricating greases and thickeners.
These soaps are generally the emulsions of calcium/lithium soaps and mineral oils.
Many other metallic soaps are also preparable, like those of aluminium , sodium, and
similar mixtures. These metallic soaps are mostly prepared via the neutralization of
purified fatty acids.
The domestically used soaps known as toilet soaps are the soaps that usually come to
mind when the word “soap” is mentioned. In modern industries such toilet soaps are
prepared by the saponification of tri glycerols i.e., vegetable/animal oils and fats, using
an alkaline solution such as sodium hydroxide.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

MATERIALS USED
Four materials are primarily used while preparing soaps. They are as follows:
1. Triglycerols, which are the natural fats used for the soapmaking. The suitability
of a particular triglycerol for saponification is determined based on two factors:
the iodine number and the saponification value. The iodine number is the
weight of iodine in grams that can be fixed from 100 grams of the triglycerols ;
the higher the numbers the softer the soap. The saponification value denotes the
amount of caustic potash in milligrams required to transform 1 gram of the
triglycerol to soap; increase in it makes it easier to transform it to soap. The
difference between these values is referred to as the INS factor, and an increase
in this factor shows the following changes in soap:
 Fat tends to be solid
 Soap tends sharply to become rancid
 The soap's solubility tends to decrease
 Soap made is rough

2. The bleaching and forming properties tend to decrease

3. Lauric acid [CH3(CH2)10COOH], found in high proportions in coconut oil
and palm kernel oil is most commonly used as the fatty compound for soap due
to it having the best expected properties.
4. Soda iye (NaOH) or potash iye (KOH) as the alkaline compound. These strong
bases are used to directly saponify the triglycerols. Soda iye is more commonly
used, while potash iye can be used for baby soaps.
5. A concentrated brine solution, which is added to separate glycerin from the
soap on saponification. However, glycerin may be left in the soap to keep it
soft in some cases .
6. Additives, which include pigments, fragrances, preservatives and fillers to
increase the quality of soap and for other purposes.

CHEMISTRY OF SOAP

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 The triglycerol used for the preparation initially combines with fatty acid chains in the
vegetable/animal oils, to form a triglyceride. A triglyceride is typically a triester that
consists of three long-chain aliphatic carboxylic acid chains appended to a single
glycerol molecule. This triglyceride is then hydrolyzed with a strong base like NaOH,
forming a soap.
The image below shows the use of coconut oil to form soap

MANUFACTURE PROCESSES
There are three basic soap manufacture processes that are used industrially. They
mainly just differ in the saponification step.
• Cold process (reaction takes place substantially at room temperature)
• Semi-boiled process (reaction takes place near the boiling point)
• Hot process/ Fully boiled process (reactants are boiled at least once and the glycerol
is removed)
These three processes primarily differ on the saponification temperature. Out of these,
the cold and hot process are the most commonly used.
Before the soapmaking actually begins, the oils and fats are put through some
pretreatment. These raw materials often have strong odors or more/less intense
colorations, and soaps made of them are poor in quality. So, to purify them, they are
put through the following treatments:
• Bleaching: It can be done either by passing the oil through "active fuller iron" clay at
90 degree Celsius. oxidation of oil, done by passing streams of hot air through it. It
removes dirt, pigments and clay particles present in the oil. It is often used for palm
oil, but the majority of good quality fats and oils don't need it.
• Refining: This is sometimes used for the manufacture of pure soaps, where the oil is
treated with alkali to remove free fatty acids.
• Deodorization: This is a costly process where a superheated vapor stream is passed
through the oil.
The process of soapmaking is then finally started. It involves four main steps, which
are saponification, glycerin removal, soap purification and finishing.

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Flow diagram of soap production.
1. Saponification
As mentioned before, saponification involves the oils or fats being placed along with
either soda iye (NaOH) or potash iye (KOH) in a reaction chamber. The solutions used
here are always only aqueous. Heat is freely released in this reaction when the iye
reacts, so this reaction is exothermic.

In the reaction chamber shown above, two layers of iye and oils/fats are placed. The
interface here reacts to iye and oils/fats. There is a constant stirring of the reactants in
the chamber. That causes breakdown of the reactant into small drops and causes
increase of surface area of reactant molecules. Thus, the reaction rate increases.
Saponification can be done in three different ways based on the soap manufacture
process:

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 • In cold process, as the name implies no heat is used; the saponification is done at
room temperature. It is a relatively long process. The mixture is kept under vigorous
agitation for about 2 hours, and the dyes, perfumes and additives are generally added
during this time. After the mixture is solidified, this crude soap is removed, poured
into cooling frames, kept there for a day or more, then removed from the frame, cut
into chunks and sent to the finish line. This method is simple, inexpensive and not
highly mechanical.
• In the semi-boiled process, the saponification mixture is heated to a temperature of
70-90o C using a heated coil, causing the reaction to complete faster. This process
allows adjustment of baking soda amount before the dirty soap is removed. It also
allows for better recycling of product waste, better integration of additives, wider
selection of raw materials, and doesn't discharge any effluent to the environment.
• In the hot process, the temperature for the reaction is set as high as 100o C; with the
fat ingredient allowing for a wide range of uses. This process allows for the production
of a wide variety of soaps, from basic household soaps to high-grade toilet soaps.

2. Glycerin Removal

After the completion of saponification, the final mixture includes a solid zone
and an aqueous zone. The aqueous zone contains glycerin. Since glycerin is
more expensive than soap, most of it is removed. The amount left over gives
the soap a smooth and soft texture, and the removed glycerin is set aside for the
production of more value-added beauty products. In some cases though, more
glycerin may be added for purposes like making transparent soap.

The mixture obtained after saponification is in the following equilibrium:

Equilibrium of the post-saponification mixture. [5] If Na+ is added to the

aquifer, the equilibrium reaction reverses in order to minimize Na+ according
to Le-Chatelier's principle. Due to this, the density of the glycerin increases and
the density of soap decreases, thus the soap rises to the top and glycerin is
deposited at the bottom, from where it's recovered.

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