Soap- Making Activity (Saponification)

Objective:
To demonstrate the saponification process by reacting vegetable oil with sodium hydroxide to
produce soap and glycerin.
Materials; vegetable oil, 9M sodium hydroxide solution, food coloring, assorted fragrances,
stearic acid
Equipment: tall 250 mL beaker, stirring rod, Erlenmeyer flask

Procedure:
Preparing 9M NaOH solution.
1.Weigh 36g of NaOH pellets. (Do not put the NaOH flakes directly onto the pan, use a paper
box or watch glass. Weigh the watch glass first to get accurate measurement).
2.Using a graduated cylinder measure 100mL of distilled water. Put it in an Erlenmeyer flask.
Slowly dissolve the 36g of NaOH in the water. Put it little by little until all the NaOH are
dissolved. Touch the outside of the beaker. What do you feel? What do you call this type of
reaction? Transfer the solution in a reagent bottle. Label it as 9M NaOH.
Saponification.
1. Pour 10 ml of the vegetable oil into a tall 250 mL beaker. Heat it until it reaches 35 0C. Use a
thermometer to get the temperature.
2. Remove the heated oil from the tripod. (Do not use your bare hands to hold the hot beaker).
Add 1-2 drops of desired fragrance, using the pipet/ dropper; do not mix fragrances.
3.Add 3ml of 9M sodium hydroxide solution to the beaker.
4. Use the stirring rod to mix. You must stir for 20-45 minutes; you may choose to take turns
with your lab partner. The mixture will slowly become smoother and more opaque; it should
thicken to a pudding-like consistency.
5. After approval by your instructor, add 2-3 drops of desired food coloring. Stir.
6. Add a dash (approximately 1/8 teaspoon) of stearic acid. This will serve as a hardener for the
liquid soap. Stir.
7.Pour into chosen mold shape. Label with your names and lab section number.
8. After pouring into the mold, the process will continue on its own. The soap will heat up and
liquefy again, then cool off slowly, harden and dry. So, the soap must be left undisturbed for at
least 12 hours.
Report
Experimental Observations
You may make observations after the soap has dried; it will be returned in lab section or lecture.
1.Does it smell like any soap that you have used?
2.Wash your hands with your soap. Does it lather like regular soap?
3.Does it clean your hands as well as regular soap? Explain.
4.Now rinse your hands thoroughly just in case your soap contains any unreacted sodium
hydroxide.
Questions
1.The saponification reaction occurs between an acid and a base, shown in the figure in the
procedure. In the reaction you performed, what is the acid and what is the base?
2.The base used in the saponification reaction must always contain a hydroxide ion. What
bases are most commonly used for this reaction?
3.The products of the reaction are glycerol and a crude soap. The chemical formula of the soap
is CH3(CH2)14COO−Na+CH3(CH2)14COO−Na+. Draw the line-angle structure.
4.One the above structure, circle the portion of the molecule that is water-soluble. Why is this
portion water-soluble?
5.On the above structure, box the portion of the molecule that is fat-soluble. Why is this portion
fat- soluble?
6.On the above structure, add interactions to water molecules: positive ion to hydrogen dipole
and negative ion to oxygen dipole.
7.During lab section, why did the saponification reaction require the long period of stirring?
8.After lab section, why did the soap have to “cure” in the molds?
9.Do you think that the type of fat used will make a difference in the product? Why or why not?
10. Explain the process of saponification.

Note: Always observe proper laboratory procedures and use proper PPE during the
experiment. Be careful in dealing with hot substances, and NaOH as it may cause skin
burns and stains on clothes.
 SAPONIFICATION (SOAP-MAKING PROCESS)

Materials required:

 Vegetable oil (castor oil, olive oil, coconut oil or palm oil)
 20% sodium hydroxide solution
 Common salt
 Measuring cylinders
 Glass beaker (250 ml)
 Blue and red litmus papers
 Glass rod
 Wire gauze
 Tripod stand
 Filter funnel
 Filter paper
 Spatula
 Knife

Procedure:
Preparing 20% NaOH

 Measure 20g of solid NaOH (sodium hydroxide) in a digital balance or triple beam
balance. Do not directly put the NaOH on the balance pan, use a watch glass.
 Transfer the NaOH in an Erlenmeyer flask then gently drip the distilled water while
stirring until it reaches the 100mL mark.
 Touch the outside of the beaker. What do you feel? What do you call this type of
reaction? Transfer the solution in a reagent bottle. Label it as 20% NaOH solution.

Soap Making

 Take 25 ml of coconut oil in a measuring cylinder and pour it into a 250 ml glass
beaker.
 Measure 30 ml of 20% NaOH solution in another measuring cylinder and add it into the
beaker containing vegetable oil.
 Vigorously stir the mixture using a glass rod.
 Touch the beaker from outside. It is observed that the beaker is warm.
 Place the beaker on a wire gauze placed over a tripod stand.
 Heat the beaker using a Bunsen burner till the mixture become a whitish paste.
 Remove the beaker from the flame and allow it to cool.
 Dip a red litmus paper in the suspension formed.
 When dipped in the suspension, the red litmus paper changes its color to blue.
 Dip a blue litmus paper in the suspension.
 The colour of blue litmus paper remains the same.
 To the above suspension, add 15g of common salt and stir it well with a glass rod.
 After adding common salt, soap in the suspension gets precipitated out as solid.
 Take a filter funnel and place a filter paper in it and fix it in a beaker or Erlenmeyer
flask.
  Pour the contents of the beaker into the funnel over a glass rod and filter the contents
of the beaker.
 After filtration, soap is left behind in the filter paper.
 Transfer the soap into another filter paper using a spatula and dry it by pressing with
another filter paper.
 Then, cut it into desired shape with a knife.

Precautions:

 Do not touch the NaOH solution with bare hands as it may burn the skin.
 Do not breathe the fumes of NaOH or let the fumes get in your eyes. Keep the windows
of the laboratory open.
 The mixture of oil and alkali should be stirred thoroughly.
 It is necessary to stir the soap solution after adding common salt to it, in order to
precipitate out the soap in solid form

Online Quiz

https://amrita.olabs.edu.in/?sub=73&brch=3&sim=119&cnt=228