The Chemistry of Soap Making

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Introduction

Everyone at some point or for some reason must make use of a soap everyday. The position of a soap in human life is very essential that it cannot be neglected. One sure use of saop is for everyday bathing. Since soap is very important to humans, then let is take a close look at soap and it's constituent.

What is Soap?

When hydrolysis of fat takes place by means of chemical reaction, we get the product which could either be potassium or sodium fatty acid salt. This product is what we know today as soap. Hence, we can say that soap is the salt of pottasuim or sodium fatty acids. The chemistry of soap production is called saponification. The molecule of a soap contains a carboxylate commonly called 'head' and a long hydrocarbon chain commonly referred to as the 'tail'. The pottasuim or sodium ions float freely in water hence leaving the head negatively charged.

Working principle of A Soap

The reason why soap is able to cleans objects is because of its emulsifying feature. An emulsifier has the ability to disperse a liquid into another liquid that cannot blend to become one. For example, water and oil cannot be mixed and so this knowledge majorly is leveraged in soap production. The main constituents of soap are

1. Alkalis; Caustic soda/ Caustic potash
2. Animal fat/ vegetable oil

When soap is introduced into water, the oil content of the soap will attract the dirt and since water and oil cannot blend together to form a fine solution, then the oil carrying dirt is suspended above while the water is left below. This is why most times, the lather (locally referred to as foam) which is produced from washing has a dark color as a result of dirt.

Types of Soap

There are mainly two types of soaps which are;

1. Soft soap
2. Hard soap

1. Soft Soap: when oil and caustic pottash is mixed, the product will be a soft soap. Pottasuim hydroxide is the chemical name of caustic soda hence, soft soap is also known as pottasuim saop. In the production of soft Soap, substances like preservative, color and perfume can be added to boost quality. Some examples of soft soap include toilet soap, antiseptic soap and liquid soap.

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Hard Soap: when oil and caustic soda is mixed, the result gotten is called a hard soap. A base called Sodium hydroxide is the chemical name for caustic soda. hence are soap is also called Sodium soap. Other substances can also be added to hard soap during production (as in soft soap) to add to quality. The bar soap whose main use is for cloth washing is an example of hard soap.

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How to produce a Soap Locally

You can make a local soap from the using the following materials

*Palm oil, caustic soda (can be gotten by burning dry plantain peel/waste), water and a heat source.

Procedures:
1. Using a clean container, burn some dry plantain peel.
2. In a clean basin, crush the ash to become powder.
3. Put the powder in an open pot and heat it until the it turns white.
4. Add some water to the white ash and boil the mixture.
5. Carefully collect the filtrate of the mixture by filtering the mixture.
6. Take away more water from the filtrate by boiling it some more. Then, add palm oil into some of the filtrate, mix well and heat it.
*7. Keep on heating the mixture but continue to gradually add the filtrate untill you must have exhausted the filtrate. Keep in an open place ( air filled) for cooling and setting.

Uses of Soap

At home

• For bathing
• For cleaning the toilet
• For washing cooking utensils
• For house cleaning such as mopping or scrubbing
• For washing hands as at when necessary
• For washing clothes

In Industry

• For cleaning offices
• For Washing industrial machines
• Sometimes, soap serves the function of a lubricant
• Washing containers
• used by launderers for cloth washing

Conclusion

Soap is a very essential commodity which humans cannot do without. It is the product of heated alkali and oil to give either a soft soap or a hard soap. However, these different kinds of soap serve different purpose. Nowadays, special soaps are created to serve special purposes such as treatment of treatment of skin irritation and beauty enhancement.