8/14/2019 Chemistry Project on Foaming Capacity of Soaps

Chemistry Project on Foaming Capacity of

Soaps

Submitted by  Editor

Foaming Capacity Of Soaps

Lourdes Central School,

Bejai, Mangalore

Investigatory Project

On

Foaming Capacity

Of Soaps

Kenneth Lobo

Class XII

Contents

Acknowledgements 3

Preface 4

Introduction 5

Commercial preparation 6

Introduction to experiment 9

Objective and theory 10

Procedure 11

Observation table 12

Result 13

Test for hardness 14

Bibliography 15

Acknowledgement

I will treasure the knowledge imparted to me by

Mrs. Anita Thomas, my grateful thanks to her for the able teaching and guidance. I thank Mr.
Harsha Kumar, the Lab assistant for his cooperation.

I also thank my parents and my friends for their constant support and cooperation.

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8/14/2019 Chemistry Project on Foaming Capacity of Soaps

Preface

Soaps and detergents remove dirt and grease from skin and clothes. But all soaps are not
equally effective in their cleaning action. Soaps are the Na and K salts of higher fatty acids such
as Palmitic acid, Stearic acid and Oleic acid.

The cleansing action of soaps depends on the solubility of the long alkyl chain in grease and
that of the -COONa or the -COOK part in water.

Whenever soap is applied on a dirty wet cloth, the non polar alkyl group dissolves in grease
while the polar -COONa part dissolves in water. In this manner, an emulsion is formed between
grease and water which appears as foam.

The washing ability of soap depends on foaming capacity, as well as the water used in cleaning.
The salts of Ca and Mg disrupt the formation of micelle formation. The presence of such salts
makes the water hard and the water is called hard water. These salts thus make the soap
inefficient in its cleaning action.

Sodium Carbonate when added to hard water reacts with Ca and Mg and precipitates them
out. Therefore sodium carbonate is used in the treatment of hard water.

This project aims at finding the foaming capacity of various soaps and the action of Ca and Mg
salts on their foaming capacity.

Introduction

Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning, which
historically comes either in solid bars or in the form of a viscous liquid. Soap consists of sodium
or potassium salts of fatty acids and is obtained by reacting common oils or fats with a
strong alkaline in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the base,
yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol.

The general formula of soap is

Fatty end water soluble end

CH3 -(CH2 )n - COONa

Soaps are useful for cleaning because soap molecules have both a hydrophilic end, which
dissolves in water, as well as a hydrophobic end, which is able to dissolve non polar grease
molecules. Applied to a soiled surface, soapy water effectively holds particles in colloidal
suspension so it can be rinsed off with clean water. The hydrophobic portion (made up of a
long hydrocarbon chain) dissolves dirt and oils, while the ionic end dissolves in water. The
resultant forms a round structure called micelle. Therefore, it allows water to remove normally-
insoluble matter by emulsification.

Commercial production of soap

The most popular soap making process today is the cold process method, where fats such
as olive oil react with strong alkaline solution, while some soapers use the historical hot
process.

Handmade soap differs from industrial soap in that, usually, an excess of fat is sometimes used
to consume the alkali (super fatting), and in that the glycerin is not removed, leaving a naturally
moisturizing soap and not pure detergent. Often, emollients such as jojoba oil or Shea butter
are added 'at trace' (the point at which the saponification process is sufficiently advanced that
the soap has begun to thicken), after most of the oils have saponified, so that they remain
unreacted in the finished soap.

Fat in soap
Soap is derived from either vegetable or animal fats. Sodium Tallowate, a common ingredient
in much soap, is derived from rendered beef fat. Soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such
as palm oil, and the product is typically softer.

An array of saponifiable oils and fats are used in the process such as olive, coconut, palm,
cocoa butter to provide different qualities. For example, olive oil provides mildness in soap;
coconut oil provides lots of lather; while coconut and palm oils provide hardness. Sometimes
castor oil can also be used as an ebullient.

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8/14/2019 Chemistry Project on Foaming Capacity of Soaps

Smaller amounts of unsaponifable oils and fats that do not yield soap are sometimes added for
further benefits.

Preparation of soap
In cold-process and hot-process soap making, heat may be required for saponification.

Cold-process soap making takes place at a sufficient temperature to ensure the liquification of
the fat being used.

Unlike cold-processed soap, hot-processed soap can be used right away because the alkali and
fat saponify more quickly at the higher temperatures used in hot-process soap making. Hot-
process soap making was used when the purity of alkali was unreliable.

Cold-process soap making requires exact measurements of alkali and fat amounts and
computing their ratio, using saponification charts to ensure that the finished product is mild
and skin-friendly.

Hot process

In the hot-process method, alkali and fat are boiled together at 80–100 °C until saponification
occurs, which the soap maker can determine by taste or by eye.

After saponification has occurred, the soap is sometimes precipitated from the solution by
adding salt, and the excess liquid drained off. The hot, soft soap is then spooned into a mold.

Cold process

A cold-process soap maker first looks up the saponification value of the fats being used on a
saponification chart, which is then used to calculate the appropriate amount of alkali. Excess
unreacted alkali in the soap will result in a very high pH and can burn or irritate skin. Not
enough alkali and the soap are greasy.

The alkali is dissolved in water. Then oils are heated, or melted if they are solid at room
temperature. Once both substances have cooled to approximately 100-110°F (37-43°C), and
are no more than 10°F (~5.5°C) apart, they may be combined. This alkali-fat mixture is stirred
until "trace". There are varying levels of trace. After much stirring, the mixture turns to the
consistency of a thin pudding. "Trace" corresponds roughly to viscosity. Essential and fragrance
oils are added at light trace.

Introduction to the experiment

Soap samples of various brands are taken and their foaming capacity is noticed.

Various soap samples are taken separately and their foaming capacity is observed. The soap
with the maximum foaming capacity is thus, said to be having the best cleaning capacity.

The test requires to be done with distilled water as well as with tap water. The test of soap on
distilled water gives the actual strength of the soaps cleaning capacity. The second test with
2+ 2+
tap water tests the effect of Ca and Mg salts on their foaming capacities.

Objective: To compare the foaming capacity of various soaps.

Theory: The foaming capacity of soap depends upon the nature of the soap and its
concentration. This may be compared by shaking equal volumes of solutions of different
samples having the same concentration with same force for the same amount of time. The
solutions are then allowed to stand when the foam produced during shaking disappears
gradually. The time taken for the foam to disappear in each sample is determined. The longer
the time taken for the disappearance of the foam for the given sample of soap, greater is its
foaming capacity or cleansing action.

Requirements: Five 100ml conical flasks, five test tubes, 100ml measuring cylinder, test tube
stand, weighing machine, stop watch.

Chemical Requirements: Five different soap samples, distilled water, tap water.

Procedure:

1. Take five 100ml conical flasks and number them 1, 2,3,4,5. Put 16ml of water in each flask
and add 8 Gms of soap.
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8/14/2019 Chemistry Project on Foaming Capacity of Soaps

2. Warm the contents to get a solution.

3. Take five test tubes; add 1ml of soap solution to 3ml of water.

Repeat the process for each soap solution in different test tubes.

4. Close the mouth of the test tube and shake vigorously for a minute. Do the same for all test
tubes and with equal force.

5. Start the timer immediately and notice the rate of disappearance of 2mm of froth.

Observations: The following outcomes were noticed at the end of the experiment

Test Tube no Vol. of soap Vol. of water added Time taken for
solution disappearance of 2mm
1. Dove 8ml 16ml 11’42”
2. Lux 8ml 16ml 3’28”
3. Tetmosol 8ml 16ml 5’10”
4. Santoor 8ml 16ml 15’32”
5. Cinthol 8ml 16ml 9’40”

Result

The cleansing capacity of the soaps taken is in the order:

Santoor > Dove > Cinthol > Tetmosol > Lux

From this experiment, we can infer that Santoor has the highest foaming capacity, in other
words, highest cleaning capacity.

Lux, on the other hand is found to have taken the least amount of time for the disappearance
of foam produced and thus is said to be having the least foaming capacity and cleansing
capacity.

Test for hardness in water

2+ 2+
Test for Ca and Mg salts in the water supplied
2+
Test for Ca in water

H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)2CO

3

No precipitate
2+
Test for Mg in water

H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)3PO

4

No precipitate

The tests show negative results for the presence of the salts causing hardness in water. The
2+
water used does not contain salts of Ca and Mg2+ . The tap water provided is soft and thus,
the experimental results and values hold good for distilled water and tap water.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Parts of this project have been referred from foreign sources and have been included in this
investigatory project after editing.

The references of the sources are as follows:

Books:

Together With Lab Manual Chemistry-XII

Comprehensive Chemistry - 12

Internet sources:

www.wikipedia.org

www.google.com

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