Formulation and Production of Levera Soap
Chapter One
AIMS OF THE STUDY
The sole aim of this research work is to produce a high quality of levera soaps. The major aspects of this project deals with quality control processes in the production of a high quality levera soaps.
In soap production, cold process was used and this was found out to be the most effective means of production considering several factors. In the production of levera soaps, palm kernel oil was used instead of fallow or grease. This is because palm kernel has a low titre value and gives a quicker lather and the fallow or grease gives a high titre value which produce soap that is slow to dissolve at low temperature. Different formulations were made and it was found out that the best ratio for high quality soap is 2:1 of palm kernel to caustic soda respectively. Carrying out test on soap produced were saponification value of P.K.O to be 248.24 refractive index 1.45, free fatty acid value of 1.56, acid value of 3.5, moisture content of soap 35.29%, percentage free alkaline 0.4% alcohol insoluble matter of 1.43% and PH value of 8.80 at a temperature reading of 30.00.
The synthetic detergent which was developed to replace the soapy detergent has a better quality. It was prepared by a sulphonation reaction when this reaction is carried out, a detergent paste is formed which when builders and other additives were added, it then form detergent which was size reduced and seized.
The sieved detergent was dried by solar energy. From the project, it was discovered that (STPP) helps the detergent to reduce water hardness sequestering calcium ion and heavy metal ion water, could increase the cleaning action of detergent. And also the hydrogen peroxide acts as stain removal due to its bleaching action, the CMC acts as anti-redeposition agent.
The high quality levera soap was found to contain certain materials which limit the formation of scum in hard water and this ascertained that the synthetic detergent is not more effective than levera soap when washing and moreover levera soap does not change the colour of a material when washing but detergent does by bleaching the colour.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Various attempts have been made to produce liquid soap by first decomposing the fat or oil into fattyacids and glycerin, and then converting the acids into the soap by treatment with sodium or potassium carbonate.
Methods of soap making
Three conventional methods of soap making are generally used:
- Semi boiling
- Full boiling
- Cold processed
Semi – boiling
The soft and hard oils or their blends are very suitable for this process in which the fat is first of all melted, followed by treatment with a weak 9-10% caustic soda solution followed by boiling of the mixture. The quantity of caustic soda required for the saponification of the oil is 14-15% of the weight of the oil. This weight of caustic soda is dissolved in ten times its weight of water to obtain a 9% solution. When the caustic solution is added into oil, then saponification starts when an emulsion is formed as the soap is stirred. More caustic solution is then added in to prevent the thickening of mass. After sufficient solution is added bit by bit to complete the saponification and the boiling of the mass continues until the soap was clear. During the boiling process moderate heat was maintained and each addition of caustic soda solution must be allowed to react with the oil before the next addition is made. A hurried addition in the initial stages of the process may retard the saponification, or at the final stages of the saponification may result in the drying of the soap, while judicious addition will keep the mass in a form of smooth homogeneous emulsion. If the soap shows any signs of separation and graining, further water is added to bring the mass to a homogeneous state. The ribbon test involves taking a small sample of the soap from the pan and cooling it. When a little quantity of this cooled soap is pressed in between the thumb and forefinger, the soap does not come out in the form of firm shiny ribbons with slight opaque ends and be clear when held against the light. If this cooled sample draws out in threads, there is excess water present in the soap, and more boiling is required to evaporate more water. If opaque ends appear and vanish, the soap is oilier and requires more caustic, while if the soap is graining, or turbid and white, it indicates a high level of presence of un reacted caustic, and requires more oil. A physical test – the taste test – is also done to determine the level of alkali. This test involves cooling a small quantity of the soap, and tasting it with the tip of the tongue. A sharp bite indicates too much caustic in the soap, while small bite indicates a high level of unsaponified fat or oil. A good soap gives a faint bite on the tongue.After the completion of the boiling process, the fire is taken off, and the soap is allowed to cool with little stirring. At this point, perfume and colour can be added into the soap.
This process is not suitable for the production of toilet soap, can be used to produce laundry and all other types of soft and liquid soaps. The process does not permit the removal of waste alkali which contains the glycerine produced in the soap making process, and hence the glycerine, which tends to decrease the hardening property of the soap and improves the cosmetic property, is retained in the finished soap. This method has some advantage over the other two since large quantities of good soap can be produced within a short time. The use of this method also allows a high percentage of fillers to be added in soaps, thus it increases the soap bulk.
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHOD
Raw Material
Soaps are commonly made from fats and oil and sodium hydroxide. Oils and fats can be classified either lauric or nonlauric oils /fats. In soap making palm oil, coconut oil, casteroil,neem oil, kernel oil, ground nut oil, ricebran oil and animal fat are used. Fatty acid present in Palm kernel oil aremysteric acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid whereas the coconut oil contains lauric acid, mysteric acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid. Different oils produce soaps of varying hardness, odour and lathering properties. C12 and C14 soaps lather quickly but they produce an unstable, coarse bubble foam while C16 and C18 lather slowly but lead to stable, fine bubble foamed. For saponification caustic lye (50% caustic soda) is used. Some of the other ingredient in soap are talc as filler which also act as carrier for perfume, fragrance. Sodium silicate to give firmness to the soap, sodium carbonate, dyes to impart colour.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The yield of soap depends on the soap making oil used. This also depends on the particular carboxylic acid and base that make up the soap. Higher the yield is more economical is the process of soap making.
The cleansing power and lather produced by different soap can be explained based on the fatty acids composition of oil used in soap formulation. It has been found out that, lauric acid and myristicacid, which are all saturated fatty acids produces soap with fluffy lather and high cleansing power. However, the observed difference in the cleansing power and nature of lather formed in the soap formulation may be due to the method use in the soap preparation in addition the nature of fatty acid composition of the fat or oil.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
This study examined the formulation and production of Levera soap. Soap is one of the oldest chemical produced over two thousand years ago by saponification animal fats with the ashes from plants. Although soap are mainly used as surfactant for washing, bathing cleaning, but they are also being used in textile spinning and as important constituent of lubricating grease. Now soap and detergent have become integral part of our society. The soap produced in this study can be used domestically and also industrially for machines and equipment. Soap was prepared using all varieties of oils including that of all the various blends of oils. The soap was tested for various properties. One soap making oil in itself does not have all the properties. Therefore, blends of oils are prepared taking 2 oils together because it would be easier for analysis. TFM value was found to be 76.8% which lies in the range of toilet soaps. It had the maximum yield out of all soaps with 89.46%. It had excellent lathering as well as cleansing power. As coconut oil is a nut oil, therefore soap prepared with this blend was very hard. Analysis of this blend confirms to that given in the literature and the results of the above analysis. Saponification number of this blend of oil was found to be 230.4 and the iodine number was found to be 40. Both high saponification number and iodine number indicates this blend to be highly preferred for soap making. The soap prepared is not affected by high iodine number as the soap prepared is very hard. The acid value found that is 1.3, was also acceptable according to the literature. The unsaponifiable matter is also within the limits and oil blend can be used without being refined.
Recommendation
Soap production can be regarded as one area of business that is lucrative and needs only little capital to start with, and considering the vast available resources in Nigeria there is need to design and develop strategy on war footing in order to explore and utilize full benefits of these raw materials using the available indigenous technology.
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