Investigatory Project On

Foaming Capacity Of Soaps

SUBMITTED TO

Contents

SUBMITTED BY

Sl.no.

Contents

Page No.

01.

Certificate

02.

Acknowledgements

03.

Preface

04.

Introduction

05.

Commercial preparation

06.

Introduction to experiment

07.

Objective and theory

08.

Procedure

10

09.

Observation table

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10.

Result

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11.

Test for hardness

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12.

Bibliography

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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Sankalp Sahu a bonafide
student of class XII bearing School No. 42/13081
for the session 2014-15 has submitted this project
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report on the topic Foaming Capacity of Soaps for

the partial fulfillment of AISSCE syllabus.
This embodies that work has been done under my
supervision to best of satisfaction.

Project Co-ordinator and mentor

Acknowledgement

I will treasure the knowledge imparted to me by

Shri Sanjay Sarangi, my grateful thanks to her for
adding blood and tissues to my project through the
able teaching and guidance. I thank Shri Surya, the
Lab assistant for his cooperation. I also thank my
parents and my friends for their constant support
and cooperation.

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
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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
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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 method.
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. 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
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making takes place at a sufficient temperature to ensure

the liquification of the fat being used. Unlike coldprocessed 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 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 80100C 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 100-110F (3743C), and are no more than 10F (~5.5C) 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 tap water tests the effect of Ca2+ and Mg2+ salts on
their foaming capacities.

Objective and Theory:

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.
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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.
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

Volume of
soap solution

Volume of
water added

Time taken for

disappearance of 2mm

1.

Dove

8ml

16ml

1142

2.

Lux

8ml

16ml

328

3.

Pears

8ml

16ml

510

4.

Santoor

8ml

16ml

1532

5.

Cinthol

8ml

16ml

940

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Result
The cleansing capacity of the soaps taken is in the order:
Santoor> Dove >Cinthol> Pears> 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.

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Test for hardness in water

Test for Ca2+ and Mg2+ salts in the water supplied:
Test for Ca2+ in water:
H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)2CO3 <No precipitate>
Test for Mg2+in water:
H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)3PO4 <No precipitate>

The tests show negative results for the presence of the

salts causing hardness in water. The water used does not
contain salts of Ca2+ and Mg2+. The tap water provided
is soft and thus, the experimental results and values hold
good for distilled water and tap water.

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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
Chemistry Today
Internet sources:
www.wikipedia.org<info>
www.google.com<images>

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