Soap Manfacturing

THE SCIENCE OF SOAPS AND
DETERGENTS
CONTENTS
 SOAP  DETERGENT
• Introduction • Introduction
• Saponification • Cleansing action of
• Soap molecule detergents
(Micelles)
• Cleansing action of  DIFFERENCES
soaps BETWEEN SOAPS
• Advantages and AND DETERGENTS
disadvantages
SOAPS
SOAPS
 Soaps are the sodium and potassium salts of

the long chain carboxylic acid.A soap
molecule consists of a long hydrocarbon
chain (composed of carbons and hydrogens)
with a carboxylic acid on one end which is
bonded to metal ion usually a sodium or
potassium.
 A soap has a large non-ionic hydrocarbon
group and an ionic group COO-Na+.
EXAMPLES OF SOAPS
 Sodium stearate (Chemical formula:

C17H35COO-Na+)
 Sodium palmitate (Chemical formula:
C15H31COO-Na+)
 Sodium oleate (Chemical formula:
C17H33COO-Na+)
SAPONIFICATION
 The process of making soap by the
hydrolysis of fats and oils with alkalies is
called saponification.
 Soap is made by heating animal fats or
vegetable oil with concentrated sodium
hydroxide (NAOH).
 Fat or Oil + NaOH → Soap + Glycerol
EXAMPLE OF SAPONIFICATION
Glyceryl Glycerol 3 sodium palmitate

tripalmitate (soap)
(tripalmitin)
MICELLES – SOAP MOLECULES
 A soap molecule has two ends with
different properties-
1. A long hydrocarbon part which is
hydrophobic (i.e. it dissolves in
hydrocarbon).
2. A short ionic part containing COO-
Na+ which is hydrophilic (i.e. it
dissolves in water).
micelle
WORKING OF MICELLES
MECHANISM OF SOAPS
 When a dirty cloth is put is put in water
containing soap than the hydrocarbon
ends of the soap molecule in the micelle
attach to the oil or grease particles
present on the surface of dirty cloth. In
this way the soap micelles entraps the
oily particles by using the hydrocarbon
ends. The ionic ends of the soap
molecules remain attached to the water
when the dirty cloth is agitated in soap
solution. The oily particles presents on its
surface gets dispersed in the water due to
which the cloth gets clean.
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Soaps are eco-friendly  Soaps are not suitable
and bio degradable in the hard water.
 They have weak
cleansing properties
than detergents.
DETERGENTS
DETERGENTS
 Detergents are the sodium salts of long
chain benzene sulphuric acids.
 Detergents are primarily surfactants, which
could be produced easily from
petrochemicals. Surfactants lower the
surface tension of water, essentially making
it 'wetter' so that it is less likely to stick to
itself and more likely to interact with oil and
grease.
 The ionic group is in a detergent is
EXAMPLES OF DETERGENTS
 Two basic examples of well-known detergents of the

sulphonate group or the sulphate group are:
CLEANSING ACTION OF
DETERGENTS
 Synthetic detergents have the same type of molecular structure as
soaps i.e. a tadpole like molecule having two parts at each end i.e.,
one large non-polar hydrocarbon group that is water repelling
(hydrophobic) and one short ionic group usually containing the or
group that is water attracting (hydrophilic). Thus the cleansing
action is exactly similar to that of soaps whereby the formation of
micelles followed by emulsification occurs. However, synthetic
detergents can lather well even in hard water. This is because they
are soluble sodium or potassium salts of sulphonic acid or alkyl
hydrogen sulphate and similarly form soluble calcium or
magnesium salts on reacting with the calcium ions or magnesium
ions present in water. This is a major advantage of the cleansing
property of detergents over soap.
ADVANTAGES OF DETERGENTS
 Since detergents are the salts of strong acids they
do not decompose in acidic medium. Thus
detergents can effectively clean fabric even if the
water is acidic.
 Synthetic detergents are more soluble in water than
soaps.
 They have a stronger cleansing action than soaps.
 As detergents are derived from petroleum they
save on natural vegetable oils, which are important
as essential cooking medium
DISADVANTAGES OF DETERGENTS
 Many detergents are resistant to the action of
biological agents and thus are not biodegradable.
Their elimination from municipal wastewaters by the
usual treatments is a problem.
 They have a tendency to produce stable foams in
rivers that extend over several hundred meters of
the river water. This is due to the effects of
surfactants used in their preparation. Thus they
pose a danger to aquatic life.
 They tend to inhibit oxidation of organic substances
present in wastewaters because they form a sort of
envelope around them.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SOAPS AND
DETERGENTS
 SOAPS  DETERGENTS
 They are metal salts of long  These are sodium salts of
chain higher fatty acids. long chain hydrocarbons like
 These are prepared from alkyl sulphates or alkyl
vegetable oils and animal benzene sulphonates.
fats.  They are prepared from
 They cannot be used hydrocarbons of petroleum
effectively in hard water as or coal.
they produce scum i.e.,  These do not produce
insoluble precipitates of insoluble precipitates in hard
Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+ etc. water. They are effective in
soft, hard or salt water.

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THE SCIENCE OF SOAPS AND

 Soaps are the sodium and potassium salts of

 Sodium stearate (Chemical formula:

Glyceryl Glycerol 3 sodium palmitate

 Two basic examples of well-known detergents of the

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