Laundry Soap

What is it?
Laundry soap is an item of daily necessity and essentially a mass consumption item.
It is used for washing clothes.

What can I earn? (gross, net)

You can earn appropriate profit.

What is the market for it?

Laundry soap is a daily need of every individual. It has a widespread clientele with the major user
being the washerman (dhobi)
In the villages the demand is very high compared to the current production.
Hence there is a very good scope for new investment in this field.

What is required? (raw materials, skills, technology)

A small room to operate and some easily available oils and acids.
No specific skill is required.

How much will it cost to set up? And run?

You require a working capital of about Rs.25,000 per month , while a fixed capital of about Rs.2
lakhs

Can someone help? (training, tech. support, loans, raw material, and marketing)
One could contact the DIC ( District industries centre) for further information, if in India or the
parallel body in your country.

See Manual For Details

Manual

The enterprise
Laundry soap is an item of daily necessity and essentially a mass consumption item. Even though
synthetic detergents are assuming importance day by day the demand for or the in-take pattern of
laundry soap has not shown any decreasing trend.This industry is ideally suited for dispersal and can
be easily started even in a village to meet local requirements.

Raw material requirement ( basis 500 kgs. Per day)

1

Rosin, Tallow and other non-edible oils

such as Mahua, Rice Bran, Neem oil,
Tobacco seed oil etc.

450 Kgs.

Caustic Soda

75 Kgs.

Sodium Silicate

225 Kgs.

The requirement of Caustic Soda for conversion of any particular oil fat mixture to soap can be
computed with the help of the following table :
Oil fat

Caustic soda requirement ( % by weight)

Tallow

13.7 14.4

Mahua fat

13.4 14.0

Palm oil

14.0 14.4

Hardened vegetable oil

14.4 14.6

Coconut oil

17.5 17.7

Palm Kernel oil

17.3 18.0

Groundnut oil

13.2 14.0

Cotton seed oil

13.9 14.0

Neem oil

13.9 14.0

Castor oil

13.1 13.4

Karanja oil

13.2 13.3

Process Outline
There are three main conventional methods of producing Laundry soap, namely

Cold Process

Suitable for manufacturers having small capital outlay

Semi Boiled Process
Fully Boiled Process
P.S. (Cold process requires good quality of oils and fats having higher sponification value.)
SEMI BOILED PROCESS
Oil is taken in a pan which is heated by fire wood or coal slowly to melt fat
Caustic Soda solution of required concentration is then added in small quantities at a time
A moderate heat is maintained and each addition of caustic soda solution is allowed to react with
the oils, before the next addition is made
(a hasty addition of caustic soda solution may result in graining)
If the mass shows signs of separating or graining, then further water should be added to bring the
oil charge to a homogeneous state
During this process some kind of a fatty layer emerges on top of the charge some amount of
this soapy scrap should be added to the next lot on the pan to that the saponification proceeds
smoothly
( it takes about half an hour before the saponification takes a visible shape depending on the type
of oils and fats used.)
The soap charge is boiled under controlled conditions that is, ensuring a good boiling to
complete the saponification process and at the same time preventing an over-boiling
The mass thickens, gets increasingly transparent and finally assumes a peculiar shiny translucent
surface free from froth
If any colours are to be added to the soap these should be incorporated before closing the boiling
operation.
Perfumes, if any, may be added after the soap charge in the pan has become a bit cool
After the builders and fillers are added and thoroughly crutched in, the soap is transferred to
frames for subsequent cooling and cutting.

Equipment and Machinery

Bottle kettles, hemispherical mild steel or cast iron plates having thickness 1.8", 6.5 diameter and
2.5 depth (5 Nos.)
Cylindrical pans with circular plates at the bottom ( 4 Nos.)

Stirring Ladles ( 6 Nos.)

Soap cooling frames made of thick iron sheets (10 Nos.)
Soap cutting machine complete with an adjustable device to vary length size (3 Nos.)
Soap stamping machines ( 2 Nos.)

COST ANALYSIS (Basis : 300 kgs. Of Laundry Soap per day)

Covered area required

150 sq.m.(in RS.)

Land and building

1,00,000

Plant and machinery

75,000

Fixed capital

1,75,000

Working capital for one month

25,000

Working capital for 3 months

75,000

Total capital investment

2,50,000

Cost of production per annum

3,50,000

Receipt per annum

4,72,000

10 Break Even point

78%

11 Profit per annum

62,500

12 Rate of return

25%