INVESTEGATORY

PROJECT
INVESTIGATION OF FOAMING
CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT 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 –
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 Tallow ate, 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 making takes place at a sufficient temperature
to ensure the liquefaction 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.
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPERIMENT
Soap samples of various brands are taken and their
foaming capacity is noted.
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.
AIM - 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.
HYDROLYSIS REACTION –
The net effect is that all the ester bonds are broken.
The glycerol turns back into an alcohol. The fatty
acid is turned into a salt due to the presence of a
basic solution of NaOH. In the carboxyl group, one
oxygen now has a negative charge that attacts the
positive sodium ion. A molecule of soap consists of
two parts.
a) Alkyl group – it is oil soluble
b) Carboxyl group – It is water soluble

MATERIALS REQUIRED –
 Apparatus -Five 100ml conical flasks, five test
tubes, 100ml measuring cylinder, test tube stand,
weighing machine, stop watch.
 Chemicals - 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 g 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.

Test for Hardness In Water -

 Test for Ca2+ -
H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)2CO3
 Test for Mg2+ -
H2O +NH4Cl + NH4OH + (NH4)3PO4
OBSERVATIONS - The following outcomes
were noticed at the end of the experiment.

Test Tube No. Vol. of Vol. of Time taken

soap water for
solution added disappearance
of foam of
2mm.
1. Dove 8 ml 16 ml 11 min. 42 sec.
2. Lux 8 ml 16 ml 3 min. 28 sec.
3. Tetmosol 8 ml 16 ml 5 min. 10 sec.
4. Santoor 8 ml 16 ml 15 min. 32 sec.
5. Cinthol 8 ml 16 ml 9 min. 40 sec.

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.
The test for Hardness of Water :-
 Ca2+ - No precipitate
 Mg2+ - No precipitate
Thus, the tests show negative results for the
presence of the salts causing hardness in water.
The water used did not contain salts of Calcium and
Magnesium.
The tap water thus provided was soft.
BIBLIOGRAPHY –
The references of the sources are as follows :-
 Books - Together With Lab Manual Chemistry-XI
Comprehensive Chemistry – 12
 Internet sources - www.wikipedia.org,
www.google.com, www.yahoo.com.
Thank
you
Made by –
Prakhar
richhariya