Chemistry Project

AJEET SINGH RAGHUVANSHI

12th -G
PROJECT-

FOAMING CAPACITY OF

DIFFERENT SAMPLES
SCHOOL- LITTLE FLOWER HOUSE ,
KAKARMATTA . VARANASI.

Acknowledgement

I will treasure the knowledge imparted to me by

Mrs. Anita Thomas, my grateful thanks to her for
the able teaching and guidance.
I thank Mr. Harsha Kumar, 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 higher fatty
acids such as Palmitic acid, Steric 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 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.
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 making takes place at a

sufficient temperature to ensure the
liquification 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.

Hot process

In the hot-process method, alkali and fat are

boiled together at 80100 C 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 100110F (37-43C), 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: To compare the foaming capacity of

various soaps.

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.

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.

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.

Observation table:

Vol. of
soap
solution

Vol. of
water
added

Time taken for

disappearance of
2 mm

1. Dove

8 mL

16 mL

12 min

2. Lux

8 mL

16 mL

3 min

3.Tetmosol

8 mL

16 mL

5 min

4. Santoor

8 mL

16 mL

16 min

5. Cinthol

8 mL

16 mL

10 min

Test tube
no

Result
The foaming 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.
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.

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

Internet Sources :
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com