[Chemistry 2] Experiment No.

2
ACID-BASE TITRATION
M.V.L LIM, J. JANEA, L.V. MEDRANO, J.M. OLARITA, AND C. ZOZOBRADO
X- Gluon
Philippine Science High School Central Visayas Campus
Talaytay, Argao, Cebu

Date Performed: January 22, 2016

Date Submitted: February 10, 2016

ABSTRACT

Soap is one of the commercial products essential to our health as it promotes cleanliness and
preserves our skin from the scorching heat of the sun and from external pollution such as dust, germs,
and bacteria. Learning how to make soap and the chemistry behind it is as important as its benefit. In
order to make basic soap, an experiment was performed, dealing with the process of saponification, a
process that produces soap, usually from fats and lye. In the experiment, the fats used were common
oils, such as olive oil, vegetable oil, and unsalted butter, whereas the lye used was sodium hydroxide
(NaOH). The fats, which are the acids and the lye, which is the base underwent saponification to form
a glycerin and a salt, which is the soap, the final product of the experiment.

INTRODUCTION

Straight-chain monocarboxylic acids,

called fatty acids, are seldom found as free
molecules in nature but are most often a part
of a larger molecule called a triglyceride. Soap
is produced by the process of saponification,
or the hydrolysis of a triglyceride, the fats and
oil, to produce glycerol and fatty acid salts
from the reaction of the triglyceride with a
strong base such as sodium or potassium
hydroxide. The bond between the fatty acid
and the glycerol backbone is referred to as an
ester linkage. In the saponification process, as
shown in Figure 1, the ester linkage is broken
to form glycerol and soap. [1]
Figure 1. Saponification of a triglyceride
In the experiment, the oils used were olive oil,
vegetable oil and butter while the base used
was sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) was preferred over potassium
hydroxide (KOH) because the aim was to
make a bar soap rather than a liquid soap.
Also, the hot process method was preferred
over the cold process due to insufficient
amount of time, as cold process soap take a
longer time to harden or cure than hot
process soap. The hot process uses heat to
speed the reaction resulting in fully
saponified soap by the time the soap is
poured into molds. The groups experiment
consisted of two trials, the first one being a
failure. Following the hot process procedure,
50 g of olive oil and 50 g of unsalted butter
were heated and mixed thoroughly. The
amount of lye was calculated by totaling the
amount of fats in grams and multiplying it by
13 %, yielding an amount of 13 g. The ratio
for the amount of lye to water used was 1:1,
13 g of tap water was also used. Two grams of
vanilla was used. Table 1 depicts the
ingredients used and its corresponding
amounts. [2]
Table 1. Amounts for ingredients used
Pounds Ounces Grams
Water 0.028 0.44 12.56
Lye (NaOH) 0.028 0.44 12.56
Oils 0.220 3.53 100.00
Fragrance 0.004 0.07 2.00
The lye was carefully poured to the water and
was mixed using a stirring rod. At the same
time, the oil mixture was heated in a hot pot
to 33-43C and was constantly stirred. When
the mixture was viscous enough, the solution
of NaOH and water was added while
ceaselessly stirring. The mixture was
continually stirred until it began to thicken.
During this stage, the vanilla was now added
and mixed scrupulously. When the mixture
was already thick and viscous, it was bathed
in cold running water to cool its temperature.
Afterwards, the mold was prepared using
empty water bottles and a tray-like container,
greased with plastic wrap, and the mixture
was poured. About 6 hours passed and two
soap bars were produced.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Soap is formed through the process of
saponification where fats and oils are treated
with strong bases such as lye (NaOH) or
potash (KOH) to form glycerol and the salt of
a long-chain fatty acid (soap), as shown
previously in Figure 1. There are two
methods used to prepare soap, the hot
process and cold process. Both require a heat
source and careful calculations to ensure that
no caustic base is left unreacted in the soap.
The hot process uses heat to speed the
reaction resulting in fully saponified soap by
the time you pour your soap into molds. The
cold process uses just enough heat to ensure
that all the fat is melted prior to reacting it
with the base.
The first trial of making the soap was
a failure because the measurements werent
exact and the other ingredients werent
measured properly. The amount of oil used
exceeded 100% thus the ratio was wrong
which resulted to a soap which is too basic
and a soap that is too soft. Another
contributing factor to its basicity was that 5
% excess of the oil was not applied that only
little sodium hydroxide is consumed in the
saponification process. The soap was tested
and burned a skin, thus the soap isnt
advisable to be used and applied to the skin.
Due to the first soap being a failure,
another one was made through the same
process but with concise measurements,
which was a success since the ratio between
the ingredients were calculated and added
carefully, in order to avoid failures. The soap
produced took a longer time to harden,
because olive oil bars also take considerably
longer to react. The soap from olive oil,
however, was softer and can be a good
moisturizer. The length of the hydrocarbon
chain and number of double bonds in the
carboxylic acid salt of the carboxylic acid
portion of the fat or oil determine the
properties of the resulting salt. For example,
the salt of a saturated long chain acid make a
harder, more insoluble soap. [3].
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

In its overall, the experiment semi-

succeeded in yielding a partially-hardened
soap through the traditional hot process
method where oils and fats are mixed with a
solution of sodium hydroxide. In this
experiment, the triglyceride (oils and fats) is REFERENCES
reacted with a strong base (lye) to produce [1] Chemistry 122: Synthesis of Soap. (n.d.).
glycerol and fatty acid salts (soap). The Retrieved September 19, 2015, from
aforementioned process is called https://hoeggerfarmyard.com/the-
farmyard/soap-making-2/saponification-
saponification, the main process in making
explained/
soaps, where the principal acids are
hydrolyzed. [2] Retrieved September 19, 2015, from
http://soapcalc.net
The conducted experiment produced
a soft soap with excess oil and vanilla scent, [3] Fisher, D. (n.d.). Olive Oil (Castile) Soap
but due to lack of time, it wasnt able to Recipes. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapre
harden. Hence, the soap, Kurislim, wasnt
cipes/a/castrecipe.htm
good enough to compete with commercially-
prepared soaps.
APPENDIX

RAW DATA

Table 1. Amounts for ingredients used

Pounds Ounces Grams

Water 0.028 0.44 12.56

Lye (NaOH) 0.028 0.44 12.56

Oils 0.220 3.53 100.00

Fragrance 0.004 0.07 2.00

Figure 2. Set-up for basic soap making