Abstract/Summary

In this experiment, soap is prepared and the characteristic of the soap is compared with a synthetics detergent. Soap is prepared using vegetable oil, ethanol and sodium hydroxide. These reagents are mixed together and heated up until the soap formed. After the soap performed, the soap is being cooled in the water bath before being tested. There are two experiments done in comparing soap and detergent which are precipitation and emulsification test. Each test yields a variety of results. For precipitation test, soap and detergent are tested using a few drops of HCl until the pH of the solution is equal to 3. The number of drops used to get the value of 3 is counted. For emulsification test, each soap and detergent are tested with various kinds of solutions in order to determine the emulsification effect. The solutions which are emulsified by either soap or detergent will perform a single layer. All the data are gathered and recorded.

Introduction
Soap has been manufactured from alkali (lye) and animal fats (tallow), although vegetable products such as palm oil and coconut oil can be substituted for tallow. American colonists had both major ingredients of soap in abundance, and so soap making began in America during the earliest colonial days. Tallow came as a by-product of slaughtering animals for meat, or from whaling. Farmers produced alkali as a by-product of clearing their land; until the nineteenth century wood ashes served as the major source of lye. The soap manufacturing process was simple, and most farmers could thus make their own soap at home. Soap is a salt of a compound known as a fatty acid. A soap molecule consists of a long hydrocarbon chain (composed of carbons and hydrogen) with a carboxylic acid group on one end which is ionic bonded to a metal ion, usually a sodium or potassium. The hydrocarbon end is non polar and is soluble in non polar substances (such as fats and oils), and the ionic end (the salt of a carboxylic acid) is soluble in water. Detergents are structurally similar to soaps, but differ in the water-soluble portion. When a soap or detergent is added to water, a polar solvent, the molecules form clusters, known as micelles, in which the polar ends of the molecules are on the outside of the cluster and the nonpolar ends are in the middle. The cleaning action of both soaps and detergents results from their ability to emulsify or disperse water-insoluble materials such as dirt, oil, grease. This will hold them for suspension in water. This ability comes from the molecular structure of soaps and detergents. When a soap or detergent is added to water that contains oil or other water-insoluble materials, the soap or detergent molecules surround the oil droplets. The oil or grease is dissolved in the alkyl groups of the soap molecules while the ionic end allows the micelle to dissolve in water. As a result, the oil droplets are dispersed throughout the water and can be rinsed away.

Objectives
To prepare soap Compare the properties of soap with synthetic detergent

Theory
Soaps and detergents are very similar in their chemical properties. However, there is a significant difference between them; soaps are produced from natural products, and detergents are synthetic, or man-made. To make soap, the first step is to start with fats and oils (obtained from plants or animals) that are reduced to fatty acids and glycerine with a high pressure steam. The fatty acids then combine with either sodium or potasium salts (an alkali or base) to produce soap and water. This is exactly what happened when our early American settlers combined ashes, containing lye, a base, with animal fats.

image courtesy of The Soap and Detergent Association

After this process, the soap possesses a hydrophilic end that is attracted to water and a hydrophobic end that is repelled by water, allowing the soap to break down materials that dissolve in both oil and water. Sodium soaps are harder and appear as bar soaps, while the potassium soaps are softer and are used in liquid hand soaps and shaving creams.

image courtesy of The Soap and Detergent Association

Detergents are created through a similar process and produce an almost identical product, a sodium salt. The first ingredient used in creating detergents is the compound propylene, CH3CH=CH2, which used to just be burnt off as waste by the petroleum industry. Propylene molecules are manipulated to form a compound that will react with sulfuric acid. Next, sodium

hydroxide is added to neutralize the sulfuric acid resulting in a sodium salt similar to the one present in soap. In general, since soaps are a more natural product, they are used on the body, and detergents are used on clothes. But detergents are the more prevalent of the two and are often used in combination with natural soaps. Both soaps and detergents share a critical chemical property - they are surface-active agents, or surfactants. In other words, they reduce the surface tension of water. Normally, water molecules have a strong attraction to each other, which causes water to bead on counters and on clothes. By reducing this effect, water soaks more easily in clothes and removes stains faster. There are some differences between them, however. Soaps possess a number of qualities that make them preferable to detergents. First, as mentioned earlier, they are natural products and less harmful to the human skin and the environment. Soaps are biodegradable and do not create pollution in our rivers and streams. On the other hand, soap will combine with the magnesium and calcium ions in hard water to create an insoluble residue that can clog drains and stick to clothing. The hardness of a water sample can be gauged by the amount of calcium carbonate that is present. Soft water is relatively free of dissolved calcium carbonate.

Apparatus List of chemicals:

Mineral oil Distilled water Boiling water Soap Synthetic detergent 1% CaCI2 solution 1%MgCI2 solution 1%FeCl2 1 M HCI

List of apparatus:

Beaker pH meter Test tube Dropper Stirring rod

Procedures

Soap Preparation

1. 12.5 ml of vegetable oil is placed in a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask. 10 ml of ethanol and 12.5 ml of 6 M sodium hydroxide solution is added to the flask. The mixture is stirred using a stirring bar to mix the contents of the flask.

2. The flask is heated in a 600 ml boiling water.

3. The mixture is stirred continuously during the heating process to prevent the mixture from foaming. The mixture is heated for 20-30 minutes or until the alcohol odor is no longer detected.

4. The paste-like mixture is removed from the water bath and the flask is cooled in an ice bath for 10-15 minutes.

5. The vacuum filtration apparatus is assembled during the cooling of the flask.

6. A piece of filter paper is weighed to the nearest 0.001 g and the mass is recorded. The filter paper is placed inside the Buchner funnel. The paper is moistened with water so that it fits flush in the bottom of the funnel.

7. 75 ml of saturated sodium chloride (NaCl) solution is added to the flask to salt out the soap.

8. The water at the aspirator is slowly turned on. The mixture is poured from the flask into

the Buchner funnel. Once all of the liquid has filtered through the funnel, The soap is washed with 10 ml of ice-cold water. The suction filtration is continued until all of the water is removed from the soap.

9. The soap is removed from the funnel and pressed between two paper towels to dry it. The filter paper and dried soap are weighed and the mass are recorded to the nearest 0.001 g. The mass of the soap is determined and recorded.

Comparison of Soap and Detergent Properties-Precipitation and Emulsification

1. A stock soap solution is prepared by dissolving 2 g of soap in 100 ml of boiling, distilled water. The mixture is stirred until the soap has dissolved and allows the solution to cool. 2. Step 1 is repeated using 2 g of synthetic detergent. Determine the pH of each solution using pH meter when both solution are cool. 3. Three test tubes are labeled 1, 2, and 3. 4 drops of mineral oil are dropped to each test tube. 5 ml of distilled water is added to test tube 1. 5 ml of stock soap solution is added to test tube 2. 5 ml of stock synthetic detergent to test tube 3. 4. Mix each solution by shaking and let stand for three to five minutes. Note which of the solution, if any, emulsifies the oil by forming a single layer. 5. The mixtures are poured into the waste container. Clean and dry the three test tubes.
6.

Three test tubes are labeled 1, 2, and 3. 2 ml of stock acid solution is placed in each of the three test tubes. 2 ml of 1% CaCI2 solution is added to test tube 1. 2 ml of 1% MgCI2

solution is added to test tube 2. 2 ml of 1%FeCI2 solution is added to test tube 3. Shake each test tube to mix the solutions. Record the observation. 7. 4 drop of mineral oil is added to each of the test tubes in step 6. Shake each test tube to mix the solutions and let the solutions stand for three five minutes. Note which of the solutions, if any, emulsifies the oil by forming a single layer.
8. Step 6-7 is repeated using 2 ml of stock detergent solution.

9. Note which of the solutions emulsifies the oil by forming a single layer. 10. The mixtures are poured into the waste container. Clean and dry the test tube.
11. 5 ml of stock acid solution is placed in cine clean test tube and 5 ml of stock detergent

solution in a second test tube. 1 drop of 1 M HCI is added at a time to both solutions until the pH in each test tube is equal to 3. (Use pH mere to measure). Count the number of drops of acid added to each mixture. 12. 1 drops of mineral oil is added to each test tube in step 11. Shake the test tube to mix the solution.

Result and Calculations Soap Preparation

Mass of filter (g) Mass of filter paper + soap (g) Mass of soap recovered (g) 0.377 15.225 14.848

Comparison of Soap and Detergent Properties

pH of soap solution pH of synthetic detergent solution 10.96 8.25

System Distilled water Soap Detergent

Emulsification Occurred No No Yes

Hard and Acidic

System Precipitate Soap CaCl2 MgCl2 FeCl3 Acidic White White Brown White Syndet Colourless Colourless Yellowish No Oil Emulsified Soap No No Yes No Syndet No No No No

Discussion
From the experiment, the amount of soap produced is about 14.848 g. The pH value of the soap is 10.96 which are alkaline. For the synthetic detergent, the pH value is also alkaline which is 8.25. As the experiment conducted to show the comparison between soap and the detergent, it is said to yield a significant result. In the first comparison which is done in order to determine the emulsification effect, there are only detergent which has the appearance of the emulsification effect. The other two systems which are distilled water and soap didnt give any reaction. Emulsification should be occurred in soap and detergent because soap molecules attach readily to both non polar molecules (such as grease and oil) and polar molecules (such as water). In soap structures, there is an ionic end and hydrocarbon end. Ionic end is soluble in water while the hydrocarbon ends attract oil or grease. In detergent, there is a non polar end which is alkyl and aryl sulfonic acids. So, oil is a non polar and interacts with each other. For the second test, it required a chemicals such as CaCl2 , MgCl2 , and FeCl3 . In these three, only FeCl3 yield a brown precipitate. The other two substances yield a white precipitate. After observing the precipitation, the emulsification occurred test is done and only FeCl3 forming a single layer. There are two layer occurred in the other test tubes. It means that the emulsification is not occurring for both test tubes. Emulsification occurred in FeCl3 because the surfactants in the detergent dissolve oil and also reduce the surface tension of water. The precipitate still forms at the bottom of the test tube. For the other test tubes, the emulsification does not occur because the salts (calcium and magnesium) are not reacted with soap to form insoluble precipitate. For the same test, in which detergent are used, there is a precipitate formed for the test tube containing FeCl3. Although

detergent have similar molecular structures and properties as soap. the detergents do not react as readily with hard water ions of Ca and Mg. So, precipitate actually will not formed. In detergent, the non polar fatty acids group are replaced with alkyl or aryl sulfonic acid (ROSO3H) that giving the hydrophobic (non polar) end. The salt of the sulfonic acid (sulfonate) group forms the hydrophilic end of the molecule. From theory, aryl and alkyl sulfonates do not form insoluble salts in the presence of mineral salts. For the emulsification, there are none occurred although the emulsification should occur in all the three test tubes. For these cases, it may occur due to the error in watching the layer.

Conclusion
As a conclusion, we can conclude that both soap and detergent have an ability to serve as cleaning agent. The pH value of these two indicates that, both soap and detergent are alkaline. From the test done, it show that, detergent have high abilities to remove oil, grease and other substance. Soap is also a good cleaning agent, but its effectiveness is reduced when use in hard water. Hardness in water is caused by the presence of mineral salts such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe). These mineral salts will react with soap to form an insoluble precipitate. Detergents have similar molecular structures and properties as soap but the detergent do not react as readily with hard water ions. In detergent, the non polar fatty acids group are replaced with alkyl or aryl sulfonic acid (ROSO3H) that giving the hydrophobic (non polar) end. The salt of the sulfonic acid (sulfonate) group forms the hydrophilic end of the molecule. From theory, aryl and alkyl sulfonates do not form insoluble salts in the presence of mineral salts. The important substance in detergent is surfactants. It can dissolves grease and oil and reduce the surface tension of water. From the results, there is some error occur during prepare the solution. It can be seen when there is no precipitate form in the solution that contains Ca and Mg. From the theory, mineral salts such as Ca and Mg will react with soap to form insoluble precipitate. Emulsification occurs when the hydrocarbon ends attract oil and ionic end is soluble in water.

References

Laboratory manual, CHE 485 Faculty of Chemical Engineering, UiTM THE SCIENCE OF SOAPS AND DETERGENTS2000 by David A. Katz. www.sciencedirect.com www.wikipidea.com

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TITLE Abstract/ summary Introduction Aims/ objectives Theory Apparatus Procedures Results Discussions Conclusions References

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