Daily Plans
- Conduct research involving what it takes to create different types of soap and give them different scents.
- Create different soaps changing different variables so that we can adjust for better soap.
Safety
- A safety quiz needed to be passed to make sure that each scientist was ready to conduct experiments.
- A safety contract also needed to be assigned to ensure that everyone was aware of the safety procedures.
Background
- Soaps
- water-soluble sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids.
- Alkali
- a soluble salt of an alkali metal like sodium or potassium.
- base of soap making.
- Fatty Acid
- a carboxylic acid derived from triglycerides found in fat. used as a fuel.
- Triglyceride
- 1 glycerol and three fatty acids found in fats.
What is Soap Making?
- Saponification is the process of soap making. It is a chemical reaction between an acid and a base to form salt (NaCl).
- When making soap you mix an oil a source of fat (the acid) with lye (the base) to form soap.
- Most people use lye as the base which is sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
- Potassium hydroxide is usually used in liquid soap making.
How is the Soap Made?
- The oil (the acids) has a combination of triglycerides, which are compounds of fatty acids attached to a single glycerol molecule.
- When combined with lye (the base) the fatty acids release hold of the single glycerol then combine with the hydroxide ions from the base, causing a chemical reaction to create soap.
- The amount of base needed depends on the oil used (the acid) because each acid has a different chemical makeup.
- When soap is made properly, no lye remains in finished product.
What meets the FDA Federal Standards Regulations for soap?
- The finished product must be composed mostly of alkali salts of fatty acids. In other words mostly fats and lye.
- The alkali salts of fatty acids must be what cause the soap it’s cleaning abilities.
- Must be marketed as soap, labeled only for cleaning.
How does water affect the latherability, scent, appearance, consistency, and cleaning ability of soap?
The more water that is added, will decrease the amount of everything else such as latherability, appearance, and etc. The product gets watered down and less condensed. It becomes thinner and less effective. There was less water added into the recipe so that the soap will have better latherability, scent, appearance, consistency, and cleaning ability. The increase of these traits will make the soap more effective and pleasant.
http://e-block-soap.wikispaces.com/Research+Scientists
http://e-block-soap.wikispaces.com/Research+Scientists
How does lye affect the latherability, scent, appearance, consistency, and cleaning ability of soap?
The smaller amount of lye that is added, the more the traits of the soap increase. We put less lye than water for our product to increase the chances of a better soap.
http://e-block-soap.wikispaces.com/Research+Scientists
Percentage of water and lye in soap
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/liquidlye.htm
http://e-block-soap.wikispaces.com/Research+Scientists
Percentage of water and lye in soap
- There should be a 50% of lye and 50% of water.
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/liquidlye.htm
Research Supervisor
My job as the science supervisor is to mainly oversee the Scientist and Engineers. Mainly this job is used to relay information from the science department to the accounting and management branches. Relaying materials, energies, and costs being used within the experiment. This job also summarizes and reports how the lab is doing and what productive things have been done in the lab towards the experiment and company.