Biochemistry Project 1 by Imran * Jimmy * Lingareddy

History of Natural Soap

Introduction• What is Natural

Soap?• Origin of Soap• How Soap is made?• How Soap works?• Characteristics and

uses of Soap• Soap manufacturing• Recent

manufacturing technology

What is natural soap?

Chemically speaking, soap is a salt of a fatty acid .It is made from the interaction of fats and oils with alkali.

• Soap is a cleansing agent mainly used for washing and cleaning, but soaps are also important components of lubricants.

• Soap normally used with water decreases surface tension so as to loosen unwanted particles, emulsify grease, and absorb dirt and grime into foam.

Origin of Soap

2800 BC : In Ancient Babylon , in the reign of Nabonidus the earliest evidence of the production of soap-like material recorded. That recipe of soap consisted of uhulu (ashes), cypress (oil) and sesame (seed oil).

2200 BC : A formula for soap was written on Babylonian clay tablet. That formula consists of water, alkali and cassia oil.

The word sapo, Latin for soap, first appears in Pliny the Elder's Historia Naturalis, which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes.

Origin of Soap (continued)

• 1550 BC : Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like substance. Egyptian documents mention that a soap-like substance was used in the preparation of wool for weaving.

• 1500 BC : Egyptian Ebers Papyrus was written, and contains an account of combining ash with cassia oil to create a topical treatment for the skin.

Origin of Soap (continued)• Cleopatra even

used Shea Butter as part of her beauty regimen.

• 600 BC : There is some evidence that the Phoenicians were making a soap from beech ashes and tallow to wash their hair.

How is soap is made?• A Soap molecule is formed when a

triglyceride reacts with either sodium or potassium hydroxide the reaction that takes place is called Saponification.

• This process results in the production of Glycerol and Sodium or potassium stearate (Soap).

• Each soap molecule has a long hydrocarbon chain, sometimes called its 'tail', with a carboxylate 'head'.Fatty acid (oil) + Base (lye) = “A Salt” (Soap) +

Glycerol

Soap making (continued)

Soap making (continued)

How soap works?• Water is largely polar, and water molecules tend to separate into fragments with opposite electrical charges, one positive(+) and one negative(-).

• Fats and Oils are not polar and their molecules have no charge, so they are not attracted to polar substances.

Soap function (continued)

• The active ion of the soap molecule is the RCOO-. • The two ends of this ion behave in different fashions. The

carboxylate end (-COO-) is hydrophilic (water-loving), and it is called the "head" of the ion.

• The hydrocarbon portion is hydrophobic (oil-loving) and is called the "tail" of the molecule. This unusual molecular structure is responsible for the unique surface and solubility characteristics of soaps.

Characteristics and uses of soap

• The hydrocarbon portions of the soap ions are attracted to each other and form spherical aggregates known as micelles. The molecule tails that are incompatible with water are in the interior of these micelles, while the hydrophilic heads remain on the outside to interact with water. When oil is added to this system, it is taken into these micelles as tiny particles. Then it can be rinsed away.

• Soaps are excellent cleansing agents and have good biodegradability.

• A serious drawback which reduces their general use, is the tendency for the carboxylate ion to react with Ca+ and Mg+ ions in hard water. The result is a water insoluble salt which can be deposited on clothes and other surfaces.

Video: How soap works?

Soap manufacturing• Boiled Process : Used before the end of World War II. This

process required mixing fats and oils in large, open kettles, with caustic soda (NaOH) in the presence of steam. As salt was added, soap precipitated out and floated at the top. Later on, it was skimmed off and processed as flakes or bars. This process involved over six days to produce one batch.

• Recent process: After World War II, a continuous soap manufacturing process evolved. In this process, fats and oils react directly with caustic soda. The saponification reaction accelerates at high temperatures (248°F; 120°C) and pressures (2 atm). Glycerin washed out of the system and soap was centrifuged and neutralized. This process is more efficient and allows faster recovery of glycerin.

• Some more chemicals like Oleum and Alkenes were added to the soap to improve its physical characteristics. Other additives include fragrances and dyes.

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Acknowledgements

• http://science.jrank.org/pages/6214/Soap.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap• http://www.history-science-technology.com/Notes/Notes

%205.htm#_ftn9• http://knol.google.com/k/making-natural-soap-and-its-

history# • http://barsoapnatural.com/blog/a-history-of-natural-soap/• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap• http://science.jrank.org/pages/6214/Soap.html