MOI UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
CHEMICAL & PROCESS ENGINEERING

NAME : PAULINE KANDE

REG NO : MPE/11/20

COURSE: WORKSHOP PRACTICE

TASK : PRODUCTION OF CHEAP SOAPS

PRODUCTION OF DETERGENTs

PRESENTED
TO: MR. VINCENT

DATE : SIGN:
Acknowledgment
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the following individuals who contributed to
the completion of this lab report:
Our lab technician, Mr. Vincent, thank you for your valuable guidance, insightful feedback, and
expertise throughout this project.
To my course mates, I am grateful for the collaborative effort and teamwork that made this
research possible.

Dedication
To my parents, whose unwavering support and encouragement have been the driving force
behind my academic journey. Your belief in me has fueled my passion for learning. This lab
report is dedicated to you with heartfelt gratitude.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the participants, my course mates and our lab
technician Mr. Dennis, who willingly took part in the experiments conducted for this lab report.
Without their cooperation, this study would not have been possibly
This lab report is a tribute to all those who have contributed to my growth as a student and
researcher. Thank you for being an integral part of this journey

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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 forma glycerin and a salt, which is the soap, the final product of the
experiment

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Table of Contents
1.PRODUCTION OF CHEAP SOAP..........................................................................................................4
OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................4
MATERIALS......................................................................................................................................4
LAB..................................................................................................................................................4
OBSERVATIONS................................................................................................................................5
DISCUSSION.....................................................................................................................................5
Saponification (Soap-making).......................................................................................................6
Salting..........................................................................................................................................6
Soap.............................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................7
How Soap Works..........................................................................................................................7
Disadvantages..............................................................................................................................7
REFRENCES.......................................................................................................................................7
2.PREPARATION OF LIQUID DETERGENT...............................................................................................8
OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................8
DETERGENTS................................................................................................................................8
PREPARATION OF SYNTHETIC DETERGENTS..................................................................................9
MATERIALS......................................................................................................................................9
Chemicals.....................................................................................................................................9
Equipment..................................................................................................................................10
PROCEDURE...................................................................................................................................10
DISCUSSION...................................................................................................................................10
Reactions....................................................................................................................................11
How............................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................13

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1.0 PRODUCTION OF CHEAP SOAP
1.1 OVERVIEW
The aim of the experiment is to manufacture solid cheap soap by making use of readily available
material. The large scale manufacture of soap was not possible until the discovery of practical
methods of manufacturing alkalies on a large scale. Soaps are compounds formed by the reaction
of bases with fats, chemically known as fatty acid esters. The three most important fatty acid
esters are Palmitin [( C15 H3 1 COO)3 C3 H5) Stearin [( C17 H35 COO)3 C3 H5) and Olein
[( C17 H3 3 COO)3 C3 H5) They are found in lard, tallow, olive, cotton seed oil, and other
animal and vegetable fats/oils. The process of treating fats with bases or alkalis is called
‘Saponification’. Vegetable oils, with unsaturated carbon chains, produce soft soaps. Animal fats
yield hard soaps. Coconut oil with shorter carbon chains, yield soaps that are more soluble in
water. Soap manufacture occurs in either two processes, Hot or Cold Process. Hot process uses
an external heat source to bring the soap to gel phase where it is then poured into the mould
while in the cold process there is no introduction of external heat, the heat is internally generated
during saponification and the soap may or may not go into gel phase.

1.2 INTRODUCTION
Soap is one of the oldest chemical produced over two thousand years ago by saponification of
animal fats with the ashes from plants. It is the alkali salt of fatty acids. Fatty acids have varying
chain length and maybe saturated or unsaturated. Properties of soap depend on the chain length
of fatty acids in blend, amount of saturation and unsaturation, formulation and soap structure. A
judicious blend of oils and fats are necessary to obtain soaps of ideal properties. Evidence has
been found that ancient Babylonians understood soap making as early as 2800 BC Archeologists
have found soap-like material in historic clay cylinders from this time. These cylinders were
inscribed with what we understand as saying, “fats boiled with ashes” (a method of making
soap). Records show ancient Egyptians bathed regularly. The Ebers papyrus, a medical
document from about 1500 BC describes combining animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts
to form a soap-like material used for treating skin diseases, as well as for washing. Many other
ancient civilizations also used early forms of soap. Soap got its name from an ancient Roman
legend about Mount Sapo. Rain would wash down the mountain mixing with animal fat and
ashes, resulting in a clay mixture found to make cleaning easier. By the 7 th century, soap-making
was an established art in Italy, Spain and France. These countries were early centers of soap
manufacturing due to their ready supply of source ingredients, such as oil from olive trees.

But after the fall of Rome in 467 AD, bathing habits declined in much of Europe leading to
unsanitary conditions in the Middle Ages. The uncleanliness of that time contributed heavily to
illness, including the Black Death, which occurred in the 14 th century. The English began making
soap during the 12th century. Commercial soap making began in the American colonies in 1600,
but was for many years a household chore rather than a profession. It was not until the 17 th
century that cleanliness and bathing started to come back into fashion in much of Europe,
particularly in the wealthier areas. Well into the 19 th century, soap was heavily taxed as a luxury
item in several countries. When the tax was removed, soap became available to most people, and
cleanliness standards across societies improved. A major step toward large-scale soap making
occurred in 1791 when a French chemist, Nicholas Leblanc, patented a process for making soda
ash from common salt. Soda ash is obtained from ashes and can be combined with fat to form
soap. This discovery made soap-making one of America’s fastest-growing industries by 1850,
along with other advancements and development of power to operate factories. The chemistry of
soap manufacturing stayed essentially the same until 1916. During World War I and again in
World War II, there was a shortage of animal and vegetable fats and oils that were used in
making soap. Chemists had to use other raw materials instead, which were “synthesized” into
chemicals with similar properties. These are what are known today as “detergents.”

In the hydrolysis of fat or oil, the alkali (NaOH or KOH), neutralizes the acid formed to obtain
sodium or potassium salt of the acid removing it from the aqueous mixture. The process is called
saponification or soap making. After the reaction is complete the soap is separated from the
glycerol by adding sodium chloride. This process is known as salting out and it reduces the
solubility of soap in the aqueous layer. Fats and oils are esters of long chain carboxylic acids and
glycerol.

Saponification value is the number of milligrams of na oh or K OH needed to saponified or

neutralize the fatty acids obtained by complete hydrolysis of 1 gram of an oil sample. fatty acids
are the building blocks of soap insert during saponification the fried glow triglycerides is broken
down and each fatty acid is saponified and creates soap. Fatty acids dictates everything about
soap. The rate of saponification dictates how bubbly your soap will be how long it takes to dilute
the cleansing capabilities.

1.3 METHODOLOGY

1.3.1 MATERIALS
1. Fat (Tallow beef fat) 4 Glycerin, C.D.E 7. Industrial colors
. (Optional)
2. Oil (corn oil, sunflower oil, 5 Sodium Chloride 8. Distilled Water
castor oil, coconut oil, canola oil .
olive oil, palm oil, palm kernel
oil)⁰

3. Sodium Hydroxide 6 Industrial perfume 9. Hot plate, Beakers, volumetric

. & (Optional) flask, starring rods, Watch glass

1.3.2 LAB SCALE PROCEDURE

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 1. Prepare solution of Sodium hydroxide.(74.15g of sodium hydroxide in 111.22g of water).
Preparation of lye solution that is water+NaOH after weighing pour the NaOH into water
. During weighing NaOH is highly hygroscopic. The lye solution is highly exothermic
therefore you should mix arm length.
2. Weigh 175g of tallow beef. Measure 175g of warm coconut oil and 150g of sunflower
oil.
3. To the oil mixture add the NaOH + Water mixture to it.
4. Boil the mixture for about 30 minutes and stir continuously.
5. Add a saturated solution of common salt (about 30g in 100ml of water): stir well and
allow cooling for 15 minutes to separate soap from the aqueous layer. Cool by immersing
it in cold water.
6. Decant the solid soap and collect the glycerol in a beaker to be purified.
7. Wash the soap with distilled water by gently swirling it.
8. Place a small sample of the solid soap in a test tube and shake it with warm distilled
water and repeat with warm tap water. Note the difference.
9. Test pH with phenolphthalein indicator. A light pink colour indicates safe to use.
10. Mould the soap as required in the given mould and label it.

1.4 OBSERVATIONS
When the fat is put in sunflower oil and sodium hydroxide solution, it disintegrates the dissolves
upon stirring to form a white suspension with a foamy layer afloat the suspension. Gas bubbles
are also observed to rise from the suspension.
This irregular suspension, upon warming and stirring, forms a thick uniform yellow suspension.
More gas bubbles are seen to rise from the suspension. This is an indication that more of gas is
produced as the mixture dissolves properly.
Upon adding common salt (salting out), a foam floats on the suspension. This foam is the soap.
When the soap formed is tested with phenolphthalein indicator, it gives a fuchsia color.
A sample of the soap is then placed in a test-tube and shaken with warm tap water. No
observable change occurs. The soap just defragments in the warm tap water.
But when a sample of the soap is shaken with warm distilled water, a thick white suspension
forms with a foamy layer afloat its surface.

1.5 DISCUSSION
Esters are formed when carbolic acids react with alcohols. The –OH group of the acid is replaced
with an –OR group from the carbolic acid. Esters are widely occurring in nature and have a
sweet fruity smell.
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 RCOOH + R1OH R1OR + CO2 + H2O
Fats and oils are essentially esters of long-chain carboxylic acids and glycerol.
When saturated solution of common salt is added, two layers are formed, thick white precipitate
as the upper layer and liquid layer as lower layer.
More foam is formed when test tube is shaken with warm distilled water.
Less foam is formed when test tube is shaken with tap water.
Soap production involves the following processes.
1.5.1. Saponification (Soap-making)
Soap is the product of the reaction between a fat and sodium hydroxide. It is produced as a long-
chain carboxylic acid.
Tallow, a mixture of animal fat and coconut oil is used.
The whole fat, oil, NAOH mixture is heated as the NaOH facilitates hydrolysis resulting to a
frothy mixture.
Fat + Alkali → Soap+Glycerol
C H 2 OCORC H 2 OH
'
CHOCO R +3 NaOH →3 RCOONa+C H 2 OH

C H 2 OCOR C {H} rsub {2} O

RCOONa is the chemical name for soap, where R- represents an alkyl group of more than eight
Carbon atoms per molecule of compound.
During heating, the solid fat melts and mixes with coconut oil to form frothy homogeneous
solution.
1.5.2 Salting out (Glycerin removal)
Salting out involves addition of saturates common salt solution to precipitate the granular mass
i.e. soap (upper thick white precipitate layer). The lower liquid layer is glycerol and unused
alkali. Some glycerin is left in the soap to make it soft and smooth.
Soap in not very soluble in salt water, but glycerine is, so salt is added to the wet soap to separate
the two. Soap appears as a foamy layer floating on the glycerine surface.
That is also why the soap doesn’t dissolve in warm tap water-soap is also essentially a salt in
itself.

1.5.3 Soap purification

2
Any remaining sodium hydroxide is neutralized with a weak acid e.g. Citric acid and /3 of the
water removed.

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The soap is then washed with cold distilled water to remove traces of excess alkali and acids.
The pure soap is shredded into small chips and dried to required moisture content. Additives
such as preservatives, perfumes and dyes are mixed in with the soap and it is plodded ready for
sale. Opacifier is added to the mixture to ensure even mixing.
For toilet soap, extra fatty acids are added with fatty acids before it is vacuum-dried. This makes
the soap softer and eliminates any unreacted sodium hydroxide.
The hot process of soap is the most economical and most suitable in laboratory set-up compared
to cold process which less economical and yields impure product. The quality of soap depends
on the carbon chain in the fat, most suitably C 12−C18 .
Soap is only efficient in washing when using soft water and it forms scum when used with hard
water. Scum is a hard layer that forms on the soap surface, making the soap below this layer
unusable.

1.5.4 How Soap works:

Dirt and grime usually adhere to skin, clothing and other surfaces because they are combined
with greases and oils – body oil, cooking fats, lubricating greases and a variety of similar
substances – which act a little like sticky glues. Since oils are not miscible with water, washing
with water alone does little good. Soap molecule have a split personality. One end is ionic and
dissolves in water. The other end is like a hydrocarbon and dissolves in oils. If we imagine the
ionic end of the molecule as ‘head’ and hydrocarbon chain as ‘tail’, then we can explain the
clearing action of soap clearly. The hydrocarbon ‘tails’ stick into the oil. The ionic ‘heads’
remain in the acqueons phase. In this manner, the oil is broken into tiny droplets and dispersed
throughout the solution. The droplets don’t coalerec because of the repulsions of the charged
groups (the caboxl anions) on their surfaces. The oil and water form an emulsion, with soap
acting as an emulsifier. With the oil no longer “gluing” it to the surface, the dirt can be removed
easily. This mechanism applies to synthetic detergents also.
Soaps are being advertised as - Beauty soaps, Health soaps, Complexion soaps ,Deodorant
soaps , Freshness soaps ,Baby soaps and Herbal or medicinal soaps.

1.5.5 Disadvantages of soaps:

In acidic solutions, soaps are converted in to fatty acids. The fatty acids unlike soap (sodium salt
of fatty acids) do not ionize much. Lacking the split personality, they can’t emulsify the oil and
dirt that is they do not exhibit any detergent action these, fatty acids are in soluble in water and
separate as a greasy scum.
The second and more serious disadvantage of soap is that it does not work very well in hard
water. Hard water contains certain metallic ions, particularly magnesium, calcium and iron ions.
The soap anions react with these metal ions, to form greasy, insoluble curds. These deposits
make up the familiar bathtub ring. They leave the freshly washed hair sticky, and forms kettle
fur.

1.6 CONCLUSION

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Soaps are graded in terms of total fatty matter or TFM. T. F. M or total fatty matter is a measure
for identifying the amount of fatty matter present in soaps. TFM of a sample of soap can be
determined as follows. A known weight of the soap is dissolved in water and the solution is
treated with dilute sulphuric acid. The soap decomposes to sodium suplphate and fatty acids. The
fatty acids so formed can be estimated. From this TFM can be calculated.

1.7 REFRENCES
1. Lab Manual
2. Soaps And Detergents By K. R. JANARDHANAN
3. Technical Chemistry 2nd ed.by Lord Chilver and Carl T. F. Ross

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2.0 PREPARATION OF LIQUID DETERGENT
2.1 OVERVIEW

The aim the project is to show that liquid detergent can be manufactured from readily available
materials in the market and simple procedures. Some of the processes involved include: Dosing
and mixing major components – raw materials, creating a base. Liquid detergent ingredients
come in dry or liquid forms. Following the desired formulation, they are measured and dosed
into the homogeneous mixer and exposed to physical mixing and chemical reaction. Adding
balancing components –ph adjusting, buffering, and stabilizing the formula. After physical
mixing, it’s time for thickeners, ph adjusters, and other balancing ingredients. Their addition is
necessary in order to achieve desired viscosity, stability, and ph value. Liquid detergents are
formulated differently depending on its end use i.e. hand washing, dish washing and body
washing.

2.2 INTRODUCTION

2.2.1 DETERGENTS

A detergent is surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleaning properties in dilute solutions.

These substances are usually alkylbenzenesulfonates compounds that are soluble in both hard
and soft water because the polar sulfonate (of detergents) is less likely than the polar carboxyl (of
soap) to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water. Detergents are commonly available
as powders or concentrated solutions. Detergents, like soaps, work because they are amphiphilic:
partly hydrophilic (polar) and partly hydrophobic (non-polar). Their dual nature facilitates the
mixture of hydrophobic compounds (like oil and grease) with water. Because air is not
hydrophilic, detergents are also foaming agents to varying degrees.

A synthetic detergent is the sodium salt of a long chain benzene sulphonic acid or the sodium salt
of a long chain alkyl hydrogen sulphate.
Like soaps they contain an ionic group such as sulphonate group, SO 3–Na+ or sulphate group,
OSO3–Na+ and long chain hydrocarbon which is a non-ionic group.
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension or interfacial tension
between two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may function as
emulsifiers, wetting agents, detergents, foaming agents, or dispersants. In soaps they have the
following characteristics
1. It’s foaming ability i.e. the surds
2. Super cleansing detergency

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 3. Degreasing
4. Disinfection for detergents

2.2.2 PREPARATION OF SYNTHETIC DETERGENTS

Compounds in some oils contain double bonds which can react with concentrated sulphuric acid
to form compounds of alkyl hydrogen Sulphate.

When this compound is neutralized by NaOH, the hydrogen in hydrogen Sulphate is replaced by
a Sodium atom to form sodium alkyl sulphate.

R-HSO4 + NaOH [R-OSO3Na. ]+ + H2O

This compound acts as a detergent and lathers equally well with both tap water and distilled
water. The alkyl hydrogen Sulphate can also be made from alcohols.

This reaction is used on an industrial scale to make Soap less detergents from C 12-, C14-, C16 -and
C18 -alcohols. These detergents are therefore in the form of Sodium alkyl Sulphate, ROSO3Na.

In some industries a petroleum product called alkyl benzene reacts with SO 3 to form sulphonic
acids. These are neutralized to form sodium alkyl benzene sulphonate, ROSO2Na, which is a
detergent.

Soapless detergents with a branched chain alkyl group are not easily broken down by bacteria
and are therefore the cause of frothing in sewage plants, rivers, etc. This problem is overcome by
making the detergents out of alkyl benzenes with straight-chain alkyl groups.

R- Is the alkyls group which may be branched or straight. Est- an ester group.
Glycerides undergo reductions oil the carboxyl ate group to obtain mixture of long straight chain
alcohols corresponding to the acid portions of the Glycerides. The reduction process is carried
out both catalytically and chemically.

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The fat mostly reduced is coconut oil, which yields a mixture containing a high proportion of the
C12 alcohol, lauryl alcohol. The alcohol obtained is used in the synthesis of detergents e.g. salts
of alkyl hydrogen Sulphates.

2.3 METHODOLOGY

2.3.1 MATERIALS

Chemicals
1. AlkylBenzeneSulfonate (ABS) 5. Carboxy methyl cellulose (C.M.C)
Sulphonic Acid 6. Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP)
2. Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphonate 7. Glycerin
(UNGAROL) 8. Sodium Chloride (Nacl)
3. Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) 9. Industrial perfumes/fragrance &
Industrial colors
4. Coco diethanolanoid (C.D.E) 10. 10.Universal indicator or PH paper &
Distilled Water.

Equipment
1. 250ml Beakers 4. Plastic bucket
2. 250ml Volumetric flask 5. Stirrer
3. Starring rods

2.3.2 PROCEDURE: Preparation of 5 liters of Liquid Detergent.

1. Prepare a 6M molar solution of Sodium hydroxide. Add 120g of sodium hydroxide to 0.5
liters of water.
2. Add 100ml of ABS (Alkyl benzenesulfonate) and 200g Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphonate
which has a ph of 7 into 4000ml water in the plastic bucket and stir.
3. Add 2g of Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) and stir
4. Using litmus paper determine the pH of the mixture which gives you a result of 2 which
means it is highly acidic.
5. While stirring, add the 4M of NaOH solution of pH 10, drop by drop until a pH of about 8 is
obtained (light green color) with a PH paper or using universal indicator.
6. Add 10 ml of Glycerin in the mixture and stir.
7. Add a saturated solution of Nacl bit by bit until you get a fairly viscous liquid. This acts as a
builder and initiates saponification.

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8. Add industrial color and industrial perfume. Green colour gives different shades of green and
goes well with lemon perfume. Jasmine perfume goes well with different shades of yellow.
Strawberry perfume blends well with different shades of red. Use orange perfume for the
different shades of orange colour and the carnation perfume blends well with pink or light
purple.
9. The product formed is a multipurpose liquid detergent suitable for use in washing.
10. Pack the product in a suitable container well labeled.

2.4 DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

The amount of NaOH to be used was calculated as per the volume required and its molarity i.e.
6M → 1L
? → 0.5L
=3 Moles per Liter
1Mol=40g of NaOH
3Mol=3*40g=120g

Detergents use a synthetic surfactant in place of the metal fatty acid salts used in soaps. They are
made both in powder and liquid form, and sold as laundry powders, hard surface cleansers, dish
washing liquids, fabric conditioners etc. Most detergents have soap in their mixture of
ingredients, but it usually functions more as a foam depressant than as a surfactant.

Detergent fillers are materials which are added to detergents to alter their physical characteristics
and properties. Examples include:

Sodium Sulphate Bora Anti-foaming agents

Sodium Chloride Alcohols

Detergent Additives

These are substances which can be added to the soap like bleaches, bleach activators, antistatic
agents, fabric softeners etc., to improve cleansing performances
The detergent produced should contain a neutral pH so as not to react or corrode with the skin or
the surfaces and the clothing. Hence, the mixing process of the NaOH and the surfactant mixture
should be thorough and progressive while monitoring the pH stepwise so as to obtain the
required neutral ph The mixture turns from a clear colour to white colour during the mixing
process while increasing in volume. To obtain a good scent, jasmine and perfumes are added and
also industrial dye used to obtain the desired color. For the fluid to flow, the mixture is mixed
with NaCl (30g for 100ml water) to improve its viscosity.

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Due to double bonds in some compounds in Olive Oil, when added to conc. Sulphuric acid the
Olive oil forms compounds of alkyl hydrogen Sulphate. The compound formed is neutralized by
NaOH, where the hydrogen Sulphate is replaced with a sodium atom to form Sodium alkyl
Sulphate. These detergents are in form of sodium alkyl Sulphate.

2.4.1 Reactions and Equations

The synthetic detergents are of many types. In all of them a water-soluble salt like group is
attached to a hydrocarbon chain. A typical example is C17H35OSO3 Na.
R-HOSO3 + NaOH R-OSO3Na + H2O
Sulphonic acid detergent

R is an alkyl group with < 8 carbon atoms per molecule.

The equations to demonstrate these are given as:

For soap considering Ca2+ we have:
2C17H35Co2Na + Ca (HCO3)2 (C17H35CO2)2Ca + 2NaHCO3
Common soap Soap curd
2+
For detergents involving Ca we have:
2C17H35OSO3Na + Ca (HCO3)2 (C17H35OSO3)2Ca + 2NaHCO3
Synthetic detergent Soluble
This compound lathers with both tap water and distilled water and hence can be used as a
detergent.
Reaction with conc. sulphuric acid.

O O

R-O-H + H-O-S-O-H R-O-S-O-H + H2O

O O

Neutralization with sodium hydroxide solution.

O O

R-O-S-O-H + NaOH R-O-S-O-Na+ + H2O

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Sodium alkyl benzene sulphinates can be prepared in three steps:
 Alkylation-introduction of alkyl group to organic molecule.
Alkene + Benzene Alkyl benzene
 Sulphonation-reaction of alkyl benzene with conc. Sulphuric acid to form alkyl benzene
sulphonic acid.

Alkyl benzene + Sulphonic acid Alkyl benzene sulphonic acid.

 Neutralization- Alkyl benzene sulphonic acid is reacted with sodium hydroxide to form
sodium alkyl benzene sulphonate, which is a detergent.
2.4.2 How detergents work/Cleaning mechanism:
The head of the molecule is attracted to water (hydrophilic) and the tail is attracted to grease and
dirt (hydrophobic). When the detergent molecules meet grease on clothes, the tails are drawn into
the grease but the heads still sit in the water. The attractive forces between the head groups and
the water are so strong that the grease is lifted away from the surface. The blob of grease is now
completely surrounded by detergent molecules and is broken into smaller pieces which are
washed away by the water.

2.5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

Detergents are similar in structure and function to soap, and for most uses they are far more
efficient than soap so are more commonly used. In addition to the actual `detergent` molecule
they incorporate other ingredients that act as water softeners, free-flowing agents, etc.
Modern detergents used for washing clothes usually contain a few types of additives to increase
their cleaning power and make them attractive and saleable. The different types of additives are
builders, bleaching agents, biological enzyme brighteners, drying agents, stabilizers and
perfumes.
Soaps do not cause pollution problems to the environment, because soaps are made from
chemicals found in animals and plants, soaps are biodegradable.
Detergents have branched hydrocarbon chains and are non-biodegradable. Thus they cause
pollution in water. But the detergents are suitable in both soft water and hard water. They don’t
form scum with the magnesium and calcium ions. Thus proper disposal of the detergent after use
is of critical importance.

2.6 REFERENCES.

1. Lab manual 3. Technical Chemistry 2nd ed.by Lord

2. Internet. Chilver and Carl T. F. Ross
www.sttpgroup.com
www.soapsanddetergents.com
https://www.york.ac.uk.

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