Bar Soap Synthesis Lab From Fats And Lye

Abstract: One mixture of two unknown liquid compounds and one mixture of two unknown solid compounds were separated, isolated, purified, and characterized by boiling point. Two liquid unknowns were separated, isolated, and purified via simple distillation. Then, the process of an acid-base extraction and washing were used to separate two unknown compounds into two crude compounds: an organic acid and a neutral organic compound. Each crude compound was purified by recrystallization, resulting in a carboxylic acid (RCO2H) and a pure organic compound (RZ). The resulting mass of the pure carboxylic acid was 1.688g with a percent recovery of 31.80%, the boiling range was 244-245 °C, and its density was 2.0879g/mL. The resulting mass of the pure organic solid was 2.4902g with a percent recovery of 46.91%, the boiling range was 52.0-53.4°C, and its density was 1.5956 g/mL.

In this experiment, the Fischer Esterification of an unknown acid and an unknown alcohol was used to prepare an unknown ester. Sulfuric acid was used as a catalyst in the reaction which then was put under reflux. After cooling, the pH of the solution was raised to approximately 8 using sodium carbonate. Diethyl ether was added, then the aqueous layer was removed and the organic layer was washed with sodium chloride. The aqueous layer was removed again and sodium sulfate was added. The unknown product was then identified using gas chromatography (GC) to obtain the retention time.

The objective of the experiment was to observe different reactions with different chemicals. The experiments emphasized on the chemical changes occurring in acids and bases as well as color changes and bubble formations. The experiments allowed for a better understanding of the undergoing chemical changes in mixtures. Some mixtures instantly changed colors while others were transparent or foggy. Some mixtures produced thick color that created solids called precipitates. Mixtures KI + Pb(NO3)2 and NaOH + AgNO3 both produce noticeable precipitates after a while. It was interesting to see the different acidic and base reactions like the fuchsia color formation in NaOH + phenolphthalein.

Acids react with reactive metals in order to make a salt. Salts are a compound formed by the neutralisation of an acid by a base, for example metal oxide. This is a result of hydrogen atoms in an acid being replaced by positive ions.

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to observe a variety of chemical reactions and to identify patterns in the conversion of reactants into products.

The fatty acids are then purified by distillation and neutralized with an alkali to produce soap and water. The fats and oils used in soap-making come from animal or plant sources. The four basic soaps used in this procedure were made using olive oil, vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, and lard. Each fat or oil is made up of a distinctive mixture of several different triglycerides. In a triglyceride molecule, three fatty acid molecules are attached to one molecule of glycerin. There are many types of triglycerides; each type consists of its own particular combination of fatty acids. They are weak acids composed of two parts: A carboxylic acid group consisting of one hydrogen (H) atom, two oxygen (O) atoms, and one carbon (C) atom, plus a hydrocarbon chain attached to the carboxylic acid group. Generally, it is made up of a long straight chain of carbon (C) atoms each carrying two hydrogen (H) atoms. The carboxylate end of the soap molecule is attracted to water. It is called the hydrophilic end; this end of the fatty acid chain prefers water. The hydrocarbon chain is attracted to oil and grease and is the hydrophobic end. However, when soap is presented to hard water which is water containing minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, and seldom minerals like iron. Soap produces what is known as soap scum, or residue from the

Rubber was replaced with different kinds of soaps, aluminum, magnesium palmitates, and stearates. There are two different kinds of Napalm, first being oil-based with aluminum soap thickeners and second being oil-based with polymeric thickeners. The United States used three different kinds of aluminum soap based thickeners until they discovered a mixture of low-octane gas with benzene and polystyrene, and this is the mixture that was used primarily in the Vietnam War (Crippin, Langford, Price “New World

As the acid was being added, the mixture was being stirred over a stir plate. Once completed, the reaction mixture was poured from the round bottom flask into a 500 mL separatory funnel and its top (organic) layer was extracted into another beaker. The bottom (aqueous) layer was placed back into the funnel and extracted twice with 50.0 mL of ethyl ether each. The newly extracted layers were combined and dried over magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). The dried solution was the decanted into a beaker to remove the MgSO4 salts and the product solution was collected via Buchner vacuum filtration. The resulting product was transferred into an Erlenmeyer flask with an inverted beaker on top and stored in a drawer.

In order to produce the three soaps, we used a general procedure given to us by the lab manual1. This procedure required us to first obtain our starting oil or fat (vegetable oil, olive oil, and lard) and place it into a beaker. Then we had to add 6 M sodium hydroxide and glycerol drop by drop while continuously stirring the solution. Once the solution was stirred thoroughly, it then needed to be brought to a boil until it became pasty. In order to turn the solution into a paste, we placed the beaker onto a Bunsen burner and continuously mixed the solution.

Another type of refining is called polymerization, which is the opposite of cracking in that it combines the smaller molecules into bigger ones that then could be used as liquid fuels.

(Reaction between sodium hydroxide and solution of vinegar, which produces an aqueous solution of sodium acetate and water)

For this experiment, Alcohol D and Acid 2 reacted in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid, resulting in a colorless solution with brown layer on top. After washes with sodium bicarbonate and brine, the pale-yellow liquid product was dried and then distilled. Distillation resulted in two colorless fractions, the second of which had a boiling point of 69-70 ˚C. This boiling point is unrealistic for any compound obtained in this experiment, so it was not used in identifying the product. After distillation, both fractions were spectroscopically analyzed. The IR and NMR spectra obtained for both fraction were identical, meaning both fractions contained exactly the same substance. Both fractions also smelled the same, like piña colada, therefore confirming this conclusion. This outcome also meant that the amount of product synthesized was 5.7393 g.

oil as well as natural gas. We can say that making products from recycled materials means

Neutrogena uses a slow, more expensive manufacturing process to mold its fragile soap. In choosing this position, Neutrogena said no to the deodorants and skin softeners that many customers desire in their soap. It gave up the large-volume potential of selling through supermarkets and using price promotions. It sacrificed manufacturing efficiencies to achieve the soap’s desired attributes. (trade-offs that protected the company from imitators)

As shown in Table 3.0, it was difficult to stir and combine the shortening and the lard with the sodium hydroxide and glycerol. Though the oil-based soaps were easy to make, they did not yield as much compared to the fat-based soaps. Table 6.0 shows that Soap 3 which was shortening based and Soap 4 which was lard based produced 11.18 g and 11.22 g, respectively. This was a much greater yield than the oil based soaps. Soap 1 which used olive oil yielded 3.154 grams and soap 2 using vegetable oil yielded 1.319 grams. This was something to consider when choosing which starting material to use and depends on whether ease of synthesis or greater yield is more important. The detergent synthesis methods were very similar but method 2 took less steps and was a bit easier than method 1. Table 6.0 shows that detergent 2 had a greater yield, 5.143 grams whereas detergent 1 had a yield of about 4 grams. The lathering test showed that though soaps 3 and 4 produced the most product of the soaps, they did not create many bubbles or a good lather according to Table 7.0. The soaps/detergents that produced the most bubbles were soap 1 which used olive oil followed by detergent 1 and then soap 2