The Effect of Coconut Oil Concentrations on Soap Sara Sheridan

Question How do different concentrations of coconut oil used in the saponification process affect the cleaning abilities of soap?

Background Information First records of soap were found in Egyptian ruins Base Soap: salt of a fatty acid Saponification: process through which soap is made Natural saponification: glycerin is not removed Purification of soap requires sodium hydroxide Soap molecules are essentially fatty acid chains Soap is used to remove dirt and oils from other solutions and surfaces

Hypothesis If three different concentrations of coconut oil are used during saponification then the highest concentrated soap will be the most effective and produce the most amount of suds.

Materials Coconut oil Sodium hydroxide solution, 3 M Distilled water Stirring rod Supersaturated sodium chloride solution Cheesecloth Filter paper Soap mold Peppermint oil (1) 500 mL graduated cylinders 3 (50) mL graduated cylinders 3(200) mL graduated cylinders Stirring rods Beaker tongs Hot plate Parafilm

Procedure (Saponification) Place 10 mL coconut oil and 15 mL of 3 M sodium hydroxide into a 100-mL beaker Using a hot plate, heat the mixture to a gentle boil. Stir constantly for twenty minutes. Wash this crude soap mixture with 15 mL of distilled water and 5 mL of hot saturated sodium chloride (“salting out” the soap). Break up lumps of soap with a stirring rod Decant the wash solution by pouring it through the cheesecloth. Repeat the washing procedure twice. After the last washing, press the soap between two pieces of filter paper to expel as much water as possible Add a few drops of peppermint oil, pack it into the soap mold, and let it dry overnight. Unmold the soap and test its sudsing ability.

Procedure (Sudsing) Mix.5 grams of each variation of soap with 10 mL of water in a 50 mL graduated cylinder Cover the graduated cylinder with Parafilm Shake consistently for 2 minutes straight Measure volume of suds

Variables Temperature of water during saponification process Temperature of water during testing process Consistency of shaking Purity of coconut oil Temperature of coconut oil solution 10 mL of coconut oil did not produce enough soap for sufficient or equal trials

Conclusion It can be concluded that the soap with the highest concentration of coconut oil produced the most suds. This suggests that the fattier a soap is, the more able it is to dissolve oils and dirt from other solutions. The 30 mL concentration produced the most suds therefore making the hypothesis accepted. The qualitative results also suggest that the more oil in soap, the more moisturizing it is. To further this experiment, the sodium hydroxide solution could be boiled at different increments and/or the crude soap could be washed more or less times.

Works Cited Addison, Keith. "Glycerine: Journey to Forever." Journey to Forever: Hong Kong to Cape Town Overland - An Adventure in Environment and Development, Join Us on the Internet, All Welcome, Participation, Online Education, School Projects, Free of Charge. Web. 24 Feb Bellis, Mary. "The History of Soap and Detergent." Inventors. Web. 24 Feb Hallenstine, Anne M. "Soap and Saponification - Chemistry." Chemistry - Periodic Table, Chemistry Projects, and Chemistry Homework Help Web. 24 Feb "Saponification: Soap Making, Old Fashioned Style." ChemLab Web. Nov "Synthesis of Soap." Chemistry Web. 24 Feb Whyte, David B. "The Chemistry of Clean: Make Your Own Soap to Study Soap Synthesis." Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools Web. 24 Feb

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