 Made for more than 2500 years

 600 BC- first recorded soap manufacture

from goats tallow and ash purposely used
medicinally
 Second century AD was used for cleaning
purposes
 19th century- soaps were
used commonly in the
Western world
 Soaps and detergents use surfactants as the
main ingredient
 removes dirt from surfaces
 made from fat and caustic
soda
 used as cleanser as well as
perfume
 for medicinal purposes
 Saponification reaction is the core process of
soap manufacture given by:

 Exothermic in nature and develop quickly at

around 125oC
 Alkalies
• react with fats and oils to form soaps (sodium hydroxide
or potassium hydroxide)

Fats
• either vegetable oil or animal fat; high fatty acids increase
the yield

Additives
• Abrasives- enhance texture
• Fragrances- add scents to the soap
• Dye- enhances color
 BATCH METHOD
 Traditional method of soap manufacturing
 Takes about 4-11 days to complete the process
 Used for small-scale production wherein soap is
made from saponifying of oils and fats with the aid
of soap pan or kettle
 BATCH METHOD
 Involves the following steps:
1. Slow incubation period involving the addition of
sodium or potassium hydroxide to triglyceride.
2. Temperature of the soap mass is controlled where
alkali is used up rapidly in this exothermic stage
3. Gradual completion stage
 BATCH METHOD
 CONTINUOUS METHOD
 More flexible, higher speed and more
economical
 6 hours of manufacturing time is enough
 Oils and fats are added to sodium
hydroxide in the presence of steam and
mixed inside a hydrolyser
START END
NATURAL
FATS

SPLITTING FINAL
CAUSTIC
PACKAGING
SUBSTANCE
LEFT-OVER
SOAPS
WRAPPING
BUBBLING

TRIMMINGS STAMPING
MILLING

SOAP COOLING AND

MIXING
NOODLES FINISHING
 SPLITTING
 First step in the continuous process
 Splits natural fat into fatty acids and glycerin
 Utilizes vertical stainless steel column with the
diameter of the barrel called a hydrolizer
 Fatty acids are distilled for purification
 BUBBLING
 Glycerine and fatty acids are mixed together
including caustic soda
 Saponification occurs in this process
 In order to facilitate the chemical reaction, steam
bubbles are introduced
 Processed in a bubble kettle
 Left over soaps at the bottom are reused
 MILLING
 Liquid soaps sprayed over a big mantle roll and
solidify
 Blades cut it to soap ribbons
 Steel rollers called mills, mix and compresses soap
ribbons
 Blades cut it to a more denser ribbons
 MILLING
 SOAP NOODLES
 Soap ribbons fall and are pushed to an extruder
known as the noodle plate
 Shape soaps into noodles and collected into vent
 Soap noodles are dumped into a mixer
 MIXING
 Additives are mixed with the soap noodles
 Color dyes in powder and liquid form are added as
well as fragrant oils with the aid of steel blades

 Another noodle plate is used to facilitate further

mixing of materials
 COOLING AND FINISHING
 The soap may be poured into molds and allowed to
harden into a large slab. It may also be cooled in a
special freezer.
 The slab is cut into smaller pieces of bar size, which
are then stamped and wrapped. The entire
continuous process, from splitting to finishing, can
be accomplished in several hours.
 COOLING AND FINISHING
 STAMPING
 upon molding and trimming of the soap bars, they
are stamped
 it is then delivered to the final packaging
 WRAPPING AND FINAL PACKAGING
 Plastic sheets are used to cover soap bars
 Heat is then applied to seal the wrap
 They are then moved and put to boxes for delivery
 Cleansing
 Conditioning
 Bubbly lather
 Creamy lather
 Iodine
 INS
 CLEANSING
•Soap’s ability to grab onto oils
•A typical range of cleansing would be 12 to 22

CONDITIONING
•Refers to the emollient content in soaps which soothes and softens the skin and retain skin moisture
•Range: 44 to 69

BUBBLY LATHER
•Soap’s ability to bubble up and lather
•Range: 14 to 46
•The higher the bubbly numbers produce a frothy lather than a creamy lather with little or no bubbles
CREAMY LATHER
•firmness and creaminess of the lather
•Range: 16 to 48
•Lauric, myristic or ricinoleic acids produce soaps with creamy lather

IODINE
•lower iodine number indicates harder soap bar with less conditioning qualities
•Number of grams of iodine that will react with the double bonds in 100 grams of fats and oils
•for those that contain values of iodine higher than 70, formation of soft bar of soap may be evident

INS
•Range: 136- 170
•Determines the physical qualities of the soap based on SAP as well as the iodine value
 1950s
• Liquid laundry, hand dishwashing and all-purpose cleaning products
• Automatic dishwasher powders
• Detergent with oxygen bleach
• Fabric softeners (rinse-cycle added)

1960s
• Laundry powders with enzymes
• Prewash soil and stain removers
• Enzyme presoaks
 1970s
• Fabric softeners (sheets and wash-cycle added)
• Multifunctional products (e.g., detergent with fabric
softener)
• Liquid hand soaps

1980s
• Automatic dishwasher liquids
• Detergents for cooler water washing
• Concentrated laundry powders
 1990s
• Ultra (super concentrated) powder and liquid detergents
• Automatic dishwasher gels
• Ultra fabric softeners
• Laundry and cleaning product refills
Table 1. The ingredients of detergent base powder for solids
Solids

Ingredient Function

Sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) Water softener, pH buffer (o reduce

alkalinity)
Sodium sulphate Bulking and free-flowing agent

Soap noodles Causes rapid foam collapse during

raining
Zeolite Water softener

Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose Increases the negative charge on

cellulosic fibres causing them o repel
dirt particles (positively charged)
Table 2. The ingredients of detergent base powder for liquids
Liquids

Ingredient Function

Linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acid Surfactant – the main active ingredient

(LAS)
Caustic soda solution Neutralizes the LAS

Coconut diethanolamide or a fatty Nonionic detergent and foam former

alcohol ethoxylate
Fluorescer Absorbs UV light and emits blue light

Water Dissolves the various ingredients,

causing them to mix better
Table 3. Typical post dosing ingredients
Ingredient Function

Soda ash (anhydrous Na2CO3) Keeps the pH at 9.0-9.5 ensuring

optimum detergent function
Bleach (usually sodium perborate – Bleaches stains without damaging
NaBO3) colour-fast dyes. It breaks down to
high temperatures to release H2O2
Bleach activator (ex. Catalyzes NaBO3 breakdown at low
tetraacetylethylenediamine) temperatures
Enzymes (ex. alkaline protease) Alkaline protease breaks down to
proteins in the alkaline conditions
created by soda ash, helping to
remove stains
Colour and perfume Creates a more aesthetically pleasing
product
1. Blender Process
2. Agglomeration Process
3. Slurry Method
4. For Liquid Detergent
 BLENDER PROCESS
 Also known as the Tumbler process or the Dry-mixing
process
 Used by small-time companies
1. The ingredients needed are loaded either in a tumbling
blender or a ribbon blender to facilitate efficient
blending of components
2. The mixture is carried out into a conveyor belt
3. It is transported and dropped into boxes or cartons for
delivery to wholesalers.
 AGGLOMERATION PROCESS
 A continuous process which is usually applied by
large-scale detergent manufacturers
1. In an agglomerator, the dry ingredients needed in the
detergent making are first fed
2. Dry ingredients are blended, while allowing the liquid
ingredients to be sprayed onto the dry mix using the
nozzles fitted into the agglomerator’s wall
3. A drying belt collects the output of the agglomerator
device where materials become friable
4. Pulverizing of these materials is done and sizing
screens are further used apon pulverizing
 SLURRY METHOD
1. Water is added to dissolve ingredients and form
slurry
2. Through the nozzles, the slurry is fed inside the top
portion of a cone-shaped container while hot, dry
air is simultaneously forced into the bottom of the
cone
3. Upon drying of the slurry, beads of dry detergent
settle at the bottom of the cone where they can be
readily collected for packaging
 LIQUID DETERGENTS
1. Mixing all the ingredients as well as water and
various chemicals known as solubilizers
2. Solubilizers allows the detergent and the water to
blend evenly
 PACKAGING
 can be packaged into cartons, bottles, pouches, bags or
cans
 considerations of certain attributes and characteristics
of the product such as compatibility and stability, cost,
package safety, solid waste impact, shelf appeal and
ease of use are very important in selection of the right
pacjaging materials needed
 ASSAY
High assay is favored for better quality and shelf-life of
the product

DENSITY AND Product segregation and flow properties determined by

PARTICLE SIZE the density and particle size distribution of the solid
DISTRIBUTION ingredients, which also play a role in the absorptivity of
surfactants

FRIABILITY Tendency of a solid to be crumbled. This property may

affect the particle size distribution, product segregation
and flow properties.
 HYDRATION Since water is present on almost all detergent forms, a solid agent is
CHARACTERISTICS required to bind some of the water to form hydrates. This affects the
caking and flow properties of powder detergents and the process
ability and stability of liquid products.

CHEMICAL The raw materials must be consistent with each other and must be
STABILITY stable enough to tolerate the manufacturing process. This is significant
in liquid detergents and in powder detergents containing bleach,
enzymes or a high alkalinity.