Production of vegetable soap through cold process technique
Soap is a product obtained from the chemical reaction between a fatty acid of vegetable or animal origin and an alkaline substance, the most part of the soaps produced by the industry nowadays are made of animal origin feedstock [1]. Animal fat has a low cost, since it is considered a by-product of the meat industry, for that reason the cosmetics industry chooses to use it, although it does not have skin benefits [2]. Vegetable oils, applied in the production of soaps, clean the skin without removing its natural oils [3], and are biodegradable, that is, it takes up to 30 days for the decomposition process to end in nature [4]. Through these factors the project proposes the production of a vegetable soap and biodegradable, using the cold process technique. Olive, palm, palm kernel, castor oil and carrot oils were used as the base composition of the soap; palmarosa essential oil as flavor source; urucum as coloring agent and sodium hydroxide as the alkaline substance. From the ready soap (SP), analyzes were performed for the determination of moisture, pH and fatty acids. The same analyzes were done for a commercial soap (SC) produced with vegetable oils. The moisture content of SP was very close to that of SC and it was shown according to the norms established by the competent organs. The amount of fatty acids present in the SP sample was 52.1%, whereas in the SC sample it was 61.4%. According to [5], values up to 60% indicate the presence of vegetable oil in the soap composition. Elevated indices are attributed to the presence of bovine tallow and other types of animal fat. Regarding potentiometric titration, the curves of SP and SC were very similar, as well as the initial pH that presented values close to 10. The soap produced presented the moisture content within the established by the standards determined by the competent bodies and was also an analyzed ester content below 60% was confirmed. It is also added that both analyzed materials have the same concentration range of OH- ions as they showed the initial pH of the samples obtained in the potentiometric titration curves, confirming still more similarities of the material produced with those commercialized in industrial scales.