Product Code Database
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used as , components of some , , and .
Soaps are often produced by mixing fats and oils with a base. Humans have used soap for millennia; evidence exists for the production of soap-like materials in ancient Babylon around 2800 BC.
When used for cleaning, soap particles and grime, which can then be separated from the article being cleaned. The insoluble oil/fat "dirt" become associated inside , tiny spheres formed from soap molecules with polar hydrophile (water-attracting) groups on the outside and encasing a lipophilicity (fat-attracting) pocket, which shields the oil/fat molecules from the water, making them soluble. Anything that is soluble will be washed away with the water. In hand washing, as a surfactant, when lathered with a little water, soap kills by disorganizing their membrane lipid bilayer and denaturing their . It also emulsifies oils, enabling them to be carried away by running water.
When used in hard water, soap does not lather well but forms soap scum (related to , see below).
A cation from an organic base such as ammonium can be used instead of a metal; ammonium nonanoic acid is an ammonium-based soap that is used as an herbicide.
Another class of non-toilet soaps are , which are produced in the paper industry by the action of tree rosin with alkaline reagents used to separate cellulose from raw wood. A major component of such soaps is the sodium salt of abietic acid. Resin soaps are used as emulsifiers. (2025). 9783527306732 ISBN 9783527306732
To make antibacterial soap, compounds such as triclosan or triclocarban can be added. There is some concern that use of antibacterial soaps and other products might encourage antimicrobial resistance in microorganisms.
The type of alkali metal used determines the kind of soap product. Sodium soaps, prepared from sodium hydroxide (soda lye), are firm, whereas potassium soaps, derived from potassium hydroxide (potash lye), are softer or often liquid. Historically, potassium hydroxide was extracted from the ashes of bracken or other plants. Lithium soaps also tend to be hard. These are used exclusively in greases.
For making toilet soaps, (oils and fats) are derived from coconut, olive, or palm oils, as well as tallow.David J. Anneken, Sabine Both, Ralf Christoph, Georg Fieg, Udo Steinberner, Alfred Westfechtel "Fatty Acids" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. . Triglyceride is the chemical name for the Ester of fatty acids and glycerin. Tallow, i.e., rendered fat, is the most available triglyceride from animals. Each species offers quite different fatty acid content, resulting in soaps of distinct feel. The seed oils give softer but milder soaps. Soap made from pure olive oil, sometimes called Castile soap or Marseille soap, is reputed for its particular mildness. The term "Castile" is also sometimes applied to soaps from a mixture of oils with a high percentage of olive oil.
| + Fatty acid content of various fats used for soapmaking |
| + ! !! Lauric acid!! Myristic acid!! Palmitic acid!! Stearic acid!! Oleic acid!! Linoleic acid!! Linolenic acid |
| 1 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 23 |
The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. A formula for making a soap-like substance was written on a Sumerian clay tablet around 2500 BC. This was produced by heating a mixture of oil and wood ash, the earliest recorded chemical reaction, and used for washing woolen clothing.
The Ebers Papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates the ancient Egyptians used a soap-like product as a medicine and created this by combining animal fats or vegetable oils with a soda ash substance called trona. Egyptian documents mention a similar substance was used in the preparation of wool for weaving.
In the reign of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), a recipe for a soap-like substance consisted of uhulu ashes, cypress oil and sesame seed "for washing the stones for the servant girls".Noted in
Knowledge of how to produce true soap emerged at some point between early mentions of proto-soaps and the first century AD. Alkali was used to clean textiles such as wool for thousands of years but soap only forms when there is enough fat, and experiments show that washing wool does not create visible quantities of soap. Experiments by Sally Pointer show that the repeated laundering of materials used in perfume-making lead to noticeable amounts of soap forming. This fits with other evidence from culture.
Pliny the Elder, whose writings chronicle life in the first century AD, describes soap as "an invention of the Gauls". The word sapo, Latin for soap, has connected to a mythical Mount Sapo, a hill near the River Tiber where animals were sacrificed. But in all likelihood, the word was borrowed from an early Germanic language and is cognate with Latin sebum, "tallow". It first appears in Pliny the Elder's account, Historia Naturalis, which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes. There he mentions its use in the treatment of Scrofula, as well as among the Gauls as a dye to redden hair which the men in Germania were more likely to use than women.Pliny the Elder, Natural History, XXVIII.191.Martial, Epigrammata, VIII, 33, 20. The Romans avoided washing with harsh soaps before encountering the milder soaps used by the Gauls around 58 BC. Aretaeus of Cappadocia, writing in the 2nd century AD, observes among "Celts, which are men called Gauls, those alkaline substances that are made into balls ... called soap".Aretaeus, The Extant Works of Aretaeus, the Cappadocian, ed. and tr. Francis Adams (London) 1856: 238 and 496 , noted in Michael W. Dols, "Leprosy in medieval Arabic medicine" Journal of the History of Medicine 1979:316 note 9; the Gauls with whom the Cappadocian would have been familiar are those of Anatolian Galatia. The Romans' preferred method of cleaning the body was to massage oil into the skin and then scrape away both the oil and any dirt with a strigil. The standard design is a curved blade with a handle, all of which is made of metal.
The 2nd-century AD physician Galen describes soap-making using lye and prescribes washing to carry away impurities from the body and clothes. The use of soap for personal cleanliness became increasingly common in this period. According to Galen, the best soaps were Germanic, and soaps from Gaul were second best. Zosimos of Panopolis, circa 300 AD, describes soap and soapmaking.
In the Southern Levant, the ashes from Barilla, such as species of Salsola, saltwort ( Seidlitzia rosmarinus) and Anabasis, were used to make potash.Zohar Amar, Flora of the Bible, Jerusalem 2012, s.v. ברית, p. 216 (note 34) . Traditionally, olive oil was used instead of animal lard throughout the Levant, which was boiled in a copper cauldron for several days. As the boiling progresses, alkali ashes and smaller quantities of quicklime are added and constantly stirred. In the case of lard, it required constant stirring while kept lukewarm until it began to trace. Once it began to thicken, the brew was poured into a mold and left to cool and harden for two weeks. After hardening, it was cut into smaller cakes. Aromatic herbs were often added to the rendered soap to impart their fragrance, such as yarrow leaves, lavender, germander, etc.
A 12th-century document describes the process of soap production.BBC Science and Islam Part 2, Jim Al-Khalili. BBC Productions. Accessed 30 January 2012. It mentions the key ingredient, alkali, which later became crucial to modern chemistry, derived from al-qaly or "ashes".
By the 13th century, the manufacture of soap in the Middle East had become a major cottage industry, with sources in Nablus, Fes, Damascus, and Aleppo.
In Europe, soap in the 9th century was produced from animal fats and had an unpleasant smell. This changed when olive oil began to be used in soap formulas instead, after which much of Europe's soap production moved to the Mediterranean olive-growing regions. (2025). 9780198581062, Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198581062 Hard toilet soap was introduced to Europe by Arabs and gradually spread as a luxury item. It was often perfumed.
By the 15th century, the manufacture of soap in Christendom often took place on an industrial scale, with sources in Antwerp, Castile, Marseille, Naples and Venice.
English manufacture tended to concentrate in London.Nef 1936:653, 660. The demand for high-quality hard soap was significant enough during the Tudor period that barrels of ashes were imported for the manufacture of soap.
Finer soaps were later produced in Europe from the 17th century, using vegetable oils (such as olive oil) as opposed to animal fats. Many of these soaps are still produced, both industrially and by small-scale artisans. Castile soap is a popular example of the vegetable-only soaps derived from the oldest "white soap" of Italy. In 1634 Charles I granted the newly formed Society of Soapmakers a monopoly in soap production who produced certificates from 'foure Countesses, and five Viscountesses, and divers other Ladies and Gentlewomen of great credite and quality, besides common Laundresses and others', testifying that 'the New White Soap washeth whiter and sweeter than the Old Soap'.Keith Thomas, 'Noisomeness,' London Review of Books, Vol. 42, No. 14, 16 July 2020.
During the Restoration era (February 1665 – August 1714) a soap tax was introduced in England, which meant that until the mid-1800s, soap was a luxury, used regularly only by the well-to-do. The soap manufacturing process was closely supervised by revenue officials who made sure that soapmakers' equipment was kept under lock and key when not being supervised. Moreover, soap could not be produced by small makers because of a law that stipulated that soap boilers must manufacture a minimum quantity of one imperial ton at each boiling, which placed the process beyond the reach of the average person. The soap trade was boosted and deregulated when the tax was repealed in 1853. (1864). 9780243121328, Forgotten Books. ISBN 9780243121328
Until the Industrial Revolution, soapmaking was conducted on a small scale and the product was rough. In 1780, James Keir established a chemical works at Tipton, for the manufacture of alkali from the sulfates of potash and soda, to which he afterwards added a soap manufactory. The method of extraction proceeded on a discovery of Keir's. In 1790, Nicolas Leblanc discovered how to make alkali from common salt. Andrew Pears started making a high-quality, transparent soap, Pears soap, in 1807 in London. His son-in-law, Thomas J. Barratt, became the brand manager (the first of its kind) for Pears in 1865. In 1882, Barratt recruited English actress and socialite Lillie Langtry to become the poster-girl for Pears soap, making her the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product.
William Gossage produced low-priced, good-quality soap from the 1850s. Robert Spear Hudson began manufacturing a soap powder in 1837, initially by grinding the soap with a mortar and pestle. American manufacturer Benjamin T. Babbitt introduced marketing innovations that included the sale of bar soap and distribution of . William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Lever, bought a small soap works in Warrington in 1886 and founded what is still one of the largest soap businesses, formerly called Lever Brothers and now called Unilever. These soap businesses were among the first to employ large-scale advertising campaigns.
In the early 1900s, other companies began to develop their own liquid soaps. Such products as Pine-Sol and Tide appeared on the market, making the process of cleaning things other than skin, such as clothing, floors, and bathrooms, much easier.
Liquid soap also works better for more traditional or non-machine washing methods, such as using a washboard.
|
|
