Formulation And Production Of Levera Soap

The production of the soap was carried out using all the necessary equipments like the reactor, mould, stirrer, hygrometer guage etc. and all the required reagents for soap production in correct proportion.
In the production, palm kernel oil (P.K.O) was used instead of tallow or grease. This was because soap produced from grease or tallow tends to dissolve slowly at room temperature, whereas, soap of palm kernel oil product gives a quicker lather which is relatively suitable.
Different formulation were developed, but the most appropriate was the ratio 2:1 of P.K.O to caustic soda solution. This ratio gave a very quality soap. The other formulation are 3:1 and 1:1 of good quality and physically, they were observed to be brittle.
The test and analysis carried out on the P.K.O and the soap produced proved that the saponification value of the P.K.O was 248.24; refractive index was 1.451, free fatty value of 1.58; acid value of 4.43; moisture content of 26.78%; free alkali of 0.214%, alcohol insoluble matter of 1.43% and PH value of 9.98 at a temperature reading 2980c. The soap was moderately soft and very soluble in water.
The quality of soap produced conformed to all the requirements for toilet soap from Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). It was found out that the soap has no inferiors effect on the skin; does not contain any visible foreign matter which means that the soap was properly mixed, does not encourage microbial growth and lathers effectively.
It was also found that the cost of producing the herbal/medicated or antiseptic soap was N63.00k compared to that sold in the market for N100.00k per tablet. Thus, the production based on the research work was profitable and more economical.