Comment fabriquer du savon

Description

• Problème:
• Idée:
• Difficulté:
• Gamme de prix:
• Matériel nécessaire: cendres, huile ou graisse, eau de pluie / eau douce.

Un grand bouilloir à savon en fer avec de hautes parois, une louche en bois à long manche, une râpe de cuisine ou un hachoir à viande pour faire des flocons de savon, des boîtes en bois plates, des moules ou des tubes, bouteilles en plastique coupées ou des bacs en plastique pour mouler le savon, des morceaux de chiffon, une plaque.

• Zone géographique: Globale
• Compétences:
• Combien de personnes?? A partir d'une personne
• Combien de temps cela prend-il?

Description

Introduction

Avec un peu de pratique, fabriquer du savon n'est pas difficile. Cela est aussi approprié pour une entreprise à petite échelle. Comme matière première, on utilise de simples huiles d'équipement et végétales ou de graisses animales, disponibles localement dans la plupart des pays. Cependant, il est plus difficile de produire du savon dur de haute qualité, ce qui est nécessaire dans certains pays pour concurrencer les produits importés ou les produits des fabricants de grande envergure. Il y a certains dangers dans la production de certains savons, que tout producteur potentiel doit être conscient pour éviter les blessures. Cette fiche technique décrit les procédures nécessaires pour fabriquer une variété de savons simple et comprend un certain nombre de recettes pour différents types de savon.

Fichier:P01.jpg
Figure 1: Bina Baroi avec certains de ses savons finis après un cours de fabrication de savon de Practical Action Bangladesh. ©Zul/Practical Action

Ingrédients

Il y a trois principaux ingrédients:- de l'huile ou de la graisse (l’huile est tout simplement de la graisse liquide), de la lessive (ou alcalin) et de l'eau. D'autres ingrédients peuvent être rajoutés pour donner au savon une agréable odeur et de la couleur, ou pour améliorer ses qualités adoucissantes. Presque toute graisse ou huile non toxique est adaptée pour la fabrication due savon. Les types courants comprennent les graisses animales, l'huile d'avocat et l'huile de tournesol. Les lessives peuvent être achetées sous forme d'hydroxyde de potassium (potasse caustique) ou d'hydroxyde de sodium (soude caustique), ou si elles ne sont pas disponibles, fabriquées à partir de cendres. Certains savons sont mieux fabriqués avec de l'eau douce, car il est nécessaire d'utiliser soit de l'eau de pluie ou rajouter du borax à l'eau du robinet. Chaque produit chimique est habituellement disponible dans les pharmacies des grandes villes.

Précaution! Les solutions alcalines sont extrêmement caustiques. Elles provoquent des brûlures en cas de projection sur la peau et peuvent causer la cécité si l'œil est atteint. Si elles sont bues, elles peuvent être fatales. Il faut donc être prudent lors de manipulation de produits alcalins et de savons «verts» (non affinés). Les détails des précautions qui doivent être prises sont donnés ci-dessous. En raison de ces dangers, il faut garder les petits enfants loin de la pièce où les savons sont fabriqués.

Comment produire des lessives à partir de cendres

Les lessives commerciales peuvent être achetées dans les pharmacies des grandes villes et il y a certaines normes à respecter. Toutefois, si elles ne sont pas disponibles ou abordables, on peut les fabriquer à partir de cendres. Fixer un robinet à proximité du fond d'un grand baril (par exemple 250 litres) en plastique ou en bois. N'utilisez pas d'aluminium parce que la lessive se corrode et le savon sera contaminé. Placez un filtre à l’intérieur autour du trou du robinet en utilisant plusieurs briques ou des pierres couvertes de paille. Remplissez le baril avec de la cendre et versez de l'eau bouillante sur celle-ci jusqu'à ce que l'eau commence à couler du robinet. Puis fermez le robinet et laissez tremper les cendres. Les cendres se déposent et leur volume initial se réduit à un quart. Ajoutez ensuite des cendres jusqu'à ce que la cuve est pleine à nouveau. Toutes cendres provenant de tout matériel végétal brûlé conviennent. Celles provenant de feuilles / tiges de bananes produisent une lessive plus dure et celles provenant du bois de pommier produisent une lessive plus blanche.

Si un grand baril n'est pas disponible ou si on souhaite fabriquer de petites quantités de savon, un bol de porcelaine ou un seau en plastique peuvent être utilisés. Remplissez le seau avec de la cendre et ajoutez l'eau bouillante en remuant pour mouiller les cendres. Ajoutez plus de cendres pour remplir le seau vers le haut, ajoutez de l'eau et mélangez à nouveau. Laissez reposer 12 à 24 heures ou jusqu'à ce que le liquide soit clair, puis versez délicatement la lessive claire.

Plus on laisse l'eau stagner, plus la lessive sera dure. Habituellement, quelques heures suffisent. Pour mesurer la dureté, on peut se référer à un œuf frais flottant dans la solution alcaline. La dureté de la lessive ne doit pas toujours être la même, car elle combine la matière grasse dans une proportion fixe. Si une lessive faible est utilisée, on peur rajouter plus de lessive au processus jusqu’à ce que toute la graisse soit sponifiée¹.

¹ Saponification est le nom donné à la réaction chimique dans laquelle la lessive et la graisse sont converties en une substance savonneuse.

Comment fabriquer de la potasse

La potasse est faite en faisant bouillir l'eau alcaline dans un bouilloir en fer. Après que l'eau soit évacuée, on obtient un résidu sec et sombre connu sous le nom de «sel noir». Il est ensuite chauffé jusqu'à ce qu'il fonde et les impuretés noires sont brûlées pour ne laisser qu’une substance grisâtre. Il s'agit de la potasse. Elle peut être stockée pour la savonnerie avenir dans un pot étanche pour éviter l’absorption de l'eau contenue dans l'air.

Comment fabriquer de la lessive de soude et de la soude caustique

Mélanger 1 portion de chaux vive avec 3 portions d'eau pour faire un liquide ayant la consistance d'une crème. Dissoudre 3 portions de sel de soude dans 5 portions d'eau bouillante et ajouter la crème de chaux, en remuant vigoureusement. Maintenir l'ébullition jusqu'à ce que les ingrédients soient bien mélangés. Puis laissez-les refroidir. Lorsque les ingrédients sont déposés, versez la soude. Jeter la lie du fond. La soude caustique est produite en faisant bouillir la soude jusqu'à ce que l'eau soit évaporée et un résidu blanc sec est laissé dans le bouilloir. Les lessives les plus commerciales sont la soude caustique et de synthèse. Elles peuvent être achetées et remplacent les lessives faites maison pour gagner du temps. Elles sont livrées dans des boîtes et les couvercles doivent être fermés hermétiquement afin d’éviter que l'eau contenue dans l’air s’infiltre, ce qui formerait un bloc solide.

Précautions à prendre lors de l'utilisation des lessives, de la potasse ou de la soude caustique You should always take precautions when handling these materials as they are dangerous. Be especially careful when adding them to cold water, when stirring lye water, and when pouring the liquid soap into moulds. Lyes produce harmful fumes, so stand back and avert your head while the lye is dissolving. Do not breath lye fumes. It is worth investing in a pair of rubber gloves and plastic safety goggles. You should also wear an apron or overalls to protect your clothes. If lye splashes onto the skin or into your eyes, wash it off immediately with plenty of cold water. When lye is added to water the chemical reaction quickly heats the water. Never add lye to hot water because it can boil over and scald your skin. Never add water to lye because it could react violently and splash over you.

How to prepare tallow

Cut up beef suet, mutton fat or pork scraps and heat them over a low heat. Strain the melted fat through a coarse cloth, and squeeze as much fat as possible out of the scraps.

Clean the melted fat by boiling it in water. Use twice as much water as fat, add a tablespoon of salt per 5 kg fat, and boil for ten minutes, stirring thoroughly all the time. Allow it to cool and form a hard cake on top of the water. Lift off the cake of fat and scrape the underside clean. This is then ready to store or use in a soap recipe.

How to prepare oil

Vegetable oils can be extracted from oilseeds, nuts or some types of fruit (see Table 1 and the separate Technical Brief 'Oil Extraction'). They can be used alone or mixed with fat or other types of oil. Note: solid fats and 'saturated' oils (coconut, palm, palm kernel) are more suitable for soapmaking. 'Unsaturated' oils (e.g. safflower, sunflower) may produce soap that is too soft if used alone (see Table 2) and are not recommended.

Soapmaking

There are two types of soap: soft soap and hard soap. Soft soap can be made using either a cold process or a hot process, but hard soap can only be made using a hot process. To make any soap it is necessary to dilute the lye, mix it with the fat or oil, and stir the mixture until saponification takes place (in the processes described below, the word 'fat' is used to mean either fat or oil). The cold process may require several days or even months, depending upon the strength and purity of the ingredients, whereas the hot process takes place within a few minutes to a few hours.

Dispose of soap-making wastes carefully outdoors, do not put them in the drain.

Fats	Oils
Goat fat	Canola
Lanolin	Coconut
Lard	Cottonseed
Mutton fat	Palm
Pork fat	Palm kernel
Suet	Soybean
Tallow( beef fat)

Table 1: Types of fats and oils used in soapmaking

Soft soap

Cold process

A simple recipe for soft soap uses 12 kg of fat, 9 kg of potash and 26 litres of water. Dissolve the potash in the water and add it to the fat in a wooden tub or barrel. For the next 3 days, stir it vigorously for about 3 minutes several times a day, using a long wooden stick or paddle. Keep the paddle in the mixture to prevent anyone accidentally touching it and being burnt. In a month or so the soap is free from lumps and has a uniform jelly-like consistency. When stirred it has a silky lustre and trails off the paddle in slender threads. Then the soap is ready to use and should be kept in a covered container.

Boiling process

Boiling can be very dangerous. Before the process is complete, the soap can get up to 330 degrees F. From 220 degrees F. to 275 degrees F. it has a tendency to splutter or spatter soap out of the pot if it boils too vigorously. There is a chance of fire. Use a pot with high sides. Have a lid close to hand to smother any flames, and if you can a fire extinguisher. Never leave cooking soap unattended. Be sure to wear adequate protection. This includes long gloves and protection for all exposed skin and face ( face shield ).

Soft soap is also made by boiling diluted lye with fat until saponification takes place. Using the same amounts as above, put the fat into a soap kettle, add sufficient lye to melt the fat and heat it without burning. The froth that forms as the mixture cooks is caused by excess water, and the soap must be heated until this is evaporated. Continue to heat and add more lye until all the fat is saponified. Beat the froth with the paddle and when it ceases to rise, the soap falls lower in the kettle and takes on a darker colour. White bubbles appear on the surface, making a peculiar sound (the soap is "talking"). The thick liquid then becomes turbid and falls from the paddle with a shining lustre. Further lye should then be added at regular intervals until the liquid becomes a uniformly clear slime. The soap is fully saponified when it is thick and creamy, with a slightly slimy texture. After cooling, it does not harden and is ready to use.

To test whether the soap is properly made, put a few drops from the middle of the kettle onto a plate to cool. If it remains clear when cool it is ready. However, if there is not enough lye the drop of soap is weak and grey. If the deficiency is not so great, there may be a grey margin around the outside of the drop. If too much lye has been added, a grey skin will spread over the whole drop. It will not be sticky, but can be slid along the plate while wet. In this case the soap is overdone and more fat must be added.

Hard soap

The method for making hard soap is similar to that for making soft soap by the boiling process, but with additional steps to separate water, glycerine, excess alkali and other impurities from the soap. The method requires three kettles: two small kettles to hold the lye and the fat, and one large enough to contain both ingredients without boiling over.

Put the clean fat in a small kettle with enough water or weak lye to prevent burning, and raise the temperature to boiling. Put the diluted lye in the other small kettle and heat it to boiling. Heat the large kettle, and ladle in about one quarter of the melted fat. Add an equal amount of the hot lye, stirring the mixture constantly. Continue this way, with one person ladling and another stirring, until about two-thirds of the fat and lye have been thoroughly mixed together. At this stage the mixture should be uniform with the consistency of cream. A few drops cooled on a glass plate should show neither separate globules of oil or water droplets. Continue boiling and add the remainder of the fat and lye alternately, taking care that there is no excess lye at the end of the process. Boiled hard soaps have saponified when the mixture is thick and ropy and slides off the paddle.

Up to this point, the process is similar to boiling soft soap, but the important difference in making hard soap is the addition of salt at this point. This is the means by which the creamy emulsion of oils and lye is broken up. The salt has a stronger affinity for water than it has for soap, and it therefore takes the water and causes the soap to separate. The soap then rises to the surface of the lye in curdy granules. The spent lye contains glycerine, salt and other impurities, but no fat or alkali. Pour the honey-thick mixture into soap moulds or shallow wooden boxes, over which loose pieces of cloth have been placed to stop the soap from sticking. Alternatively, the soap may be poured into a tub which has been soaked overnight in water, to cool and solidify. Do not use an aluminium container because the soap will corrode it. Cover the moulds or tub with sacks to keep the heat in, and let it set for 2 - 3 days.

When cold the soap may be cut into smaller bars with a smooth, hard cord or a fine wire. It is possible to use a knife, but care is needed because it chips the soap. Stack the bars loosely on slatted wooden shelves in a cool, dry place and leave them for at least 3 weeks to season and become thoroughly dry and hard.

Be careful! Uncured or 'green' soap is almost as caustic as lye. Wear rubber gloves when handling the hardened soap until it has been cured for a few weeks.

Problems in soapmaking

Problems that can occur in soapmaking and their possible causes are described in Table 2.

Problem	Possible causes
Soap will not thicken quickly enough	Not enough lye, too much water, temperature too low, not stirred enough or too slowly, too much unsaturated oil (e.g. sunflower or safflower).
Mixture curdles while stirring	Fat and/or lye at too high temperature, not stirred enough or too slowly.
Mixture sets too quickly, while in the kettle	Fat and lye temperatures too high.
Mixture is grainy	Fat and lye temperature too hot or too cold, not stirred enough or too slowly.
Layer of oil forms on soap as it cools	Too much fat in recipe or not enough lye.
Clear liquid in soap when it is cut	Too much lye in recipe, not stirred enough or too slowly.
Soft spongy soap	Not enough lye, too much water, or too much unsaturated oil
Hard brittle soap	Too much lye
Soap smells rancid	Poor quality fat, too much fat or not enough lye.
Air bubbles in soap	Stirred too long
Mottled soap	Not stirred enough or too slowly or temperature fluctuations during curing.
Soap separates in mould, greasy surface layer on soap	Not enough lye, not boiled for long enough, not stirred enough or too slowly
White powder on cured soap	Hard water, lye not dissolved properly, reaction with air.
Warped bars	Drying conditions variable.

Table 2: Problems in soapmaking
(Adapted from website http://www.colebrothers.com/soap in list of further information below)

To improve hard soap

A better quality soap may be made by re-melting the product of the first boiling and adding more fats or oils and lye as needed, then boil the whole until saponification is complete. The time required for this final step will depend on the strength of the lye, but 2 - 4 hours' boiling is usually necessary. If pure grained fat and good quality white lye are used, the resulting product will be a pure, hard white soap that is suitable for all household purposes. Dyes, essences or essential oils can be added to the soap at the end of the boiling to colour it or to mask the 'fatty lye' smell and give a pleasant odour.

Hard soap recipes

The simplest and cheapest type of soap is plain laundry soap, but a few inexpensive ingredients can be used to soften the water or to perfume the product and create fine toilet soaps too. The following recipes are a few examples of easily made soaps. There are many more recipes in the information sources given at the end of this Technical Brief.

Simple kitchen soap

Dissolve 1 can of commercial lye in 5 cups cold water and allow it to cool. Meanwhile mix 2 tablespoons each of powdered borax and liquid ammonia in _ cup water. Melt 3 kg fat, strain it and allow it to cool to body temperature. Pour the warm fat into the lye water and while beating the mixture, gradually add the borax and ammonia mixture. Stir for about 10 -15 minutes until an emulsion is formed, and pour the mixture into a mould to cool.

Boiled hard white soap

Dissolve 0.5 kg potash lye in 5 litres of cold water. Let mixture stand overnight, then pour the clear liquid into a second 5 litres of hot water and bring it to a boil. Pour in 2 kg of hot melted fat in a thin stream, stirring constantly until an emulsion is formed. Simmer for 4 - 6 hours with regular stirring, and then add 5 litres of hot water in which 1 cup of salt is dissolved. Test to ensure that the mixture is saponified by lifting it on a cold knife blade, to ensure that it is ropy and clear. or

Dissolve 0.5 kg potash in 2 litres of cold water. Heat and add 2.5 kg melted fat, stirring constantly. Let the mixture stand for 24 hours and add 5 litres boiling water. Place it on a low heat and boil with constant stirring until it is saponified.

Labour-saving soap

Dissolve 0.5 kg soda lye and 1 kg yellow bar soap cut into thin slices in 12 litres of water. Boil for 2 hours and then strain. Clothes soaked overnight in a solution of this soap need no rubbing. Merely rinse them out and they will be clean and white.

English bar soap

Use 5 litres of soft water, 0.5 kg of ground (or agricultural) lime, 1.75 kg soda lye, 30g borax, 1 kg tallow, 0.7 kg pulverised rosin and 14g beeswax. First bring the water to a boil, and then gradually add the lime and soda, stirring vigorously. Add the borax, boil and stir until it is dissolved. Pour in the melted tallow in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Add the rosin and beeswax, and boil and stir until it thickens. Cool in moulds.

Transparent soap

Any good quality white soap may be made transparent by reducing it to shavings, adding one part alcohol to 2 parts soap, and leaving the mixture in a warm place until the soap is dissolved. It may be perfumed as desired.

or

Shave 0.6 kg good quality hard yellow soap and add 0.5 litres of alcohol. Simmer it in a double boiler over a low heat until it is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add 30g of essence to give a pleasant smell.

Bouquet soap

Shave 14 kg tallow soap and melt it in 2 cups water. When it is cool, add 14g essence of bergamot, 30g each of oils of cloves, sassafras and thyme. Pour it into moulds.

Cinnamon soap

Shave 23 kg tallow soap and melt it over a low heat in 1.2 litres water. Cool and add 200g oil of cinnamon and 30g each of essences of sassafras and bergamot. Mix and add 0.5 kg finely powdered yellow ochre. Mix well and pour into moulds.

Citron soap

Mix 180g shaved soap with 300g attar of citron, 15g lemon oil, 120g attar of bergamot and 60g attar of lemon.

Medicated soaps

Camphor soap

Dissolve 0.5 kg hard white soap in 1 cup boiling water. Continue boiling over a low heat until the soap is the consistency of butter. Add 180g olive oil, mixed with 30g camphorated oil. Remove it from the heat and beat until an emulsion forms. This soap can be used to clean cuts and scratches.

Sulphur soap

Shave 60g soft soap and add 8g Flowers of Sulphur. Perfume and colour may be added as desired. Mix the ingredients thoroughly in earthenware bowl.

Iodine soap

Dissolve 0.5 kg white, finely shaved soap in 90g distilled water or rose water. Add 30g tincture of iodine. Put in double boiler, melt and mix by stirring.

More recipes for soft-soap cold process

Mix 4 kg of melted fat with 16 litres of strong lye water in a kettle. Bring it to the boil, pour into the soap barrel and thin it with weak lye water. Place the barrel in a warm place. The soap should be ready to use in a few weeks.

or

Mix 5 kg clear melted fat, 3 kg soda lye and 40 litres of hot water in the soap barrel. Stir once a day and let the mixture stand until completely saponified.

or

Melt 4 kg fat in a kettle and bring it to the boil. In another kettle, mix 4 kg caustic soda and 0.5 kg soda in 20 litres of soft water. Pour all the ingredients together into a 200 litre barrel and fill it up with soft water. Stir daily for 3 days and then let the mixture stand until saponified.

or

Mix 3 kg potash, 2 kg lard and 0.2 kg powdered rosin and allow the mixture to stand for one week. Then melt it in a kettle with 10 - 15 litres of water. Pour the mixture into a 50 litre barrel and fill with soft water. Stir two or three times a day for two weeks.

or

Put 0.3 kg soda and 0.5 kg brown soap shavings into a kettle. Add 12 litres of cold water, melt over low heat and stir until dissolved. It is ready for use as soon as it is cool.

Glossary

• Lye, Lye water, potash lye ashes	interchangeable terms for alkali made from wood soaked in water
• Potash (caustic potash)	lye water evaporated to a powder.
• Lime (or stone lime)	ground or agricultural limestone.
• Quicklime	lime that has been baked.
• Quicklime	lime that has been baked.
• saponification	the name given to the chemical reaction in which lye and fat are converted into one substance: soap
• Soda	hydrated sodium carbonate.
• Caustic soda	soda lye evaporated to a powder.
• Commercial lye	usually caustic soda and is the equivalent of 'lye' in most recipes.

Equipment list

The following equipment is needed to make soap:

1. a large iron soap kettle for making soap in commercial quantities.

2. a long-handled wooden ladle to stir the soap.

3. a kitchen grater or a meat grinder to make soap flakes for laundry use or to grind soap for some recipes.

4. flat wooden boxes, moulds or tubes, cut plastic bottles or plastic tubs, to mould the soap.

5. pieces of cloth to stop the soap sticking to the wooden moulds.

6. a plate on which to cool and test a few drops of the liquid soap.

Difficulties

The ingredients needed to make soap are dangerous. Read carefully the warnings. Wear protection clothes and a face shield. Keep children away.

Success Story

Plans, Illustrations, Posters

Contacts

Practical Action The Schumacher Centre for Technology & Development, Bourton on Dunsmore, RUGBY, CV23 9QZ, United Kingdom.
Tel.: +44 (0) 1926 634400, Fax: +44 (0) 1926 634401 e-mail:practicalaction@practicalaction.org.uk web:www.practicalaction.org

Technology Consultancy Centre, University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Fax: + 233 5160137

Links

For producers who can obtain assistance from a small business advisory service or an international development agency that has access to the Internet, there are 100+ websites on soap making. Most are either commercial sites that sell essences, oils etc that can be added to soap, or home soapmakers sites that give recipes and information on how to make soaps. The following websites have useful information and good links to other sites:

http://www.soapbasics.co.uk	contains details of products such as essential oils and plant extracts for use in soaps, soap moulds, dyes and packaging.
http://www.diannassundries.com/	has details of 'Soap Tracer' software that can be purchased to create soap recipes and calculate the amounts of oil and lye required. Also details of ingredients and equipment for soapmaking.
http://www.colebrothers.com/soap	has a variety of free information, including recipes, safety considerations, ingredient suppliers, soapmaking methods and the properties of soapmaking oils, with links to many other soapmaking websites.
http://waltonfeed.net/old/soap/soaptabl.html	has a history of soapmaking and a free table to calculate the ratio of fat/lye for different fats and oils. There are also recipes for cold process soap and details of ingredient suppliers.
http://www.millenium-ark.net	has recipes, soapmaking instructions, a fragrance calculator and saponification chart.

Other websites that contain details of recipes and suppliers include:

http://www.alcasoft.com/soapfact
http://www.sweetcakes.com (comprehensive list of essences and essential oils for soaps)
http://www.soapcrafters.com
http://www.ziggurat.org/soap
http://www.soapmaker.com
http://www.snowdriftfarm.com
http://www.rainbowmeadow.com
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com
http://www.hollyhobby.com

References and further reading

This Howtopedia entry was derived from the Practical Action Technical Brief Soap Making.
To look at the original document follow this link: http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/

• Small-scale Soapmaking: A handbook, by Peter Donker, IT Publishing/TCC, 1993.
• Soap Production - Technologies Series Guide No 3, Centre for the Development of Enterprise, Brussels, 1994.
• Case Study No 3: Soap Pilot Plant, Technology Consultancy Centre, Kumasi, Ghana, 1983.
• Soap, Ann Bramson, Workman Publishing Co, 1975
• The Art of Soap Making, Merilyn Mohr, Camden House Publishing, 1979
• Making Soaps and Candles, Phyllis Hobson, Storey Communications Inc., 1973

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