Making local soap with palm oil involves combining prepared oil with a caustic soda solution under specific conditions to create soap through a process called saponification.
A Method for Preparing Oil and Mixing
Based on a traditional approach, a key step in making local soap using palm oil involves treating the oil and carefully mixing it with a caustic soda solution.
Preparing the Palm Oil
To begin, 16 litres of palm oil are measured out. This quantity is equivalent to 22 measures using a standard 720ml bottle.
- Pour the measured palm oil into a pan.
- Heat the oil on a stove or heat source.
- Continue heating until the oil changes colour from red to yellow or white. This heating process is often done to purify or modify the oil before saponification.
- After the desired colour change is achieved, allow the heated oil to cool down before proceeding to the next step.
Combining Oil and Caustic Soda Solution
Once the palm oil has cooled, it is ready to be combined with the prepared caustic soda solution. Note: The reference does not specify how to prepare the caustic soda solution itself (i.e., the ratio of caustic soda to water or the required quantity of the solution). It only describes the step of adding the prepared oil to this solution.
- Carefully pour the cooled palm oil into the caustic soda solution. Extreme caution is necessary during this step as mixing oils with caustic soda is a chemical reaction.
- While pouring the oil, always stir the mixture. It is specified that you should stir in the same direction consistently to help prevent splashes and aid the reaction.
- Continue stirring the mixture of oil and caustic soda solution.
- The stirring should proceed until a thick blue paste forms. The formation of this paste indicates that the saponification process is underway and the mixture is thickening into soap base.
This method describes a crucial stage in traditional soap making with palm oil, focusing on the oil treatment and the initial mixing phase until the soap paste is formed. Further steps, typically involving moulding, cutting, and curing the soap, would follow this stage to produce the final solid soap bars.
