Make Soap from Glycerol

[hdj80 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hdj80]

Does anyone know of a good recipe for soap making using Glycerol.

I have been using the methanol free glycerol around the shed for cleaning hands, rags and degreasing etc and now would like to make a nice soap which my whole family and friends can use.

[geewizztoo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close geewizztoo]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Have a look here, or search the infopop site.

Making Soap from Biodiesel Glycerine

[pangit Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close pangit]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Alternatively if you use KOH for your Biodiesel here is a recipe for making solid soap from KOH based glycerine. I cut and pasted this from a thread in the infopop forums:

• Boil off methanol (70-100C)
• Add 300ml water per L glycerine and 100g NAOH per L glycerine
• Heat and stir, mix in the NAOH/water, mix for 10 min,mix for 10 more.
  (Add oatmeal/cinnamon at the end of the last 10 min mix)
• Stir till well mixed then pour
• Wrap moulds in towels let set over night cut bars 24 hours later
• Let the bars set to dry/cure 3 or 4 weeks
• Touch your tongue to the fresh soap it'll sting (different but not painful).
• After it has cured a tongue test will result in just a soapy flavor. This is a test for lye.

Note that is says to use NaOH for the soap making (in a fairly high concentration) even though you used KOH for the biodiesel. This is to ensure the soap goes solid. For liquid soap you can use KOH at a lower concentration.

Haven't tried it myself yet so I'd be interested in feedback if you do.

[RASTEVE Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close RASTEVE]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Does anyone know how to deodorise the glycerine?

[marcfell Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close marcfell]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Pangit,

I know this is a very old post, but I used your (cut and pasted) recipe and got reasonably good results (16 bars of soap for a Litre of glyc.)

The soap is a little soft, in warm weather (still very useable), so this time I might try adding 110-120g NaOH to see is hardens it up.

I think also, you should grind the oatmeal first if adding that...

I just want to know how to make it white if anyone knows????

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

marcfell,
start by using vegetable oil, insteade of glycerol.

Tony

[Qwarla Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Qwarla]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

I don't know if there is a way to deoderise. Thing is the smell does not stay on your skin anyway. But you will find kids and most women won't use it because of the smell.
One way to make it smell better is to first make the soap and let it cure so the soap making process is complete. Then re melt it and this time add some nice smelling essential oils. They have to be added after it cures because if added when first making the soap they are consumed. Another thing to try is after the soap has hardened and cured, wrap in cloth that has had some essential oil applied to it. Wrap and put into plastci container with an air tight lid and leave for a month or longer. Some of the smell should penitrate the soap.

As for whitening, I have not heard of anything that can be done. Only way would be to purify the glyc, but that can be a lengthy and costly process. Also as it will be removing things from the cocktale, it may then not make a good soap.

Making bar soap is some what a hit and miss process. What works for one will not work for the next. This is because of different feedstocks.
For example it is almost impossable to make solid soap from canola by product, while lard by product will make a bar of soap ya can't even put teeth marks in.
It's really a matter of experimenting to find what works best for your product.

[marcfell Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close marcfell]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

I added 250g of pure honey which seems to deodorise my soap...

As for the rest of the glyc starting to take over my garage (100L and counting) not sure what to do with it...

I don't have a combustion fire or need one. I don't have a composting system as we're trying to sell our house and will definitely look at that when we move whenever that may be (markets not the best at the mo. as I'm sure you've noticed). I don't think the dirty coal yards near my place will take 100L. My Barbie is gas....

I've searched and searched for solutions without avail, I think I've just found the downside to BD...

I might try the tip, but not sure if they'll take it and if they do knowing the local privatised tip near my house will charge $20-30 to chuck in their land fill. Must be a better way...

[Johnnojack Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnnojack]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Mix it with the used hot wash water from your washing machine and let it all go down the sewer. It is biodegradable so can do no harm.

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Wash greasy rags in it, its wonderful for cleaning the grease out and then let it go down the drain. It would / does make an interesting washing machine soap, lots of foam but it does clean rags well if left to soak in it.

If you use KOH then its a no brainer both methanol and KOH / glycerol byproduct are good food for sewerage farms.

Matt

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Matt,
If you have information that supports this statement, please provide a link to it, so others can use this information to obtain a permit to legally dispose of the byproduct in the way you suggest.
Making a statement does not make it true and while I do not doubt your integrity, the authorities would be unlikely to accept your post above as any more than conjecture.

Your source information may help convince the authorities that accepting biodiesel byproduct would be in their interest.

Thanks,
Tony

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

Re: Make Soap from Glycerol

Nothing other than talking to engineer mates (chem eng) about bio.

One is setting up an algae test station with everything self producing, H2SO4 from hydrogen sulphide gas, methanol from methane reformation and oil from algae.

We talk professionally (me BE Elec) with a strong interest in organic chemistry him with the qualifications. He does consulting work for the type of sewerage places I mention. Nothing official as this is most likely to draw far too many flies.

I would shudder to think what would happen if you asked the bureaucrats about this. They would foam at the mouth, gyrate and regulate you out of existance.

Sorry, to be factual methanol is a food source for the bacteria in the settling ponds, they survive on the methane gas, the Potassium is a more tradtional nutrifiying product as in soaps in waterways.

This is way off topic now too, my apologies for butting in.
Of my soap box now.
Matt