Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil
This article demonstrates that the quality of laundry soap obtained by hot/cold saponification of two vegetable oils (olive and coconut) and an essential oil (such as Neem, Tea Tree or Thyme) influences the effects obtained after washing textiles: cleansing capacity and antibacterial effect. The res...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| author | Valentina-Gabi Stănescu Vasilica Popescu Viorica Vasilache Gabriel Popescu Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu Andrei Popescu |
| author_facet | Valentina-Gabi Stănescu Vasilica Popescu Viorica Vasilache Gabriel Popescu Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu Andrei Popescu |
| author_sort | Valentina-Gabi Stănescu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article demonstrates that the quality of laundry soap obtained by hot/cold saponification of two vegetable oils (olive and coconut) and an essential oil (such as Neem, Tea Tree or Thyme) influences the effects obtained after washing textiles: cleansing capacity and antibacterial effect. The results of FTIR, SEM, EDX, thermogravimetry and colorimetry analyses are presented comparatively for hot- and cold-prepared soaps. Saponification, Iodine number and Iodine Number Saponification values are determined for each oil but also for the mixture used in soap-making. Soap quality refers to texture, hardness, foaming capacity, stability, durability, cleansing capacity after washing and antimicrobial capacity. The removal power of greasy dirt (heavy used engine oil) of these laundry soaps is higher than that of some commercial soaps, obtaining dirt visibility <2.6% after washing at 100 °C, soiling addition density SAD < 0.0229 and cleansing capacity between 80.88 and 92.16%. UV-VIS analysis confirms the presence of essential oil in soaps (even after 10 months from manufacture) but also in textiles washed with them. The essential oil imparts strong antimicrobial properties to the laundry soaps (since they do not allow for attachment or multiplication of microorganisms from the environment), which makes them particularly useful in washing and disinfecting textile products used in hospitals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6fb2b7cfd01b48e890af0db1558d05a6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-6fb2b7cfd01b48e890af0db1558d05a62025-08-20T02:15:55ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-03-01157382110.3390/app15073821Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential OilValentina-Gabi Stănescu0Vasilica Popescu1Viorica Vasilache2Gabriel Popescu3Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu4Andrei Popescu5Department of Chemical Engineering in Textiles and Leather, Faculty of Industrial Design and Business Management, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 700050 Iași, RomaniaDepartment of Chemical Engineering in Textiles and Leather, Faculty of Industrial Design and Business Management, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 700050 Iași, RomaniaLaboratory of Scientific Investigation and Cultural Heritage Conservation, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, 700506 Iași, RomaniaDepartment of Machine Design, Mechatronics and Robotics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 700050 Iași, RomaniaDepartment of Public Health, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences of Iași, 700490 Iași, RomaniaDepartment of Machine Design, Mechatronics and Robotics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, 700050 Iași, RomaniaThis article demonstrates that the quality of laundry soap obtained by hot/cold saponification of two vegetable oils (olive and coconut) and an essential oil (such as Neem, Tea Tree or Thyme) influences the effects obtained after washing textiles: cleansing capacity and antibacterial effect. The results of FTIR, SEM, EDX, thermogravimetry and colorimetry analyses are presented comparatively for hot- and cold-prepared soaps. Saponification, Iodine number and Iodine Number Saponification values are determined for each oil but also for the mixture used in soap-making. Soap quality refers to texture, hardness, foaming capacity, stability, durability, cleansing capacity after washing and antimicrobial capacity. The removal power of greasy dirt (heavy used engine oil) of these laundry soaps is higher than that of some commercial soaps, obtaining dirt visibility <2.6% after washing at 100 °C, soiling addition density SAD < 0.0229 and cleansing capacity between 80.88 and 92.16%. UV-VIS analysis confirms the presence of essential oil in soaps (even after 10 months from manufacture) but also in textiles washed with them. The essential oil imparts strong antimicrobial properties to the laundry soaps (since they do not allow for attachment or multiplication of microorganisms from the environment), which makes them particularly useful in washing and disinfecting textile products used in hospitals.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3821NeemTea TreeThymesaponificationdirt visibility after washingsoiling addition density |
| spellingShingle | Valentina-Gabi Stănescu Vasilica Popescu Viorica Vasilache Gabriel Popescu Cristina Mihaela Rîmbu Andrei Popescu Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil Applied Sciences Neem Tea Tree Thyme saponification dirt visibility after washing soiling addition density |
| title | Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil |
| title_full | Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil |
| title_fullStr | Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil |
| title_short | Cleaner Processes for Making Laundry Soap from Vegetable Oils and an Essential Oil |
| title_sort | cleaner processes for making laundry soap from vegetable oils and an essential oil |
| topic | Neem Tea Tree Thyme saponification dirt visibility after washing soiling addition density |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/7/3821 |
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