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Need Preservative And PH adjusted for Natural Liquid Black Soap
I have an African black soap base which I received from Africa. IT.S. made with potash (KOH), coconut, palm kernel and Shea butter. Unfortunately, I don’t have the formula. diluted it with DI water and the PH was 10.5. I added citric acid solution ( 1 part acid to 4 parts water) and got the PH down to 9.5 but would like it to go even lower. Adding more citric acid reverses saponification and makes the solution turn into oil with little to no foam. Any suggestions on reducing the PH further?
secondly I need a preservative system. Any recommendations for 9.5 PH range assuming I can’t get the PH down further?
thanks
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7 Replies
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Sorry but you just can’t do that, as you have discovered. Not a viable product idea.
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Why would you want to bring the pH down? We manufacture many liquid different types of liquid soap with high pH and it is not a problem.
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Thanks Mike
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You can’t simply add water and expect to get a liquid soap as some of the carboxylates are insoluble in water and will end up separating out into layers. Liquid soap can only be made by reacting KOH with carboxylic acids (eg myristic acid) that produce soluble carboxylates. Or (wastefully) by waiting for the insolubles to precipitate and then throwing them away.
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Got it Belassii. Thanks
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@Dtmenson try only with coconut oil and Potassium hydroxide to see if it works
also, oleic acid is available cheap (IDK if purified oleic fits in your natural definition)Palm kernel and shea butter saponification will yield mostly insoluble soaps, unless the pH is too high.
Please read the following study, and keep us posted if you find the whole study text
The solubility of sodium and potassium soaps and the phase diagrams of aqueous potassium soaps
SummarySolubility data are provided and collected for the pure sodium and potassium soaps. Hydrolysis obscures the temperatures of solution but is obviated by the presence of a small excess of alkali. Each sodium soap has a large range of temperature between fair and high solubility, whereas the potassium soaps go abruptly into solution, at almost the same temperature and concentration of each soap.The only soaps that are even moderately soluble at room temperature are potassium laurate, myristate, and oleate, the potassium salt of acids from coconut oil, and the sodium oleate. The other sodium and potassium soaps of the saturated fatty acids require elevated temperatures for solution.Phase diagrams for the five commonest potassium soaps are developed and recorded. -
The PH is high for sure.
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