[Stephanara]

Happy birthday perry

 Thanks for all you do for us on this forum

[Stephanara]

Kudos to everyone on this forum, especially those that have made great suggestions and comments on the topic being discussed. I took some time off because i ran into problem with.”bad” LABSA. Nevertheless, this is the third day I have kept the samples in the fridge, no precipitate observed yet with the two materials in question. I also subjected the samples to heat, no precipitate too. Does it mean am good to go? Also still checking out for a good , economical and compatible preservative. Thanks all.. Hoping to hear from you

[Stephanara]

Stephanara said:

PhilGeis said:

btw - NaOH and Mg sulfate will likely precipitate some Mg hydroxide

@PhilGeis, do you mean I shouldn’t expect  a stable product after neutralizing and adjustment with Mg sulfate. I have kept some samples on the fridge as suggested by @ketchito, although I have not been able to do the one of warming up

[Stephanara]

PhilGeis said:

btw - NaOH and Mg sulfate will likely precipitate some Mg hydroxide

[Stephanara]

Hi everyone. Terry thank you for allowing me join the forum..I just discovered there is an introduction section. My name is Steph. I am a Nigerian. I have first and Masters degree in Biochemistry. I work with a soap and cosmetics conglomerate. I just love chemisry and am a great cosmetic enthusiast. With the little time I have spent on this forum, I must confess, it has really worth my time, I was amazed seeing people giving practical and straight forward suggestions to the discussions I put up. Thank you  Perry for doing this for free

[Stephanara]

ketchito said:

Stephanara said:

ketchito said:

@Stephanara After adding sodium hydroxide, check for any instability (put a sample in the fridge). I think you’re using a bit too much salt for that level of LABSA, and that ingredient is a salt-phobe, so to speak.

Thanks @Ketchito. Will do as you advised
 But what should I watch out for and what percentage of salt do you think I should try out

If you put a sample in the fridg, the product should remail clear. If on the contrary it starts getting turbid, and then this turbidity settles, that’s probably your sulfonate salting out (you’ll notice it’s quite some amount of material that settled at the bottom).

Thanks @@ketchito. So thoughtful of you to have followed up. I have actually neutralized with sodium hydroxide as advised yesterday, I will put in the fridge right away and observe

[Stephanara]

PhilGeis said:

EDTA won’t work - tho’ a builder would be a good idea for cleaning.  It’s just a booster to preservative efficacy.    Your objective for household products is to make them clean - unlike cosmetics for which micro safety in use is an issue.
Can you heat (pasteurize) product as final manuf step?

I appreciate your inputs and suggestions @ PhilGeis. I will make a trial as per the pasteurization

[Stephanara]

PhilGeis said:

Dawn uses isothiazolinone and phenoxyethanol - with the apparent head fake that the latter is “solvent.” 

Viscosity - would NaCl work ?  Might be cheaper  and less prone to soap formation with food fatty acids

Thank you @ PhilGeis. I have gone through the Dawn’s formulation sheet at the attached link. The two reagents are not readily available. Do you think EDTA can suffice?

Yes, I have tried NaCl before and it worked, but I observed it impaired the stability of the product

[Stephanara]

Stephanara said:

PhilGeis said:

You’ll not form a soap per se - but dishwashing detergents are typically alkaline.  Suggest adjustment to ~ 8-9 with NaOH.   You might also consider a preservative.  Look at Dawn https://dawn-dish.com/en-us/how-to/what-dawn-is-made-of-ingredients
Why mag sulfate?   for viscosity adjustment?  

Thanks @ PhilGeis. Ok. Suggesting I should adjust to between 8&9. As per preservative, I have been on the look out to see an acceptable by one that is readily available. Going to check the link you posted right away. Thanks so much

Lest  I forget, I added the magnesium sulfate to adjust the viscosity

[Stephanara]

PhilGeis said:

You’ll not form a soap per se - but dishwashing detergents are typically alkaline.  Suggest adjustment to ~ 8-9 with NaOH.   You might also consider a preservative.  Look at Dawn https://dawn-dish.com/en-us/how-to/what-dawn-is-made-of-ingredients
Why mag sulfate?   for viscosity adjustment?  

Thanks @ PhilGeis. Ok. Suggesting I should adjust to between 8&9. As per preservative, I have been on the look out to see an acceptable by one that is readily available. Going to check the link you posted right away. Thanks so much

[Stephanara]

ketchito said:

@Stephanara After adding sodium hydroxide, check for any instability (put a sample in the fridge). I think you’re using a bit too much salt for that level of LABSA, and that ingredient is a salt-phobe, so to speak.

Thanks @Ketchito. Will do as you advised
 But what should I watch out for and what percentage of salt do you think I should try out

[Stephanara]

Abdullah said:

Agree with @Chemist77 + 16% labsa will not be very gentle to hands when you are washing your hands everyday for several minutes. 

Thanks @Abdullah. You suggest I should reduce the LABSA or I should just go ahead and neutralize as suggested by @ chemist77 while maintaining the formulation

[Stephanara]

Chemist77 said:

You need an alkali like a sodium hydroxide to neutralize the acid to form a soap. Adjust the pH around 7 & and above, should be fine. 

Thanks @Chemist77 , will do that ASAP and give the feedback