Liquid detergent production

DANIEL ZUBAIR |

The business outlook for liquid soap or detergent production like every other viable small scale business that demands investment of skills and capital, must be given a fair deal of a business name, NAFDAC registration and a defined operating environment such like a structured warehouse.
If given the necessary packaging and a wide scope of distribution, liquid soap or detergent, being one of the highly consumed household and domestic items in today`s Nigeria, it could certainly pass for a viable business to go into as more restaurants, hotels and laundry outfits more are constantly in need of this product.
How is liquid laundry detergent made?
Liquid soap as name implies, is soap in liquid form. It is a cleaning agent and a multi-purpose cleanser. Liquid soap is also known as liquid detergent. It has the ability to emulsify oils and hold dirt in suspension.
How can you make liquid soap in quality of the likes of Morning Fresh and Mama Lemon or even more that could give you an edge in an emerging and competitive market?
Liquid detergent shares same production properties with solid detergents. A detergent is expected to consist of the surface-active agents or ingredients which fall in the categories of essential and subsidiary ingredients for its safe use and market patronage.
In all ingredients, the surface-active agent forms the most important part of the detergent. Below are the names of chemical agents that must be in place where liquid soap or detergent production is concerned:
-NITROSOL/ANTISOL OR C.M.S
-SULPHONIC ACID
-CAUSTIC SODA
-TEXAPON
-FORMALINE
-PERFUME (FRAGRANCE)
-SLS (SODIUM LAUATE SULPHATE)
-S.T.P.P (SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE)
-COLORANT
-WATER
To enable the coming together of these agents, certain equipment must as well be on ground to ensure production processes. These include the followings:
– CONTAINER (PLASTIC BOWL OR DRUM)
– A MIXER OR A TURNING STICK
– HAND GLOVES
– NOSE MASK

METHOD OF PRODUCTION FOR A 20-LITRES QUANTITY
After the successful collection of the needed equipment and chemical agents, the following steps are to be taken towards producing a liquid soap or detergent:
– Dissolve the caustic soda with 1litre of water and allow for 30 minutes to 1-hour or overnight.
– Dissolve Soda ash in 1-litre of water and allow to stay for 30 minutes/1hr or over night
– Get the sulphonic acid poured into an empty bowl, add your preferred fragrance and after it, the TEXAPOON followed by 3-4 litres of water to be stirred properly for about 5-10 minutes.
– Dissolve the SLS with 2-tin milk cups of water.
– Dissolve the S.T.P.P with 2-tin milk cups of water.
– Get the NITROSOL dissolved in the same quantity of water if it is C.M.C you are using, make sure it is dissolved 2-days to the preparation of the soap with 4-5 litres of water.
After dissolving each agent separately, the next step would be to mix the dissolved agents together through the method:
– Get the NITROSOL that has been dissolved in water or the CMC that has been properly dissolved into chosen bowl
– Add the dissolved SULPHONIC ACID, TEXAPOON and FRAGRANCE to the NITROSOL OR C.M.C
– Add the dissolved CAUSTIC SODA and stir very well for proper mixing.
– Add to it the dissolved SODA ASH and stir properly as well.
– Add FORMALIN to the content and mix them together properly
– Add the dissolved S.T.P.P and stir.
– Add the dissolved SLS and stir as well.
– Add your preferred quantity of dissolved colorants and stir thoroughly.
– Add some quantity of water to the mixture to your preferred thickness.
– Leave the mixed solution for some hours or preferably till the following day.
At this stage, a liquid soap or detergent is fully formed and ready for packaging and distribution for its end use.