Poh Ying

My Lab Report.
p.s: do not read, if you read you must be crazy! cause it's freaking long! i have no microsoft office in laptop so i type in blog than copy and paste in my home desktop tomorrow. (:


DETERMINING THE EFFECT OF SOAP AND DETERGENT IN HARD WATER.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Information

1.1.1 Contents of Hard Water
Hard water contains water that has calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions which will form when ground water flows over limestone and other mineral rock.


1.1.2 Contents of Soft Water
Soft water which are water that contains few or no calcium or magnesium ions. It will be formed when calcium and magnesium ions are replaced with sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+).


1.1.3 Contents of Soap
Soap is a substance that is derived from alkali acting on natural oils it emulsifies oil into tiny droplets which can be easily washed away. Although when using a good cleaning agent, the soap's effectiveness is reduced when used in hard water and suds will not be observed in hard water. When using soap in hard water, the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water react with soap to form a insoluble precipitate (residue) known as scum, thus it reduce the soap's effectiveness (Smith and Walker, 2007)


1.1.4 Contents of Detergents
Detergents are soap-like cleaning properties. They are made from synthetic products and chiefly petroleum derivatives. It contain the chemical, EDTA, which softens water. Where EDTA forms a soluble complex when in contact to hard water. Detergents won't form an insoluble precipitate (scum) when in contact with calcium-EDTA complex or magnesium-EDTA complex. The advantage is it lather well in both hard and soft water, it is also used widely in industry as it is able to disperse oil and hold dirt in suspension.


1.1.5 Contents of Oil
Oil is an organic substance that is insoluble in water. When mixed with soap, it is dispersed into tiny droplets which can be easily washed away.