Warra, A. A, Wawata, I. G, Gunu, S. Y and F. A. Atiku
The large scale industrial production of cotton seed oil in Nigeria has unrestricted its use for only food application. A journey has started towards the utilization of this seed oil for soap production. Physicochemical analysis of the extracted seed oil was carried out in order to justify its usefulness in soap industry. The following values were obtained for the various parameters measured; Saponification value 199.42 ± 0.53 mgKOH/g, Iodine value 119.78 ± 0.81g I2/100g and Acid value 0.81± 0.01mgKOH/g. The oil yield was 48%. The analytical values obtained were significantly in favour of the utilization of the indigenous cotton seed for soap production on commercial scale. The pH of the soap was 9.38, comparably within the higher pH range of 9- 11 set by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), mostly due to incomplete alkali hydrolysis resulting from the saponification process. The foam height of the soap was 4.5cm lower than that of Jatropha, sesame and cotton seed soaps analyzed higher than that of Neem, castor and castor superfatted with glycerine soaps. The soap was white and slightly soluble in distilled water.
