reaction+wiki+A.+Garrity

BY: ANTHONY GARRITY**
 * A CHEMICAL REACTION

For this project, i decided to use lye, or also known as sodium hydroxide for the base chemical of my reaction which in the end makes soap. For this project, I decided to do lye, also known as sodium hydroxide. It is a alkali metal. Sodium hydroxide is a very dangerous chemical. It is used in making lye soap, but not available in the United States. In its basic form it is not an acid. Sodium hydroxide is a 14 on the ph scale, and a 7.0 is neutral. That causes it to burn you as easy as acid can. So when it is being used in an experiment, most people have vinegar near them to neutralize any lye just incase it spills on their skin. The vinegar is an acid, but not acidic enough that I could burn you, just enough to neutralize the lye. The chemical reaction from sodium hydroxide and water or milk can create lots of heat and can burn you. There are many reported accidents from back in the day when mothers and their children were blinded, killed, or injured seriously from making soap, only a responsible adult should carefully use this.


 * a.** Reaction: soap, from a mixture of lye, fat, and milk or water.
 * b.** the reaction from this is soap, which is used to wash clothes, people, and objects.
 * c.** the dealers: Red Devil Lye, Texas Natural Supply, AAA Chemicals, companies over seas, and people who make it themselves.
 * d.** who are the lye (sodium hydroxide) buyers? Soap companies, the reason for them buying it are because they need it to make their products. Also S.C. Johnson to make DRAINO. People also buy it to make their own soap.
 * e.** the starting materials for making lye are two to three gallons of “soft water”, branches and twigs, logs of oak, fruitwoods, or ash. Hardwoods are the best for making home made lye, but you should avoid certain kinds such as fir, pine, and other evergreens. Next place what you have in a pile, or use it in your fireplace for a better burn. Scoop the ashes out and put them in a barrel when they are cold, and[[image:bulls_eye_lye.jpg width="195" height="260" align="right"]] make sure that the barrel has six inches of hay/grass on a bed of river rocks (the size of your palm) on the bottom. Make sure that there is a cork on the lower side near the bottom. Put about six inches of water in the bottom of the barrel. Let it sit for three days and then add ash and drain regularly. Then to complete the reaction to make soap, add milk to the lye and cook it, and then you have it.
 * f.** If there is leftover lye at the end of the reaction (soap) it is put into the next vat that is made.
 * g.** This reaction does not benifit the planet because the lye used in making the soap is a corrosive chemical that can kill plants and is bad for soil.
 * h.** Well, the reaction isn't going on in a chemical plant, but factories stopped using LYE in soaps. It became illegal to sell Lye soap commercially
 * i.** Well there are many problems associated with making soap. first off, the biggest problem is LYE. it is so acidic that you can get chemical burns that will eat your skin, it can blind you, and it can kill you. even when you are careful and keep vinigar around you to stop the burning of your skin, it is still very very dangerous.

Bibliography:
 * 1) The Britton Family Homepage, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/9684/lye.html
 * 2) Texas Natural Supply[| www.texasnaturalsupply.com/tns_039.htm]
 * 3) AAA Chemicals http://www.aaa-chemicals.com/
 * 4) WikiHow, how to make lye http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lye