Gentlemen,

I decided to run a test using the Pressure Cooker:

I did not follow the directions as prescribed on page (4) of this tread, but decided to try a modification:

I mixed together:

3 ml of non-scented laundry detergent
3 ml of water
3 ml of glycerin
50ml of canola oil

I stirred it together in a Pyrex measuring cup. It went milky and increased the viscosity a small amount. I loaded this into my pressure cooker with about 1 cup of water on the floor of the cooker and set the glass measuring cup onto a little stand in the bottom of the cooker. I cooked it at 20 psi for 20 minutes. I let the pressure go down in a natural fashion.

Results:

The hot mixture looked the same as when I put it into the cooker, but very hot now. I set it into the freezer to cool. When it came down to room temp it was still milky but much thicker that before cooking. It has tinny beads of water suspend within the mixture since I keep stirring it to try to determine the viscosity. It appears to have increased the viscosity about 2x or maybe 3x. This is not a scientific measurement, just a subject observation.

Next I put some of the mixture on my left hand and some standard canola oil on my right hand. The modified oil would rinse right off my hand and the standard normal canola oil stuck firmly to my hand under the faucet. The oil mixture currently appears to have much more affinity for water than normal oil, but this may just be a temporary matter, and this may change after the normal period of settling of the mixture.

Next I swirled the mixture in the Pyrex cup up onto the sides of the cup and watch it stick to the glass. It hung on very well with a very thick film, much thicker than the canola oil I tried in a separate glass. Again I could see tinny little shimmering beads of water suspended in the emulsion. So I think I’ll have to be patient and allow the water to collect on the bottom of the cup.

I’ll have to put the mixture out in the garage over-night in a tall glass jar and let the water rise to the surface and decant the oil off and post my observation tomorrow.

Reg,

Detergent chemistry can be very complex, I’ll agree, but Laundry detergent will not foam, and I did not see any foaming during an point of my current experiment. Why don’t you just try Laundry detergent in a small batch and see the results. It is very cheap if you mix up less that 100 ml of the mixture.

The chemist my just have not thought to use Laundry soap, just thinking about what was in the kitchen at the time. There are many possibilities in Organic Chemistry for substitutions.

Have fun,

Kelly