Effect of palm kernel oil extraction method on the electrical conductance of Nigerian traditional soaps in alcohols

Nigerian traditional soaps were prepared using two commercial samples of palm kernel oil (black and pale-orange oils) that were extracted locally using two different traditional methods. The effect of the oil extraction method on the conductance of soaps in alcohols was then investigated. The conductance of the soaps prepared from the pale-orange oil was higher than that prepared from the black type. The plots of concentration conductance vs. the square root of concentration for methanolic solutions of the pale-orange oil soaps were linear, whereas the plots obtained for the black oil soaps were nonlinear. The plots of log(10)k vs. 1/T were linear for all the soaps in methanol and for potassium soaps in 1-propanol, whereas they were nonlinear for sodium soaps in 1-propanol. The activation energy terms for the soaps prepared from pale-orange oil generally decreased with an increase in concentration, whereas the activation energies for the black oil soaps were less sensitive to changes in concentration. These observations suggest that the purity of the palm kernel oil can have a significant effect on the properties and quality of the traditional soaps and that the pale-orange oil was probably purer than the black type.