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So, update: The smell actually came out fairly well, but was still noticeable. For home use, I wouldn't mind, but to give to anyone else it would bother me. The interesting update was that pecan oil actually makes a very nice bar of soap. I was worried that I'd get sludge, but it just takes...

I think that you're exactly correct. One of the most extreme examples comes from Guns Germs and Steel, where Diamond speaks of islanders in New Guinea who, despite "living off the land" for sometimes over 50% of their calories, STILL depend heavily upon agriculture and communal manufacturing...

I have no doubt that cooling the bar is no solution. My comment on temperature was more as a guide to what conditions will be required to drive off the sodium butyrate.

So you're essentially overwhelming the ability of the glycerol/water solution to solvate the soap molecules by adding a more water soluble salt to its point of saturation, thus precipitating the less soluble molecule (the soap)? Presuming that's the case, then it seems like your salt addition...

I completely agree, but I would put forth that "Self sufficiency" isn't binary. Some folks seem to have a fantasy about one extreme of "Self sufficiency", but It's possible to look at it as a spectrum. On one end is the "cabin in the woods" fantasy, but on the other is a tiny apartment with no...

From a pure post/tax profit standpoint, NONE of this makes sense. In terms of after-tax dollars per hour of my labor, the overwhelming best choice is to work more shifts. And that's how I'm going to fund building all of the infrastructure (such as it is) to do all of this. However, the goal...

Those are both great ideas, and on a larger scale I would go that route in a heartbeat. The huge limiting factor for me is the capital cost and labor intensity for harvesting and pressing. I have grown lowland cotton before (gossypium barbadense, it's a really pretty perennial), and just for...

That dawned on me about a minute after I posted and I updated the post to reflect that. Sorry for the confusion.

I like the idea, but it's not exactly what I planned to do because I don't think that I am willing to invest the capital to do it. I agree that hydrolyzing the TAGs first and then fractionating them (i.e. in a column before any saponifcation is even attempted) would be the most efficient way to...

I'm interested in this topic, and will point out one fact that may be important: a triacylglycerol composed of at least one butyric acid is not the same as butyric acid, and neither is the same as sodium butyrate. The compound must evaporate (i.e. dissolve into the air) in sufficient...

TLDR: I'm naive and overconfident enough to try my hand at ghee soap for complex reasons that don't apply to most people. Maybe I'll learn something new and maybe I'll just confirm what everyone knows. I'm new to soapmaking, but have quite a bit of experience in similar hobbies like...

I'm new here and working on an odd project that I'll try to lay out as it advances. I greatly appreciate this wonderful source of information! On to my first question: I haven't found much on glycerine removal. It looks like commercial makers separate the glycerine after the initial steam...