Glycerin
-
 Glycerin
is a sweet tasting, colorless, thick liquid that has a high boiling
point and freezes to a paste. Cold process soap makers use it
because it is a humectant. This means that it attracts moisture
to your skin. It is a natural by-product in the soap making process.
Commercial manufacturers remove glycerin to be used in more expensive
lotions and creams but an amount remains in every soap bar made.
Extra
glycerin added to a soap bar produces a clear finish and
extra moisturizing qualities. It is also a good solvent. Many
things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into
alcohol
or water.
Glycerin
can be dissolved easily into alcohol and water but not into
oils. The pure chemical element is called
Glycerol,
which
indicates that it is an alcohol. The impure commercial product
is called glycerin.
Glycerin
is also highly hygroscopic. This means that it easily absorbs
water from the air. If you were
to leave a bottle
of pure glycerin in the open, it would absorb water from
the air
to eventually become 20% water and 80% glycerin. If you
were to place a small amount of pure glycerin on your tongue
it
would cause blistering. This is because it is dehydrating,
although
when diluted with water, it softens the skin.
In
1889, commercial candlemaking was the only way to obtain glycerin;
candles at
the time were made from animal fat.
Later, nitroglycerin
was used to make dynamite. Extraction is a complicated
process and there are various ways of going about it.
The simplest
way is to mix fat and lye. When the two are mixed, soap
is formed
and the glycerin is left out, although a small amount
remains in the soap.
Glycerin
has a variety of uses. As stated above, it can be used to make
dynamite. It is not an explosive
substance
on
its own;
it has to be turned into nitroglycerin before it becomes
explosive. Other uses include print and ink making,
conserving preserved
fruits, making lotions and lubricating moulds. It can
also be used to prevent freezing in hydraulic jacks,
and as
it has an
antiseptic quality, it is sometimes used to preserve
scientific specimens in high school labs.
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