Emulating George Washington Carver: Making Lotion, Ink, Paint, and Liquid Castile Soap Out of Peanuts

Paul Hook Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University

Chem 494 Spring 2011

Supervisor: Jing Dong Summary of Experiments

PICTURED (LEFT): Inventor and Scientist George Washington Carver3

Product Lotion

Role of Peanuts - Peanut oil - Used as the substance that soothes or softens the skin (emollient) - Ground up peanuts - Contain tannins - Tannins act as pigments - Peanut oil - Acts as a binder - Adheres the pigment (iron oxide) to the suface and holds it there

INTRODUCTION - George Washington Carver was an African-American agricultural scientist at the turn of the 20th century - Wanted to increase the economic viability of peanuts because of their importance in crop rotation so Southern farmers would be encouraged to plant them1 - Created over 300 different products from peanuts including milk and Worcestershire sauce to hand lotions1 GOAL To use peanuts or peanut components to create some of the same products that George Washington Carver created from the peanut during his career

Why Liquid Castile Soap was Chosen - It can easily be made into a variety of cosmetic and cleaning products that were produced by Carver 2

LIQUID CASTILE SOAP

Ink Paint Liquid Castile Soap

DISHWASHING DETERGENT

SHAMPOO

LIQUID CASTILE SOAP BABY SAFE BUBBLE BATH SOAP LAUNDRY SOAP

PAINT
What is Paint Made of? - A pigment (Iron oxide) - A binder (peanut oil) - A solvent (turpentine) Summary of Procedures - Fe2O3 (pigment) added to peanut oil (binder) until a doughy past formed - More peanut oil was added until the mixture flowed - Pure turpentine (solvent) was added to thin the mixture to the desired thickness - Final product was extremely black - The paint looked dry, but when touched some paint came off - The solution had the traditional paint smell

- Peanut oil - Origninally used to create the bar soap that was dissolved to create the liquid soap

Results

What are lotions? - Lotions are moisturizers - Moisturizers consist of 5 main ingredients: water, emollients, humectants, preservatives, and emulsifying agents Summary of Procedures - Borax and water were combined and heated to make the aqueous portion - Peanut oil, castor oil, beeswax, shea butter, and glycerin were combined, stirred, and heated to make the oil portion - The aqueous and oil portion were combined - Grapefruit seed extract was added as a preservative and lavender was added for scent Results - Thinner than most commercial lotions - Milky white color, resembling most commercial lotions. - Felt thin and oilier than commercial lotions - pH was basic and it had low conductivity Suggested Changes/Additions - Use natural thickening agents to thicken lotion - Use natural pH adjusters to adjust the lotion to desired pH range - Use slightly less peanut oil to make it less oily

LOTION

Summary of Procedures - 2 small bars of soap made from peanut oil were chopped up with a razor - Soap pieces were dissolved in water with a small amout of glycerin Results - Thin, congealed film and small flecks floating in the liquid - The soap was thinner than regular liquid soap - Shaking of a water/soap mixture produced a large amount of bubbles

DO NOT TOUCH

Suggested Additions/Changes - Use a paint primer before painting the wood. - Use a mixture of oils in the paint because some oils may dry faster than peanut oil - Use less oil while making the paint.

INK
Why use tannins? - Tannins are natural pigments present in peanuts in small amounts - Tannins naturally produce a brown, tea-like color Suggested Additions/Changes - Place peanuts in a makeshift teabag to separate the peanuts from the water - Use more peanuts or use an organic solvent - Do more research about tannins and the amount of tannins in peanuts

PICTURED (ABOVE): Liquid castile soap after being shaken with dH2O

Summary of Procedures - Peanuts (with skins on) were ground up - Peanut powder was put in water and boiled for 30 minutes - Solution was strained and gum Arabic was added Results - The water did not turn any color - Gum Arabic made the water slightly thicker
PICTURED (RIGHT): The basic structure of a tannin4

Suggested Additions/Changes - Attempt to make liquid soap from scratch (a time-consuming process) - Use thickeners in order to make the soap more like commercial soap - Grate instead of chop to allow for quicker and better dissolution

George Washington Carver: Chemist, Teacher, Symbol. ACSwebcontent.acs.org. American Chemical Society. n.d. Web. 10 April 2011. <http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/carver/carver.html>. How to Use Castile Soap. Going-well.com. Going-well.com, n.d. Web. 10 April 2011. <http://going-well.com/2010/07/11/how-to-use-liquid-castile-soap/>. George Washington Carver. University of Illinois Press. Web, n.d. 14 April 2011. <http://www.historycooperative.org/btw/gallery/v8_08.html>.

REFERENCES

Acknowledgements My supervisor, Jing Dong, for helping me with anything and everything along the way. John Bloom and Ken Brown in the stockroom for working with me over the last two semesters. The Penn State Chemistry department, especially Dr. Joe Keiser, for providing me with this opportunity.

Basic Structure of a Tannin. Peter v. Sengbusch - Impressum. Web, 31 July 2003. 14 April 2011. <http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e26/11.htm>.
4

Mr. Peanut. Web. 15 April 2011. <http://lapoularde.blogspot.com/2011/01/give-it-ride-it.html>.