Babassu Oil
INCI Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Babassuate, with KOH as Potassium Babassuate. CAS 91078-92-1; EC 293-376-2, as CosIng gives them. Also: Orbignya spp. kernel oil, Babassu kernel oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 245–256 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 250.5 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1786 g/g |
| Iodine value | 10–18 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 237 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 1.2 % |
Soapmaking books print about 0.176 g NaOH per g (median of 7 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %.
A bar made of 100 % Babassu Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 84.8 g(83.0–86.7) | 119.0 g(116.4–121.6) |
| 1 kg | 169.6 g(165.9–173.4) | 238.0 g(232.8–243.2) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 77.0 g(75.3–78.6) | 107.9 g(105.6–110.3) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 153.9 g(150.5–157.3) | 215.9 g(211.2–220.6) |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 83 : 17
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caprylic acid | C8:0 · saturated | 2.6–7.3 | 5.0 |
| Capric acid | C10:0 · saturated | 1.2–7.6 | 4.4 |
| Lauric acid | C12:0 · saturated | 40–55 | 47.5 |
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 11–27 | 19.0 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 5.2–11 | 8.1 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 1.8–7.4 | 4.6 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 9–20 | 14.5 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 1.4–6.6 | 4.0 |
Recipes that use it
- Beer and castor shampoo bar 25 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
Compared with other oils
Where these numbers come from
Verbatim mirror of the FAO file CXS_210e.pdf; the official FAO link was Cloudflare-gated at retrieval. Table 1 (Section 3.1) = mandatory GLC fatty-acid ranges, % of total fatty acids, ND = not detectable (<=0.05%). Table 2 (Appendix 'Other quality and composition factors') gives saponification value, iodine value (Wijs) and unsaponifiable matter of CRUDE oils; the Appendix is explicitly ADVISORY (a product not meeting it may still conform). This print predates the 2021-2025 amendments; the 2024 additions (avocado, camellia seed, sacha inchi, high-oleic soya bean) are not included.
Fatty acids from CXS 210 Table 1 (mandatory GLC ranges, % of total fatty acids; 'ND' = not detectable, <=0.05%, entries that are ND-only are omitted; C17:0, C17:1, C20:2, C22:2 and C24:1 columns omitted because they are outside the acids this database records). The saponification value, the iodine value and the unsaponifiable share from Appendix Table 2 (crude oils; ADVISORY, not mandatory; unsaponifiable converted from g/kg). No 'typical' values are printed in the standard, so none are given. Appendix: Reichert value 4.5-6.5, Polenske value 8-10. Relative density 0.914-0.917 (25 C), refractive index 1.448-1.451 (40 C). Melting point not given in the standard.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.