Palm Oil
INCI Elaeis Guineensis Oil. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Palmate, with KOH as Potassium Palmate. CAS 8002-75-3; EC 232-316-1, as CosIng gives them. Also: Elaeis guineensis mesocarp oil, Crude palm oil (CPO), RBD palm oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 190–209 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 199.5 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1422 g/g |
| Iodine value | 50–55 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 147 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 1.2 % |
Soapmaking books print about 0.142 g NaOH per g (median of 10 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %.
A bar made of 100 % Palm 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 | 67.6 g(64.3–70.8) | 94.8 g(90.3–99.3) |
| 1 kg | 135.1 g(128.7–141.5) | 189.5 g(180.5–198.6) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 61.3 g(58.4–64.2) | 86.0 g(81.9–90.1) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 122.6 g(116.7–128.4) | 171.9 g(163.7–180.1) |
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 50 : 50
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lauric acid | C12:0 · saturated | 0–0.5 | 0.3 |
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 0.5–2 | 1.3 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 39.3–47.5 | 43.4 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0–0.6 | 0.3 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 3.5–6 | 4.8 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 36–44 | 40.0 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 9–12 | 10.5 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0–0.5 | 0.3 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0–1 | 0.5 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0–0.4 | 0.2 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
Recipes that use it
- Piped soap cupcakes 60 % of the oils
- Classic olive, coconut and palm bar 30 % of the oils
- Everyday bar, the usual three 30 % of the oils
- Apricot seed scrub bar 25 % of the oils
- Everyday bar, gentler 25 % of the oils
- Gardener's pumice scrub bar 25 % of the oils
- Goat milk soap base 25 % of the oils
- Neem dog bar 25 % of the oils
- Oatmeal, milk and honey bar 25 % of the oils
- Sage and citrus bar 25 % of the oils
- High-castor lather bar 20 % of the oils
- Savon de Marseille, 72 % 14 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
- Antioxidants and chelators: keeping soap from going off
- Choosing the oils for your first soap
- Dreaded orange spots (DOS) and rancid soap
- Marseille soap: what savon de Marseille is and what 72 % means
- The 25er-Rezept: Germany's four-oil beginner soap, with or without palm
- The soaping oils: what each one brings to a bar
- Transparent soap by the solvent method
- Your first cold process soap, step by step
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: total carotenoids (unbleached) 500-2000 mg/kg; relative density 0.891-0.899 (50 C). Slip point not specified for palm oil itself.
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.