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Fatty acids

Stearic Acid (triple-pressed, ~50:50 C16/C18)

INCI Stearic Acid. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Stearate, with KOH as Potassium Stearate. Also: Octadecanoic acid (commercial), Stearic acid 50%, Triple pressed stearic acid, Stearic acid NF.

Calculate a 100 % Stearic Acid (triple-pressed, ~50:50 C16/C18) bar

Published values

Saponification value206–212 mg KOH/g
Used by the calculator209.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint)
SAP for NaOH0.1490 g/g
Iodine value≤ 0.5 g I₂/100 g
INS (SAP − IV)209
Melting point
Unsaponifiable matter

A bar made of 100 % Stearic Acid (triple-pressed, ~50:50 C16/C18)

Hardness 101 above 29–54
Cleansing 2 below 12–22
Conditioning 2 below 44–69
Bubbly lather 2 below 14–46
Creamy lather 99 above 16–48

Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.

Fatty-acid profile

Fatty acidPublished range, %Used
Myristic acid C14:0 · saturated ≤ 2 2.0
Palmitic acid C16:0 · saturated 45–49 47.0
Stearic acid C18:0 · saturated 50–54 52.0
Oleic acid C18:1 ≤ 0.5 0.5
Linoleic acid C18:2 ≤ 1.5 1.5

Where these numbers come from

Wilmar International Ltd (oleochemicals producer)STEARIC ACID 50% (WILFARIN SA-1850, triple pressed) product specification page · read 2026-09-20

Specification table on the product page: acid value, saponification value, iodine value, titre, colour, C14/C16/C18/C18:1/C18:2 composition limits.

Emery OleochemicalsSustainable Stearic Acids - EMERSOL 120 / EMERSOL 132 NF / EMERY 400-series specification table · read 2026-09-20

EMERSOL 132 NF row: acid value 205-211 mg KOH/g, iodine value 0.5 max, titer 54.5-55.5 C; EMERSOL 120 (double pressed): acid value 205-210, iodine value 5-7, titer 53.7-54.7 C, C16 38-44 %, C18 43-48 %.

Wilmar International Ltd (oleochemicals producer)Wilmar Oleochemical and Biofuel Division product brochure (Stearic Acid table, WILFARIN SA-1892 ... SA-1804) · read 2026-09-20

Brochure PDF (uploaded 2012) used only for the grade comparison in notes; its text-extracted table rows are offset by one line, so the product page is the authoritative source for SA-1850.

Commercial 'stearic acid' used in soap is a palmitic/stearic mixture, not pure C18. Primary values are the producer specification for Wilmar WILFARIN SA-1850 (Stearic Acid 50 %, triple pressed): acid value 205-211 mg KOH/g, saponification value 206-212 mg KOH/g, iodine value 0.5 max (% I2 absorbed = g/100 g), titre 55-57 C, colour 0.3/3 max (Lovibond R/Y), composition C14 2 % max, C16 45-49 %, C18 50-54 %, C18:1 0.5 % max, C18:2 1.5 % max. Emery Oleochemicals' EMERSOL 132 NF (triple-pressed tallow stearic acid) has matching limits: acid value 205-211 mg KOH/g, iodine value 0.5 max, titer 54.5-55.5 C (additional source; Emery's page gives no SAP). Free fatty acid: SAP is essentially the acid value; use directly for lye calculation. Titre is a solidification point, so meltingPointC is null. Other grades differ (Wilmar brochure: SA-1892 92 % stearic AV ~195-199/SAP ~196-200, titre 66-70 C; SA-1865 65 % AV ~202-209; rubber grades SA-1810/1804 AV >= 195 with IV up to 4-10) - see notes if modelling a 90 %+ C18 grade. INCI and salt names are the standard CosIng entries, not re-verified on CosIng in this session.

This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL). Found an error or a better primary source? The dataset is on GitHub; corrections with a document link are welcome.