Soap noodles are the sodium salt of fatty acids from oils or fats of both animal and vegetable origin. It is used in the production of toilet soap.
A typical blend would be the 80/20 standard comprising of 80% palm oil and 20% palm kernel oil or coconut oil. While there are other blends available in the market such as 70:30, 60:40 and 90:10, the ICIS soap noodle report assessment is based on the 80:20 blend which is recognized by the industry as the optimal grade due to its right balance of lather, rate of wear, cleaning ability and hardness.
The assessment takes into account 80/20 soap noodle produced from the following process: saponification of oil, neutralisation of fatty acids and saponification of fatty methyl esters with a total fatty matter (TFM) content of 78%.
In southeast Asia, soap noodles are mainly made from palm oil blended with either coconut oil or palm kernel oil. ICIS assess soap noodles from both feedstocks.
In China, soap noodles are made from animal fats (tallow), palm oil or a blend of both. However, the ICIS soap noodle assessment takes into account only palm oil based soap noodles.
In India, soap noodles are made from palm fatty acid distillate and palm stearin and ICIS assess soap noodles from both feedstocks.
ICIS quotes soap noodles in southeast Asia, China and India
To find out more Soap Noodle Methodology September 2013
