Help with math?

Obsidian · Sep 21, 2017

Can someone help me figure out how much citric acid I need for a 16oz batch if I follow this formula?

For every 1000 grams of oils, you would add 10 g of citric acid and 6 g of extra lye to your water solution to create sodium citrate without extra superfat.

slk · Sep 21, 2017

16 oz is 453.5924 grams (google oz to gm). So divide 453.5924 by 1000 to get your ratio : 0.4535924

multiply your 10 gm of citric acid by the ratio (10 X 0.4535924) = 4.536 citric acid
do the same for the lye (6 X 0.4535924) = 2.722 grams lye

I always do a sanity check on my math - does it make sense? yes to me since 453 grams is ALMOST half of 1000 grams and the amounts calculated are ALMOST half of what's called for per 1000 grams.:bath1:
This is working from the assumption that you are using 16 oz of oil, not 16 oz total batch weight.
happy soaping

Obsidian · Sep 21, 2017

Thank you for the help. All those numbers just look like chicken scratch to me, glad there are people who can help out the mathematically challenged like me

Steve85569 · Sep 21, 2017

And then I use citric x .624 to find the extra lye needed ( 10 x .624=6.2 grams of lye)
That way if I am using 2% citric to a recipe I would use .02 x 453.6 =9.1 ( rounded up so I can weigh it)
That gives the citric for 2 %.
Now the lye:
9.1 x .624=5.7 so I will add 5.7 grams of lye for the citric acid to become sodium citrate.

I got the 6.24 / 0.624 from an older post on the mol weights etc and kept it in my notes.

These numbers also pass the sanity test slk mentioned. :thumbup:

Here's a link from a little while ago:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=47990&highlight=citric+acid

cherrycoke216 · Sep 21, 2017

woo hoo! hooray for the math heroes/heroine!

Steve85569 · Sep 21, 2017

cherrycoke216 said:
woo hoo! hooray for the math heroes/heroine!

The real credit goes to DeeAnna and TopofMurrayHill.
I just take good notes and make spreadsheets from them.

cmzaha · Sep 22, 2017

Steve85569 said:
And then I use citric x .624 to find the extra lye needed ( 10 x .624=6.2 grams of lye)
That way if I am using 2% citric to a recipe I would use .02 x 453.6 =9.1 ( rounded up so I can weigh it)
That gives the citric for 2 %.
Now the lye:
9.1 x .624=5.7 so I will add 5.7 grams of lye for the citric acid to become sodium citrate.

I got the 6.24 / 0.624 from an older post on the mol weights etc and kept it in my notes.

These numbers also pass the sanity test slk mentioned.

Here's a link from a little while ago:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=47990&highlight=citric+acid

0.624 is also the multiplier I use for the citric acid, also giving credit to DeeAnna and TOMH

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