Soap-making procedures for student laboratories, such as those recently published in this Journal, generally involve a filtration step (1). Unfortunately, the reaction mixture tends to clog the filter paper in the Büchner funnel. A plastic scrubbing sheet, Scotch-Brite or its equivalent, may be cut to fit the bottom of the Büchner funnel and used instead of filter paper. (If two-piece plastic Büchner funnels are used, the connecting sleeve of the top part can be used to trace a circle of the appropriate size.) These filter pads are coarse enough to allow rapid filtration but fine enough to hold curdy soap and are reusable. (The remainder of the scrubbing sheet need not go to waste, being good for blocking the holes in the bottoms of flower pots, if you or a friend grow plants.)
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