Bitlis Eren University (BEU), in eastern Türkiye, has made significant progress in producing liquid soap from the waters of Lake Van over the past 1.5 years via mass production, earning it a patent for the soap.
The university's Vocational School in the Organized Industrial Zone (OSB) can produce up to 3 tons of liquid soap per day if there is demand, as part of its research and development (R&D) efforts. In addition to liquid soap, solid soap and some cosmetic products will also be produced in the workshop established within the university. As part of the production from the Lake Van water project initiated 1.5 years ago, BEU has successfully obtained a patent for the liquid soaps produced.
As part of the project, water from Lake Van, which is located in the Tatvan district of Bitlis, is transported to the university campus, where it is left to settle for one day. Following this, the liquid soap is produced through mixtures and processes at BEU's Soap Production Workshop.
BEU Rector Necmettin Elmastaş, who inspected the work being done at the Rahva campus, stated: "We have created the ‘Beren’ brand this year for the solid and liquid products we produced from Lake Van water, obtained a patent and have started mass production of liquid soap. Our efforts to produce solid soap and some creams are also ongoing. We want to contribute to the economy by producing numerous products under the Beren brand."
"The difference between Beren and other products and brands is that our products are made entirely from Lake Van's alkaline water. This gives us a unique advantage. Lake Van's alkaline water is highly economical, especially for liquid detergent production, as it doesn't require purification. While this process can be costly, we can use the water directly. We have patented this brand as a university, and we are now producing it ourselves," Elmastaş said.
He continued: "We are looking for a manufacturer to expand this product across Türkiye and potentially to international markets. We've had discussions in this regard and aim to introduce this product not only to our province and region but to the whole of Türkiye. If this product can contribute economically to our province, university and Türkiye as a whole by offering a unique product sourced from natural materials, we would like to work with one or more entrepreneurs to achieve this."
Project coordinator Erhan Onat said: "Lake Van water is unique for cosmetic product manufacturing. It naturally contains all the properties required for a solvent in touch material production. The first important point is that it does not incur additional costs. Secondly, it is very natural, as it contains around 20% of the chemicals used in cleaning and cosmetic products naturally. Our analyses confirmed this. With the encouragement of our rector, we began these R&D studies. We have completed the first stage of liquid soap production and are now moving on to producing other materials.”
Onat also explained the production stages, stating: "We filter the water and let it settle for about 24 hours. Then we filter it again and start using it. We use more than 80% Lake Van water and adjust the solvent ratio as needed. The natural properties of Lake Van water are present in our liquid soap. Our research has shown that the soap naturally benefits both skin and hair, and we have not encountered any side effects in our analyses. We continue to work on bringing this soap to our region quickly. Based on demand, we can produce two tons daily in our workshop."
