Steam Distillation Essential Oil Extraction

Oils derived from steam distillation vary in their qualities depending on the temperatures pressures and length of time applied for the process.

Steam distillation essential oil extraction. Steam distillation is a process used for the recovery of volatile compounds with high boiling point from inert and complex matrices solid or liquid using saturated or superheated steam as separation and energy agent cerpa et al 2008 this process is used for the extraction of essential oil from plants palma et al 2013 in practice the process uses water and or steam as extracting. Most of the metabolites produced by plants therefore are polysaccharides and proteins that give the plants structure and function. Pre lab background secondary metabolites. Steam distillation is the most widely used method for the extraction of essential oils and isolation of petroleum components.

Essential oils derived from the supercritical co2 extraction of herbs are similar to the oils produced through distillation in that they can be used in aromatherapy and natural perfumery. Extract essential oils from biomass using steam distillation equipment. The primary goal of plants like all organisms is to grow and reproduce. The sheer difficulty of extracting jasmine oil from the flower petals requires that a very sophisticated process must be used.

The hot steam helps to release the aromatic molecules from the plant material since the steam forces open the pockets in which the oils are kept in the plant material. As the steam and essential oil vapors are being condensed they are collected and separated in a vessel usually called the florentine flask dugo and di giacomo 2002. When steam distillation is used in the manufacture and extraction of essential oils the botanical material is placed in a still and steam is forced over the material. Proper selection of the distillation technique play a vital role in determining the quality and yield of end products.

Steam distillation the extraction method used most commonly to create essential oils uses high heat that can cause the delicate petals to deteriorate and form a dense mass that steam cannot penetrate rendering the precious oil impossible to extract from the petals. Even though extraction of an essential oil by distillation appears to be a straightforward process it has many drawbacks.