Essential oils are extracted from plant-specific aromatic substances, which are extracted from the flowers, leaves, roots, bark, fruits, seeds, resins, etc. of herbaceous plants by distillation and pressing. Due to the high volatility and small molecules of essential oils, it is easily absorbed by the human body, and can quickly penetrate the human body and excrete the excess components from the body. The whole process only takes a few minutes, and the fragrance of the plant itself directly stimulates the brain The secretion of the pituitary gland, the secretion of enzymes and hormones, etc., balance the body’s functions and play a role in beauty and skin care. It is conceivable that the mystery of essential oils to the human body is extremely broad.
Inexpensive essential oils are hard to believe in their quality and purity. The following figures can prove the purity and preciousness of essential oils. Only 6000 kg of orange flowers, 4000 kg of roses, 2000 kg of chamomile flowers, 1300 kg of thyme, 1000 kg of geraniums, 100 kg of mint leaves, and 35 kg of lavender can extract 1 kg of essential oil. So how are plant essential oils extracted?
The extraction methods of plant essential oils mainly include distillation, liposuction, dipping, extraction, soaking, and compression.
Distillation: Distillation is the oldest and most widely used method for refining essential oils. The processing procedure includes heating plants with water or steam (or a combination of both) in a distillation vessel to discharge water vapor, thus producing Concentrate. The liquid mixture of oil and water produced by the above process usually floats on water, so water is heavier than oil. If it is oil heavier than water (such as clove oil), the oil will sink to the bottom. Separate oil and water easily.
Liposuction method: The liposuction method is to embed a piece of glass on a rectangular frame, apply a thin layer of fat on the glass, and then spread a layer of freshly harvested petals on the fat. After about twenty-four hours, all the essential oils contained in the petals will be absorbed by the fat. At this time, turn the frame over and the petals will automatically fall off, and then put another layer of fresh petals on top of the fat.
Dipping method: The harvested flowers are immersed in hot oil to allow the oil to penetrate the cell wall of the plant and absorb its essential oil. The adsorbed flowers are centrifuged for about fifteen times, and then the scented oils full of essential oils are processed by the procedures in the liposuction method described above.
Extraction method: The extraction method authorizes citrus essential oils such as lemon, orange, bergamot, grape sleeve and red tangerine.
Soaking method: The flowers are soaked in hot oil to decompose the cells, so that their fragrance is released in the oil, and then the fragrance molecules are distilled out.
Compression method: This is the simplest method, which is to peel the ripe fruit, and then squeeze the essential oil onto the sponge, such as orange and lemon.
As the most commonly used method for extracting essential oils from plants, distillation is generally divided into steam distillation and vacuum distillation. Vacuum distillation is carried out under reduced pressure, and is generally used to separate substances that are easily decomposed when heated to boiling point under normal pressure, or combined with other distillation methods (such as steam distillation) to reduce distillation temperature and improve separation efficiency. Separation and purification of metal alkoxides. Vacuum distillation is also used for the deep purification of certain types of special gases.
Water ring vacuum pump unit is commonly used in the plant essential oil extraction vacuum distillation equipment. The commonly used material is stainless steel SS304 or SS316L. Shanghai EVP Vacuum has a lot of experience in this application. The following picture shows the unit equipment that was previously exported to Europe. For patchouli essential oil extraction, the equipment we provide to customers is 2BV2 2BV5 water ring pumps, steam-water separators, heat-exchangers, etc. to form a closed-cycle unit, which has the advantages of high energy efficiency, low energy consumption, high quality, and high cost performance. It is the best choice for plant vacuum distillation.
EVP Vacuum has extensive experience in vacuum distillation industry of essential oils , please feel free to communicate any questions.
Edited by: Emily Fu; Copyright: EVP Vacuum Solutions
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