I want to know how can we extract essential oils from rose that can scale up industrial level?
Hi Mamoona!
Steam distillation is a sustainable method for extracting essential oils from rose plants. In this process, rose petals are subjected to steam, causing the oils to evaporate and mix with the steam. The steam-oil mixture is then condensed, allowing the essential oil to separate and be collected. This method is eco-friendly, as it only requires water and heat, preserving the quality of the oil. However, it can be time-consuming and requires specialized equipment. Overall, steam distillation is a versatile and widely used approach for obtaining high-quality essential oils from botanical sources like roses. To concentrate the steam-distilled product, begin by allowing the mixture to cool, facilitating the separation of the essential oil from the water. Once cooled, the essential oil will rise to the surface due to differences in density. Carefully decant the oil layer from the water layer, ensuring minimal water contamination. Transfer the collected essential oil to a clean container. If water is still present, employ a solvent extraction method using a non-polar solvent like hexane or ethanol to dissolve the essential oil. Subsequently, evaporate the solvent under gentle heat or reduced pressure to concentrate the essential oil extract. Ensure thorough evaporation to eliminate any traces of solvent. Following these steps will yield a concentrated and pure essential oil extract, ready for further use or analysis.
To concentrate the steam-distilled product, you'll need a separation funnel to separate the essential oil from water, a clean container for collection, and a rotary evaporator setup to remove any remaining water. The setup includes a heating bath, a flask for the oil-solvent mixture, a rotating flask for evaporation, a condenser, and a collection flask for the concentrated oil.
Keep this as a guideline and tweak your process!
After preliminary steam distillation, go for Aqueous two phase extraction method which is highly suitable for scale proposals. Refers papers avaialble on ATPE.
Overall, by using steam distillation, you can extract rose essential oil sustainably while maintaining the quality of the oil and its aromatic profiles, making it suitable for various applications in cosmetics, aromatherapy and perfumery. Steam distillation is also considered sustainable because it usually requires less energy compared to some other extraction methods. It also uses water as a solvent, which is renewable and poses no environmental risks. In addition, steam distillation allows recovery of both essential oils and hydrosols, providing dual products from the same plant material.
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