Hi, basically I am using basic steam distillation that directly boils water and leaves in the round bottom flask and I run it about 3 to 4 hours based on previous experiment by my junior. I obtained white colour liquid, that I expected as hydrosol at the end of distillation. After that, I mix the white colour liquid for example 450ml with 100ml hexane in the funnel and 2 layer will form. I will remove the water layer and keep the hexane. Finally, I heat the hexane until completely vapourised and obtained a drop of yellowish essential oil. Is it correct? Does essential oil need sterile condition for gc/ms and hplc?
It is not correct.
We not heat the hexane in our experiments.
We separate water layer in the funnel and dry essential oil layer with anhydrous Na2SO4 overnight.
Your sample will be ready for GC/MC and HPLC.
Please see attached file.
Redards
It is true that you can separate the essential oil into your hexane by distillation. But once obtained in the hexane you can not heat the hexane with the dissolved essential oil. Hexane will certainly evaporate to enable you have your essential oil before going for GC/MC and HPLC. The essential oil does not need sterile condition before GC/MC
Thank you.
hai,
steam distillation is correct for the fresh raw materials. u collect the condensate into separating funnel directly. as volatile oil do not soluble in water. after sometime the hydrosol on cooling separates into oil and water layers. now u can separate them into pure oil and water saturated with oil layers. u can dry the oil over anhydrous sodium sulfate to remore the water molecules. u can store the oil in amber color bottle with airtight glass bottle to prevent oil oxidation, u can use oil directly for lc/ms and hplc.
Thank you for the good answers and suggestion. I had boiling hexane and got the essential oil. Does boiling hexane with essential oil affect the composition of the EO itself? I have done some reading and turns out hexane can be used as separating solvent known as liquid-liquid extraction when the essential oil dissolve together with the hydrosol because EO contains water soluble molecules. My EO dissolve in hydrosol so that is why I am using hexane as my separating solvent instead of using Na2SO4.
steam distillation without use hexan,
we can use steam distilator apparatus
also you need EO not VO?
Its correct but before evaporation of solvent you have to be using Na2SO4 in order to be removing completely water, on the other hand, Dichloromethane is better than Hexane for this process ....
Hi Eshak Mourad El-Hadidy, I need EO only, unfortunately, we do not have steam distiller for the purpose of extraction of EO only. Thank you for your suggestion Fuad O. Abdullah.
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