Professional Documents
Culture Documents
To know the principle of steam distillation and observe what happens during the
process
To extract essential oil from plant leaves using steam distillation process
II. Theory:
Essential Oil Extraction. There are different methods for essential oil extraction. One of the
most common is steam distillation since it allows for the separation of slightly volatile, water-
immiscible substances by means of low temperature distillation, being of particular use when
the components boil at high temperature (higher than 100C) and are susceptible to
decomposition below this temperature. The release of the components present in the stomas is
caused by cell-wall rupture as a result of the higher pressure and the oil content expansion of
the cell generated by heat. The steam flow gets in through the stomas, breaks them and
eventually drags the essential oil.
Most essential oils are obtained from the plant material by a process known as steam
distillation. Descriptions and explanations of the theory and practice of steam distillation are
given elsewhere and the reader is referred to these for detailed discussions of equipment needs,
distillery layout and methods. An indication of what is involved is given here.
Applications. Steam distillation is employed in the isolation of essential oils, for use in
perfumes, for example. In this method, steam is passed through the plant material containing
the desired oils. Eucalyptus oil and orange oil are obtained by this method on an industrial
scale.
Steam distillation also is an important means of separating fatty acids from mixtures
and for treating crude products such as tall oils to extract and separate fatty acids, soaps and
other commercially valuable organic compounds.
A. Materials
B. Apparatus
Submitted to:
Date Performed: Date Submitted: Page 2 of 5
March 13, 2017 March 21, 2017
ENGR. SHARON ROSE DUMAM-AG
Steam distillation apparatus (boiling flask, condenser, beaker, adapter, glass
tubing, rubber tubing, Bunsen burner), wire gauze, boiling chips, iron stand, iron ring
IV. Procedure:
First, the plant leaves were first collected by hand a day before the experiment. The
young and old leaves were separated. The leaves were cut into smaller pieces.
Steam distillation apparatus was then assembled according to the diagram above. Next,
adequate amount of leaves were put into the boiling vessel. Tap water in a boiling flask would
be heated over Bunsen burner as the heat source. The flask was connected with glass tubing to
a second flask containing the baho-baho leaves. The second flask was connected with rubber
tubing that leads to a condenser where cooling water from the faucet flow countercurrent to the
vapor. A beaker was used to collect the distillate at the end of the condenser.
V. Diagram:
Sufficient amount of distillate was collected and composed of water only. No evidence
of globules of essential oil was present and no thin layer of oil was formed and distinguished.
With the use of Bunsen burner, water from the first boiling flask was evaporated in a
span of few minutes compared to the time it took when we used the hot plate. The distillate
almost immediately formed as the water evaporated and its appearance was that of a clear
liquid. But the distillate, as we have seen, was just composed of water and no essential oil was
distilled. If there would be any oil, we can immediately see the globules of oil floating at the
top of the water or it will form an oil layer distinct from the water layer. However, we cannot
see any oil floating at the top. Although there were no essential oil present in the distillate, the
smell of baho-baho leaves is evident on the distillate.
The second flask which contains the plant leaves has acquired water from the steam
coming from the first flask. There was accumulation of water there and dark discoloration was
observed.
The frequently employed process of extraction of essential oil is the steam distillation
where steam is used to extract the oils from the plant material. Although we have not collected
essential oil in the distillate, the steam distillation process is still the most widely used
Submitted to:
Date Performed: Date Submitted: Page 3 of 5
March 13, 2017 March 21, 2017
ENGR. SHARON ROSE DUMAM-AG
extraction process. The steam was used to extract the volatile constituent of the essential oil
and was passed through a condenser in order to make the vapor into liquid which is then to be
collected to form the distillate. Supposedly, the distillate would be composed of the essential
oil and the solvent that is used to extract it which is in this case, water. The water and the
essential oil will then be subjected to separation using separatory funnel.
IX. References:
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF STEAM DISTILLATION. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from
https://erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/3base/safrole.plants/fafopo/steam_di
stillation.html
Chamorro, E. R., Morales, W. G., Sequeira, A. F., Velasco, G. A., & Zambn, S. N.
(n.d.). Study of the Chemical Composition of Essential Oils by Gas
Chromatography.
Wikipedia. (2017, February 28). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from Steam distillation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_distillation
X. Pictures:
Submitted to:
Date Performed: Date Submitted: Page 4 of 5
March 13, 2017 March 21, 2017
ENGR. SHARON ROSE DUMAM-AG