Processing Essential Oils
The uses of essential oils are almost unlimited. They give off pleasant fragrances that can be used in candles and sprays. The most common use for them is for medical purposes.
Making essential oils is gathering the oil from various parts of plants. Making one ounce of oil might take a hundred pounds of a plant. Each plant does not have a lot of oil, but the oil is heavily concentrated.
There are multiple ways to extract the oil when making essential oils. Some methods are better than others for specific plants. Usually the harder it is to extract the oil from the plant, the more expensive the oil will be.
Steam distillation uses high-pressure steam over the plant to extract the oil, which travels into a chamber, and then settles out into a container. The oil is then skimmed of the top while the water left over can be used for fragrances or toners. Steam distillation is the most commonly used method for making essential oils.
Now when the flower or plant is too fragile, then solvent or steam diffusion extraction is used. Steam diffusion extraction is similar to steam distillation, but the steam is at atmospheric pressure instead of high pressure. Solvent extraction uses a solvent to extract the oil and then the solvent is removed through low-pressure distillation. A waxy solid is left over which is oils, waxes, and pigments and all of them are then separated out and used.
Essential oil can be very limited on some plants or flowers. Enfleurage is used in this situation and uses an odorless vegetable oil to extract the oil. Vegetable oil is removes with alcohol and then the alcohol is removed with evaporation over time, leaving the oil behind.
The fruit of some plants make the citrus essential oil. Cold pressing extracts the oil by squeezing the juice out. Using centrifuge then separates the juice and oil.
The carbon dioxide method releases the gas into a container with the plant. As the pressure increases, the gas liquefies and extracts the essential oil like a solvent. The liquid travels into another chamber and the liquefied carbon dioxide evaporates into a gas leaving the essential oil behind.
Rainshadow Labs Specializes in Intuitive Essential Oilsaromatherapy essential oils, essential oils and wholesale soap making supplies. We are passionate about Oraganic Essential Oils and soap and candle making, and we love to help people feel and look young again. Come visit anytime.
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