How to extract essential oils from plants?

I. Distillation

It can be said to be the oldest and widely used method of extracting essential oils. The procedure involves heating the plant in a distillation vessel with either water or steam (or both), so that the water vapors can be discharged and a concentrated liquid can be made. The liquid made by the above procedure is a mixture of oil and water, and usually the oil floats on water, thus it is the water that is heavier than the oil, and in the case of oil heavier than water (e.g., clove oil), the oil sinks to the bottom, when it can be easily separated from the water.

Two, liposuction method

Liposuction method is a piece of glass Li embedded in a rectangular frame, a thin layer of fat coated on the glass, and then lay a layer of just harvested fresh petals on the fat. After about twenty-four hours, all the essential oils contained in the petals will be adsorbed by the fat, at which point the frame is turned upside down, the petals fall off automatically, and another layer of fresh petals is spread on the fat. This procedure must be continued for a period of up to seventy days, depending on the type and quality of the flowers treated.

This treatment procedure is usually used after the harvest, the flowers will not continue to make essential oils, harvested flowers are immersed in hot fat to allow the oil through the cell walls of the plant, to absorb its essential oils. The adsorbed flowers are centrifuged about fifteen times, and then the essential oil-rich balsam is processed using the same procedures as in the liposuction method described above.

Four, extraction method

This method specializes in the production of citrus essential oils such as lemon, orange, bergamot, grape sleeve and red citrus. Skilled workers know how to apply the right pressure to squeeze the essential oils out of the rinds, but this refining method is costly because it is labor-intensive, and the extraction method has been handed over to machines. Plant essential oils are very complex, time-consuming and demanding from planting to refining, so the cost is quite high and the value is certainly expensive.

Fifth, the immersion method

Soak the flowers in hot oil to break down the cells, so that their fragrance is released in the oil, and then distill the lavender molecules in it.

Six, compression method

This is a relatively simple method, is the ripe fruit peeled, and then squeezed from between the essential oils to the sponge, such as orange, lemon.