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Essential Oil Distilling Equipment

September 26th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Essential oil distilling equipment can be complicated and expensive, depending on how much oil you need.  Remember, it takes a lot of the organic material to make even one ounce of pure essential oil.  Also, keep in mind that not all essential oils are made by distillation.  Some are made by solvent extraction (like jasmine) and others by expression (like lemon or lime).  Look in aromatherapy books or websites to see if your favorite oil can be made with essential oil distilling equipment. 

There are two kinds of essential oil distilling equipment – for water distillation and for steam distillation.  Steam is faster, but a more intense process.  Some organic materials like cinnamon are just too delicate to handle steam distillation and need the slower water distillation to get any kind of therapeutic grade essential oil.

In water distillation, the material you want the oil from and water is heated in a container or beaker, making a vapor.  When the vapor cools, it drips into another clean empty container that collects the precious oil.

In steam distillation, the material is placed in a vacuum-sealed container and heated. the steam inside causes a massive pressure that separates the oil from the flowers, leaves, twigs, resin or even sawdust.  The essential oil distilling equipment is usually more complex and dangerous for the novice than for water distillation.

The newest kind of distillation is dry steam distillation, which still needs supervision and can only make very small amounts of essential oil.

Buying the equipment

Say you’ve decided on purchasing essential oil distilling equipment.  Yes, there are websites of companies that can sell you home stills.  They can run from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on what they are made out of and how much oil you need.  Copper is considered one of the best materials for essential oil distillation equipment, but there are also those made from glass.

There are several main parts to any essential oil distilling equipment.  There is a beaker or container filled with water that is heated to make steam.  That’s called the boiler.  Attached to that is a tube that goes to another container filled with the material you want the oil from.  That in turn is connected by tubing to the collecting container, usually made of glass.  The oil is usually strained to remove any water or other impurities, then bottled in small dark tight jars.  All of this needs constant supervision.

The essential oil distilling equipment can only be used for making essential oils – it will make any food or liquor taste horribly.

Essential oil processing - distilling oils: how was your oil processed:

July 27th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Essential oils are processed from plants: the leaves, roots, bark and seeds, using various processes. The process used can affect the quality of the oil, so if you’re using oils for therapeutic purposes you’ll want to know as much as you can about how the oil was processed.

The majority of essential oils available today are extracted using a steam distillation process. It’s the oldest form of essential oil extraction and is believed by many to be the only way oils should be extracted. The process really is quite simple and as long as this extraction process is closely monitored, the steam will remain at a temperature that won’t damage the plants.

The desired plant material is placed into a still. A still is a specialized piece of equipment that is used in the distillation process. It consists of a vessel into which heat is added and a device that is used for cooling. The plant is first placed into the vessel. Next steam is added and passed through the plant. The heat from the steam helps to open the pockets of the plant that contain the plant’s aromatic molecules or oils. Once open, the plant releases these aromatic molecules and in this state, the fragrant molecules are able to rise along with the steam.

The vapors carrying these molecules travel within a closed system towards the cooling device. Cold water is used to cool the vapors. As they cool, they condense and transform into a liquid state. The liquid is collected in a container and as with any type of oil/water mixture, it separates. The oils float towards the top while the water settles below. From there, it’s a simple matter of removing the oils that have been separated. These are the highly condensed, aromatic oils used in aromatherapy.

The water is not discarded, however. The water, which also contains the plant’s aroma along with the other parts of the plant that are water soluble, are the hydrosols - a milder form of the essential oils. These, too are also used in aromatherapy.

When steam is used, it’s created at a pressure higher than that of the atmosphere. The boiling point is above 100 degrees Celsius and creates an extraction process that is safe and fast. If the temperature is allowed to become too hot, however, the plant material as well as its essential oils can easily become damaged.

Water Distillation

Water distillation involves placing the desired plant material in a still and then submerging it in water. The water is then brought to a boil. The heat helps open the pockets containing the plant’s aromatic molecules so they can be extracted. The vapors cool and condense, the essential oils separate from the water and they’re collected.

The water in this case provides protection for the plant because it acts as a barrier. Less pressure is used as well as a lower temperature than that which is used in the steam distillation method. This extraction method works well with plants that cannot tolerate high heat.

Other distillation methods

Hydro distillation is similar to steam distillation. The only difference is that instead of introducing the heat from the bottom and up through the still, as happens in steam distillation, the heat passes into the still from the top. It’s cooled from below, which makes collection of the essential oils easier. This method actually results in a higher yield of essential oils because less steam and consequently less processing time are involved.

In a water/steam combination distillation method, plant material is submerged into heated water and steam is forced through the water, opening the pockets containing the aroma molecules. When cooled, the essential oils condense and are collected as described above.

If you’re not sure how a particular oil was processed, and are using oils to improve your health or for a medical condition, then ask the seller. If the seller doesn’t know, then buy your oils from another source.

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