Re: hydro distillation

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> My name is Liz and I have been a member of this group for about two

> months now. I have a question that is puzzling me. I was on the

> website for Strange Invisable Perfumes and the owner talkes about

> using only hydro distillation because it is not as harsh as using

> steam to extract the essence. I googled hydro distillation because I

> know nothing about the process and a couple sites described it as

> botanicals being submerged in water and the steam from the water

> carrying the essence out. She also goes on to say that this process

> allows delicate flowers like tuberose to be distilled. Is this true?

> Sorry if this is a dumb question. I am a newbie.

>

> Liz

>

Hi Liz

I was also interested in this, and did some research. There is a

company on Maui that does their own hydrodistillation called

" Scents of Knowing " . I bought a range of their oils so that I could

learn about them and compare.

I bought their " Tuberose Immersion " , which I assumed to be the

hydro-distillation. It is different from the tuberose absolute,

much lighter.

I know that they also distill tuberose concrete to make a tuberose

oil, but that was not available at the time. I was rather puzzled

by these oils when i first got them, but they have " grown on me " .

If you wanted, you could contact me offline about purchasing samples.

-linda

The Perfumer's Apprentice

www.perfumersapprentice.com

[Guest guest]

>

the owner talkes about

> > using only hydro distillation because it is not as harsh as

using

> > steam to extract the essence. I googled hydro distillation

because I

> > know nothing about the process and a couple sites described it

as

> > botanicals being submerged in water and the steam from the water

> > carrying the essence out. She also goes on to say that this

process

> > allows delicate flowers like tuberose to be distilled. Is this

true?

> > Sorry if this is a dumb question. I am a newbie.

> >

> > Liz

> >

>

> company on Maui that does their own hydrodistillation called

> " Scents of Knowing " . I bought a range of their oils so that I could

> learn about them and compare.

>

> > -linda

> The Perfumer's Apprentice

> www.perfumersapprentice.com

>

Hi Liz & ,

I was actually at an event last night where the husaband & wife team

from Scents of Knowing discussed the difference of hydro-

distillation vs. steam distillation. Hydro distillation is very

much what I assumed was the standard practice of steam distillation

where you have your plant material in water, brought to a simmer or

so & the steam rises into a condenser, cools, & collects. I was

told that with steam distillation they actually " shoot " steam over

or under the plant material, drying or burning it in the process,

rather than bringing out the essences by heating it with the water.

Whether this is all true or not, I know not. In all the AT books I

have read, I assumed that what they are coining as " hydro-

distillation " was the same practice as steam distilling. Can

someone clarify?

Thanks,

Roxanne

[Guest guest]

Edited Roxy. Trimmed excessive quoting....

>In all the AT books I

> have read, I assumed that what they are coining as " hydro-

> distillation " was the same practice as steam distilling. Can

> someone clarify?

> Thanks,

> Roxanne

>

Hi All,

Found the answer to my own question in Salvatore Battaglia's book,

The Complete guide to Aromatherapy. With water distillation it

carried out at much lower pressure & lower temperatures, below

100F . The plant material is completely covered with water. The

presence of the water safeguards the quality of the EO by preventing

it from being overheated, which is better for heat sensitive plants

like neroli & rose. It is a slower process & Battaglia claims

that " it can only be applied to those oils that are not damaged by

long contact with hot water, which is particularly aggressive

towards EO's with high percentages of Esters, breaking them down to

the corresponding alcohols & carboxylic acids. Because of this,

lavender requires the much faster process of steam distllation. "

With steam distillation, he goes on to say, the steam is under

greater pressure of the atmosphere, thus the water is boiling at

temperatures above 100F. The objective of steam distillation is to

complete the process as quickly as possible, as certain EO compounds

are heat sensitive.

Hope that helps!

Roxanne

[Guest guest]

In all the AT books I

> have read, I assumed that what they are coining as " hydro-

> distillation " was the same practice as steam distilling. Can

> someone clarify?

> Thanks,

> Roxanne

>

Hi Roxanne

I took the Level I Aromatherapy course from Van Buren in

Santa Cruz, and here is what they taught us on this subject.

Steam Distillation, known as Direct Steam, is the most widely used

method for 80% of essential oils produced. - Steam is passed through

plant material, where the heat bursts open the membrane of the oil

receptacles to liberate the essential oil molecules. The steam and

vaporized oil pass out of the chamber and is cooled so that it

condenses back into water and essential oil. It is important to

control the temperature and pressure so as not to damage the oil.

The boiling water and the plant material are in separate chambers.

Water Distillation: (Hydrodistillation)

- Often used when the plant material has been dried and will not be

damaged by boiling. The plant material is totally immersed in water

that is brought to the boil.

Water & Steam Distillation - used for fresh or dried plant material

that would be damaged by boiling. The plant material is on a

perforated grid. The water level is below the grid, low pressure wet

steam is passed through the plant material. Its important that the

steam is never really hot and always at low pressure.

I have a distiller here at the shop, and we do little distillation

workshops with about 5 different oils. I know that if the temperature

gets too hot and if the cooling is not efficient then the oil smells

" cooked " . It's not as easy as it sounds, but it is a heckuva lotta fun!

So next I'm going to do some experiments with immersing the material

in the water so i can compare for myself!

hope this helps

-linda

The Perfumer's Apprentice