Essential Oil Extractor from 65 to 250 Liters Concept Plus with Interspace
The Concept Plus essential oil extractors from
65 to 250 litres with cavity , also commonly called distilling stills, are built entirely in stainless steel and are equipped with all the components needed to carry out the essential oil extraction process.
Steam distillation is a technique that allows the extraction of essential oils from the tissue of medicinal plants (whether fresh or dried) by transporting them via water vapour.
The passage of steam generated by boiling water through the plant material makes the cell walls more permeable, to the point of causing them to break and the essential oil to escape, which is then condensed in a coil that, cooled by a recirculation of water, allows the separation into essential oil and aromatic water.
The essential oil (lighter) is then deposited on the surface because it has a lower density.
The Kit includes the following items:
- The heating boiler with lid equipped with thermometer and safety cap
- The grids: lower and upper
- The steam connection pipe
- The 5-bubble cooling burette with clamp
- The essential oil collection cylinder
- The cooling circuit connecting pipe
- And of course the user manual
Operation:
The distiller is used for the extraction of essential oils from medicinal plants using the principle of steam current. It is possible to use the extractor (distiller) for all fresh and dry plants whose oil can be extracted in a steam current.
Here are some of the various plants that can be distilled with the extractor: lavender, mint, rosemary, thyme, laurel, sage, oregano, chamomile, rose, eucalyptus, lemon balm, savory, wormwood, basil, lemon verbena, cypress, Swiss pine, mountain pine, helichrysum, geranium, eucalyptus, juniper, mastic, marjoram, parsley, rue, turpentine, valerian, and many others.
What you need for extraction:
- a distiller
- gas or electric stove
- waterfall
- aromatic plants with a high content of essential oils such as mint, lavender, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, etc.
You don't need a chemical laboratory, just a normal home kitchen as this extractor can work on your kitchen stove.
2 kg of fresh plant are needed, collected in the period in which the plant reaches the maximum concentration of active ingredients, also called balsamic time.
Using the extractor:
- Insert water into the distiller's boiler until it reaches the grid on the bottom
- Insert the plants into the distiller avoiding the creation of preferential channels for the escape of the steam
- Place the top grid and close the lid of the distiller
- Fix the steel cooling circuit and the Pyrex glass burette
- Turn on the heat source (electric stove or hotplate, gas or induction hob) and when the temperature reaches approximately 50°C, turn on the cooling circuit.
- The steam will capture the part of the essences contained in the plant which will subsequently physically separate due to the difference in specific weight between the aromatic water and the essential oil.
- After about 60-70 minutes from the start of the extraction, check the increase of essential oil inside the collection cylinder.
- Turn off the heat source when the increase is negligible
- Recover the extracted oil through the tap located in the lower part of the burette and clean the distiller.
Storing essential oils:
The essential oil produced is very delicate, it is very important to store it in dark glass bottles away from direct light and heat sources, to avoid it from altering, losing its natural scent and thus avoiding the development of substances that can be harmful.
The products of distillation:
- pure essential oil
- aromatic water
Freshly extracted pure essential oil does not always have a pleasant scent as it needs a resting time, equal to a few weeks, to mature.
Aromatic water, on the other hand, is not a waste as one might think, but rather the second product that we can obtain through distillation which we can make extensive use of, excellent in the iron, useful as a tonic for cleansing the face and last but not least for watering your plants as it is enhanced with an important antiseptic power.
