Production

Steam Distillation

It is used for the production of essential oils, which are highly concentrated oils obtained from natural raw materials such as flowers, bulbs, seeds, herbs, and leaves. They have the odor and characteristic properties of the plant. Steam distillation is permeating the plant raw material with steam. As the plant tissues break down, the essential oil and water vapor are released, collected, and cooled down. The volatile essential oil condenses, separates, and is easily isolated. Examples of oils produced through this method are: Geranium oil, Marjoram oil, and Basil oil.

Water Distillation

Another method for manufacturing essential oils is water distillation where the plant raw material is completely immersed in water for few hours for fermentation. Then this mixture is steam distilled, the essential oil and water vapor are released, collected, and cooled down. The volatile essential oil condenses, separates, and is easily isolated. An example for oils produced by this method is Garlic oil, Onion oil, and Leek oil.

Cold Pressing

Another method that we do for extracting pure and natural oils is cold pressing. The oil is extracted mechanically without any heat or chemicals at room temperature. The acid value is relatively low, so oils are produced through precipitation and filtration. Then the oil is left to settle down naturally and the sediments are separated from it. Examples of oils produced through this method are Black Cumin Seed oil and Sesame oil.

Solvent Extraction

Solvent extraction is used when the odorous properties of delicate flower and plant material will be altered or destroyed by steam or water distillation, or when a plant like Jasmine, contains very little oil which makes steam/water distillation impractical. This method produces concretes which are then refined into an Absolute. To produce concrete, the plant material is gradually saturated with a hydrocarbon solvent as “Hexane”. The solvent dissolves the plants constituents including essential oils, fatty acids, and waxes. After the solvent is distilled off, the remaining constituents make up the concrete. Then, absolutes are produced through extraction from concrete using alcohol. Examples of concretes and absolutes produced through this method are Violet concrete & absolute and Jasmine concrete & absolute.

Natural Isolates

Natural isolates are isolated parts of natural essential oils which are specifically taken out because of their scent notes and aromatic qualities. They are produced from essential oils by fractional distillation where the liquid is separated into fractions using different boiling points. The difference between natural isolates and essential oils is that essential oils have the entire scent complex compound while natural isolates have a single scent molecule. Examples of natural isolates produced through this method are Dimethyl Anthranilate and Rhodinol.

Hydrosols

They are also known as distillate water, flower water, or hydrolates. Hydrosols are the aromatic water that remains after steam distillation of natural plants raw materials, they are the water-soluble constituents in plants that are not present in the essential oil. Each hydrosol has similar properties to its essential oil but they are much less concentrated with softer odor. Examples of oils produced through this method are Geranium hydrosol, Marjoram hydrosol, and Basil hydrosol