Essential oil still?

[blind drunk]

I don't, but I'd like to. I've seen one, though. This was a converted autoclave unit with a steam basket set inside, a worm and a Florentine flask to catch and separate all the goodness. It was all run by a steam generator. It was pretty cool.

[retlaw]

i have tried it out in my pot still, 150 liter pot,
made a stainless basket to sit in the top part of the pot,
and got my glass blower freind to custom make me an essencier,
worked great,

let me put it to you straight,
its a lot of work to get very little,
you need a large still even to get a little oil,

1oz of rose oil takes 40,000 pedals,
a rose typically contains 20 to 40 petals,
1,000 to 2,000 roses will be needed to produce 1oz,

this summer i picked a native swamp plant (sweet gale) with a sweet smell
and it took me an hour and a half to pick enough to fill the basket in my pot,
not counting the travel time to where i had to go pick it,

then about four hours to cook,
25 lbs of propane,
and i yeilded 8 ml of essencial oil,
and about three gallons of hydrosol,

so if you want hydrosol you have a bigger return,
but oil takes large amounts of raw product,

[myles]

Its an interesting idea that I too have thought about. I came to the conclusion that the best option would be to use your existing still purely as a steam generator and build a new steam injected still for the oil extraction. Just trat it like a thumper. I have heard that it can take some time to get the residual oil off the inside of the still. Would you like rosemary scented whisky for example? Might be best to keep the two uses seperate.

[retlaw]

you have to have an essencier to seperate the oil from hydrosol,
i had one made after this design,

[Bushman]

These people sell everything to make essential oils including stills, so they might be able to help!
http://www.essentialoil.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Bushman]

you have to have an essencier to seperate the oil from hydrosol,
i had one made after this design,

essencier.jpg

This is essentially a buchnell funnel, I am close to having a homemade one done from a small stainless steel sink from a boat that I will post in one of my strands that I mentioned my design briefly. Currently waiting for a 4" cork to arrive that I ordered to finish the job. What you are trying to do is separate the solids and the liquids through a vacuum system so you also need some type of vacuum pump.

[retlaw]

this is the one i had made for me from a local glass blower,
it was his first one, just gave him some pictures and drawings and you can see the rest,
had to force him to take some money for it,

the left hand side is the hydrosol over flow that i can control the height run off with simply by
lifting the arm up or down, it has a "O" ring on it to seal the glass shafts,
and i can do the same with the intake shaft,
the right hand off pour is where the oil gets drained off,
i just let the oil build up in the main body and raise the hydrosol off flow when i want to collect the oil,
works great,
you can put one together using lab glass that would cost huge bucks or get one made for next to nothing,

any good glass blower that can blow a half ass bong should be able to make one for you,

if i make another one i would make the base of thicker glass for more lower weight,
a little tipsy with nothing in it,

[midlife_rebel]

I have done alot of essential oil extraction using butane in a closed recovery system.

butane is pushed through dried plant material into a collection container below.
recovery pump is then activated which boils off the butane as a vapour and returned to the pressurized holding tank.

system cost around 800.00 to build but sure does make a clean fragrant oils. The key is to have no water present at all in your plant material.

I have done lavender (perfume)
vanilla
rosemary
actually quite alot of flowers as well.

butane is how alot of manufacturers make essential oils for the perfume industry

[midlife_rebel]

I can get one in a week or so...wife went to visit her mom overseas and took the camera with her.

If you don't see a pic in around 10 days...pm me to remind me again.

[Risky Business]

I've been thinking of building an stainless essencier based on the design on this page: http://www.susanbelsinger.com/grecianbaylaurel.htmlBut I do like the idea of being able to see the oils through the glass. I can't believe the prices of the ones on websites. One of the regular still builders on this site sould offer a simple version on their websites, for those of us with neither welding skills nor nearby glass blowers.

[Risky Business]

I contacted a nearby glass blower who makes "tubes", which look an awful lot like something you might find stashed in a VW van... Based on the photo above, she quoted me $150. I think I'll pass on the glass and try to make something from copper, myself.

[DFSschmickl]

To build your own still is no problem, even with kitchen stuff you can get a good result. A laboratory flask is not a good idea because the flask is too narrow, parts of the steam will condense on the inside wall, resulting in losses of quality and amount. Distilling about 500 g lavender you get 20 ml essential oil. The best book for distilling essential oils at home: The Essential Oil Maker's Handbook, Spikehorn Press.

[rad14701]

To build your own still is no problem, even with kitchen stuff you can get a good result. A laboratory flask is not a good idea because the flask is too narrow, parts of the steam will condense on the inside wall, resulting in losses of quality and amount. Distilling about 500 g lavender you get 20 ml essential oil. The best book for distilling essential oils at home: The Essential Oil Maker's Handbook, Spikehorn Press.

A lab flask is not acceptable because most folks don't have an official laboratory and aren't trained in laboratory protocols, making glass an unacceptable material for major still parts... We've had this discussion many times, whether you've stumbled across any of them or not... With a current post count of 2, I'm doubtful... But you are correct in stating that even kitchen equipment can be used effectively in its place...

Heck, we've got members that can barely keep a hydrometer or alcometer alive for more that a couple uses... Poor eyesight, hands like catchers mits, a little Etoh onboard, a slightly cluttered work area, and whatever else, and things go sideways in a hurry... Lets leave labware where it belongs - in a laboratory...

[DFSschmickl]

I know, my English is not the best, I’m from Austria, Europe. I wrote a laboratory flask is NOT a good idea. We are two chemical engineers, in our capacity as research assistants at university we used to work with laboratory equipment for years. One reason, why glass items are not useful for essential oils is what you told. Further a flask is not good because its neck is too narrow, parts of the steam will condense on the inside wall, resulting in losses of oil quality (certain compounds are missing) and amount. We had cases where no essential oil came out at all, just because of the wrong still-shape.

It’s true, I’m new here in this forum, but we are distilling alcohol since about 20 years, essential oils since 15 years. Regarding essential oils and hydrosols we focused our research on the development of a device to get the maximum amount of essential oil via water steam distillation. Besides several other factors, like reduction ratio and treatment of the plant material, is the still shape critical, especially when using small amounts of material. For optimum results we developed a special copper still and published a book with detailed practical instructions, which are recommended in all German spoken countries by many professionals, like holistic aromatherapists or seminar hosters in the field of processing herbs, because of the still’s outstanding oil-yields and because it is extremely easy to operate. This book is also available in English, see above.

By the way, we did similar research to increase taste and flavor in fruit brandies and herb- resp. spice-spirits. The corresponding book is the best-selling schnapps-book in German spoken countries, now also available in English.

[Massassi]

hey rock chucker... how did all of this work out for you? did you end up building an essencier? how well does it work?

i'd like to get into the essential oils for my Mrs as well - but there isn't much here for info...

[DFSschmickl]

The shape of an essencier is much like a watering can. A vase with an opening just above the bottom, a hose or tube is vertically aligned to the opening, the top of the tube is bent like an U. The highest point of the U-shape should be a bit lower than the height of the vase. This point is the filling-level of the essencier; if filling the essencier completely, the tube will be filled too. Surplus of liquid will flow out of the U-shaped end of the tube.

According to our experience it doesn't make sense to use an essencier to separate essential oil from hydrosol, unless you're working in an industrial scale. Too much losses in essential oil. Much better to use bottles with a comparative high bottleneck and to separate the oil from the hydrosol with a syringe out of the bottle. The bottle should have the right proportion to still's size, not too large or too small to avoid losses in essential oil. The flask should narrow toward the top, an angle before the bottleneck will hinder oil drops to move upward.

All this and much more is described and illustrated in detail in our book, which we have stated already above. There you will find also a photo of a proper flask to collect hydrosol and essential oils, easily found in every supermarket (disposable bottles with drinkable content).

[Bushman]

I am currently following up on this as I got an Essential oil book for Christmas and I told my wife I would do something in this area. I am currently looking for something around 5 gallons for the boiler. Looks like the different methods are Steam distillation, Fractional distillation, Co-distillation and a lesser method Cold pressing. Still in the research stage!

[Bushman]

People that are here thinking about a smaller still for essential oils, how do you see yourself using the product?
1. Smell them
2. Apply them
3. Eat them

[DFSschmickl]

To produce essential oils by yourself you should try steam distillation. Fractional distillation makes only sense if you want to separate specific compounds out of an existing essential oil, this method does not extract the oil from plant material directly. Co-distillation works with two different plant materials: the one with rich oil yield helps the other (with low yield) to extract its essential oil better, so the result is a higher oil yield of the material with low yield. Resulting in a mixture of both oil types of course. This method is just for specific applications, I would beginn with an "easy" steam distillation. Cold pressing only works with peels of citrus fruits.
>> 5 gallons boiler: for highest oil yield the volume-ratio of plant material vs. water is about 3 to 1. So if using 3 gallons minced plant material, about one gallon of water is sufficient. More water: more oil will dissolve in the water, lesser water will result in lesser oil because the water will be used up before all the oil has been extracted. Another advantage of this ratio: the hydrsol (floral water) is the most intense. For best results don't boil the plant material in the water, use a steamer basket instead.
See the book mentioned above for more detailed Information. We also offer oil-stills with highest essential oil yield according to marker surveys, but stating the HTML-link here would be brute advertising.

[Bushman]

To produce essential oils by yourself you should try steam distillation. Fractional distillation makes only sense if you want to separate specific compounds out of an existing essential oil, this method does not extract the oil from plant material directly. Co-distillation works with two different plant materials: the one with rich oil yield helps the other (with low yield) to extract its essential oil better, so the result is a higher oil yield of the material with low yield. Resulting in a mixture of both oil types of course. This method is just for specific applications, I would beginn with an "easy" steam distillation. Cold pressing only works with peels of citrus fruits.
>> 5 gallons boiler: for highest oil yield the volume-ratio of plant material vs. water is about 3 to 1. So if using 3 gallons minced plant material, about one gallon of water is sufficient. More water: more oil will dissolve in the water, lesser water will result in lesser oil because the water will be used up before all the oil has been extracted. Another advantage of this ratio: the hydrsol (floral water) is the most intense. For best results don't boil the plant material in the water, use a steamer basket instead.
See the book mentioned above for more detailed Information. We also offer oil-stills with highest essential oil yield according to marker surveys, but stating the HTML-link here would be brute advertising.

Thanks I read that info yesterday, I got the book for Christmas. I was just wondering, any of the members making the oil, how they are using the product.

[DFSschmickl]

People that are here thinking about a smaller still for essential oils, how do you see yourself using the product?
1. Smell them
2. Apply them
3. Eat them

All three of them: A (proper designed) oil-still with a filling volume of about one gallon plant material and a half gallon of water below the material results in 0.5 to approx. 20 milliliters of essential oil and about 500 milliliters intense hydrosol, depending on the used type of plant. Lavender, fennel seeds, laurel leaves etc. have good oil yields, whereas roses, camomile or bee balm have low yields. By the way: one distillation takes about 40 minutes. A perfect method to utilize and concentrate the herbs of your garden...
So usually you'll get enough oil to use it like oils you would purchase otherwise.

[Bushman]

All three of them: A (proper designed) oil-still with a filling volume of about one gallon plant material and a half gallon of water below the material results in 0.5 to approx. 20 milliliters of essential oil and about 500 milliliters intense hydrosol, depending on the used type of plant. Lavender, fennel seeds, laurel leaves etc. have good oil yields, whereas roses, camomile or bee balm have low yields. By the way: one distillation takes about 40 minutes. A perfect method to utilize and concentrate the herbs of your garden...
So usually you'll get enough oil to use it like oils you would purchase otherwise.

Thanks, have to take my wife to the doctor today so will be reading up a bit more in the book. I am also hoping to figure out what to plant in the garden this spring.

[Massassi]

According to our experience it doesn't make sense to use an essencier to separate essential oil from hydrosol, unless you're working in an industrial scale. Too much losses in essential oil. Much better to use bottles with a comparative high bottleneck and to separate the oil from the hydrosol with a syringe out of the bottle. The bottle should have the right proportion to still's size, not too large or too small to avoid losses in essential oil. The flask should narrow toward the top, an angle before the bottleneck will hinder oil drops to move upward.

at what size would you say is "industrial" scale for essential oils? i'm looking at a 55L botanicals basket over a 65L(?) boiler

i was thinking i would go with a 1.5 - 2L essencier

i might have to get my Mrs to buy me that book too. there is a lot of wild fennel and lavendar around where i live so i'd like to get those both in this thing when the time comes...

[midwest shinner]

God, I've told the wifey to let me build her a small set up so I don't have to spend as much $$ on oils for her diffuser/ humidifier(which I will admit I do benefit from, especially during cold/congestion season)for her to run on the stove top/ counter. Plus it has the added benefit of teaching her more hands on bout stillin. Hopefully with a x-country move coming up in the early summer I can have a new workspace and get this extra project done for her. But I see the need for one of these and will check out my best + cheapest options for one in the semi near future. Mine will obviously be set up for smaller batches than y'alls but I hope alls worked out well with yours

[Massassi]

in the limited research i've done so far it suggests that copper is not good for EO. this conflicts with the construction materials of most comercially available EO stills. Midwest shiner you might want to look at a SS build just to be safe?

[DFSschmickl]

at what size would you say is "industrial" scale for essential oils? i'm looking at a 55L botanicals basket over a 65L(?) boiler
i was thinking i would go with a 1.5 - 2L essencier

On third of water is more than enough, too much water will reduce the oil yield. So a boiler volume of 20 liters would be the right size for 55 liters of plant material. Take a smaller essencier. With 55 liters of lavender you can't expect more than 350 ml of essential oil. Whereby lavender blossoms have a large oil yield, the yield of other plants is generally smaller.

[DFSschmickl]

in the limited research i've done so far it suggests that copper is not good for EO. this conflicts with the construction materials of most comercially available EO stills. Midwest shiner you might want to look at a SS build just to be safe?

Copper is no problem for essential oils, they are not acidic (enough). On the surface of copper the layer patina (copper oxide) will form, this layer is durable and not reactive. For this reason it doesn't make sense to clean a copper still with acidic detergents to wash off the patina.

[Massassi]

+1 thanks for the info DFS

I was originally worried I wouldn't have enough volume.