This beautiful essential oil is distilled from the roots of Vetiver grass (vetiveria zizanoides). These roots can penetrate to a depth of...

The apparatus should be set up as outlined in Part 2 of this series, with a known weight of product for testing placed in the flask. If a...

Assembly Place the mantle on a secure site, close to power, water and drainage facilities. It is best to assemble this laboratory QC kit...

It is important to perform a QC check out any crop that you are going to distil for several reasons: Firstly, this analysis will give you...

For newcomers who have not steam-distilled crops to extract their essential oils before, this is the first part of a series giving some...

The column packing being discussed here is glass helices: they should be separated into single units rather than chains that have linked...

To make a bleed for a vacuum distillation you will require a 'Quickfit' or similar air-inlet tube fitted with a B19 cone with a 90° bend...

The Distillation With the apparatus set up as detailed, turn on the vacuum pump. When the correct vacuum has been achieved (usually the...

Typical Fractionation Still. For clarification purposes support framework and clamps have been omitted. Place flange flask in a suitable...

After draining the oil collected into a cylinder it’s time to remove any remaining water in the oil. Take a glass separator containing...

The main way to extract essential oils from plant materials is by steam distillation, whereby the steam volatilises the oil which then...