Before setting up a plant, it is wise and insightful to gather details regarding various methods and procedures for essential oil milling and extraction. The crisp information will give you the necessary support to chalk out a budget and a more concrete plant to operate the plant. Continue reading to know more on this matter.
Steam Distillation
It is one of the more conventional methods that have been employed by various production units, especially in old days. In essence, the procedure uses a unit that uses both hot and cold water to create steam. Steam is the main fuel in this procedure. The oilseeds or the plant material that is the main feed is treated with the steam. The oil that you obtained is collected in a container that is attached to the larger set up of the unit. The particular essential oil usually floats like a layer above the water, by the principle that oil is lighter than water.
Solvent extraction
Solvent extraction is arguably the most sophisticated method that you can employ in your oil mill machinery to extract essential oil from huge quantities of oilseeds without any technical hassle. You generally use solvents or chemicals such as hexane or ethanol in conducting this process. The oilseeds that are said to yield low volumes of essential oil are treated through this procedure. If you are using some sorts of plant materials as raw feeds then you can also extract valuable pigments through this process.
Co2 extraction
Another beneficial procedure that can be put to use in oil extraction machinery is Co2 extraction method that is done through advanced distillation. If you are aiming to collect and market higher quality essential oils, then you should have clear plans to use this procedure. It is quite different from traditional methods that use steam. In this case, you use Co2. When employed on plant materials, the extracted oil need lesser time for treatments.
Maceration method
The method often uses specific carrier oil as solvent. In this method, the carrier oil is thoroughly mixed with the oilseeds and then the treatment is initiated. It is a fairly simple process that is easy to conduct. After mixing the materials properly, you need to use the whole thing as the main feed to the machine. You should be careful about the load capacity of the machine while conducting the process. The essential oil that you obtain needs to be finely filtered and collected at the conclusive stages of the procedure.
Scarification method
It is yet another method that is employed by some production units to extract oil. Use of mechanical energy is used in a strategic manner for extracting essential oil from the oil sources. You need to be careful about the operating details and productivity information while overseeing this method.
Consult an expert for valuable details
It is a good idea to consult an expert and know about the productivity of various methods before you think of spending money for purchasing a machine for your plant.
