We already know the use of Eugenol and its chemical characteristics
This essential oil is extracted from the clove, it is important that the nail has a large head, so its content will be greater
These techniques are also used for other essential oils.
Steam entrainment distillation
Esential oils commonly have high boiling points and are insoluble in water, however, they can be separated from their natural source using the boiling point of water.
Steam entrainment distillation is a method where the material is in intimate contact with water, subjected to constant heating, generating steam that contains small drops of our essential oil.
Then this steam goes through a condenser and goes from steam to liquid and we have a mixture of water and oil, which at the time is separated by gravity.
You have to be patient, it is a slow process and its separation too
Hydrodistillation
This is a variant of the direct method of steam distillation, in which a trap is placed at the end of the coolant, which separates the oil from the condensed water, thereby improving and facilitating the isolation of the essential oil. Can also be mounted as a reflux, with a Clevenger trap to separate oils lighter or heavier than water
Soxhlet extraction
Solid-Liquid extraction is often used to extract a natural product from its natural source, such as a plant. A solvent is chosen that selectively dissolves the desired compound but leaves the unwanted insoluble solids in the natural source. The solvent will also be chosen depending on the use of the desired product, for Eugenol 96% ethyl alcohol is used.
It is a very delicate team, where the extraction was at 12 ° C and the equipment did not work properly, initially it broke (it was very dramatic). Then we had to wrap it so that it did not lose heat and could extract the oil
By applying these three methods the following yields are obtained:
| Hydrodistillation | Steam entrainment distillation | Soxhlet extraction |
|---|---|---|
| 9,36% | 37,50% | 36,40% |
Although hydro-distillation performed less, there are newer equipment with greater efficiency.
Imagine from 100g of cloves you get 37.50g of essential oil, of which only 80% is Eugenol which is what interests us, it would be 30g of Eugenol Very little! So its high value in the market.
I tell you, not only the cloves have Eugenol, but also star anise and the guayabitas have Eugenol, but to a lesser extent.
Now, the purpose of the oil extraction was to make an anesthetic: D to tell you soon!!