Journal of Food Engineering 90 (2009) 409413

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Journal of Food Engineering

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Research Note

A new process for extraction of essential oil from Citrus peels: Microwave
hydrodiffusion and gravity
Nabil Bousbia a,b, Maryline Abert Vian c, Mohamed A. Ferhat a, Brahim Y. Meklati a, Farid Chemat c,*
a

Centre de Recherche Scientique et Technique en Analyses Physico-Chimiques, CRAPC, Alger, Algeria

Institut National Agronomique, El Harrach, Alger, Algeria
c
UMR A 408, Scurit et Qualit des Produits dOrigine Vgtale, INRA, Universit dAvignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, 84000 Avignon, France
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 15 January 2008
Received in revised form 30 May 2008
Accepted 18 June 2008
Available online 3 July 2008
Keywords:
Microwave
Extraction
Hydro-diffusion
Essential oil
Citrus

a b s t r a c t
Attention is drawn to the development of a new and green alternative technique for the extraction of
essential oil from citrus peels. The process uses the hydro-diffusion phenomenon generated by microwaves to extract essential oil from the inside to the outside of the biological material and gravity to collect and separate them. The present apparatus permits fast and efcient extraction, reduces waste, avoids
water and solvent consumption, and allows substantial energy savings.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Citrus essential oils are the most widely used essential oils in
the world. They are obtained as by-products of the citrus processing. They are used as aroma avor in many food products, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, candy, gelatins, In
pharmaceutical industries they are employed as avoring agents
to mask unpleasant tastes of drugs. In perfumery and cosmetic,
they are used in many preparations. The traditional way to extract
essential oils is by cold pressing the citrus peels. The oil is present
in oil sacs or oil glands located at different depths in the peel and
the cuticles of the fruit. Peel and cuticle oils are removed mechanically by cold pressing and since cold pressing yields a watery
emulsion, this emulsion is then centrifuged to separate out the
essential oil. Distillation is also used in some countries as an economical way to recover the oils. During distillation, the Citrus peels
exposed to boiling water or steam, release their essential oils
through evaporation. As steam and essential oil vapours are
condensed, both are collected and separated in a vessel
traditionally called the Florentine ask (Guenther, 1948; Dugo
and Di Giacomo, 2002).
The development of new separation techniques for the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries has lately received a lot

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: farid.chemat@univ-avignon.fr (F. Chemat).
0260-8774/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2008.06.034

of attention due to the increasing energy prices and the drive to reduce CO2 emissions. These shortcomings have led to considering
the use of new techniques in the extraction of natural substances,
which typically use less solvent and energy, such as supercritical
uid extraction, ultrasound extraction, the controlled pressure
drop process, and sub-critical water extraction. Researchers in
many universities are working on novel techniques that could lead
to compact, safe, efcient, energy saving, and sustainable extraction processes (Luque de Castro et al., 1999; Pollien et al., 1998;
Reverchon, 1997; Vinatoru, 2001; Jimenez-Carmona et al., 1999;
Rezzoug et al., 2000; Ganzler et al., 1986; Lucchesi et al., 2004).
In this study, a new and original process for the extraction of natural substances using microwave hydro-diffusion and gravity
(MHG) was designed and developed (Fig. 1). This green extraction
process is an original combination of microwave heating and gravity working at atmospheric pressure. MHG was conceived for the
extraction of natural substances from different plant materials at
the laboratory and industrial scales. In this relatively simple method, the plant material is directly placed in a microwave reactor
without any added solvent or water. The internal heating of the
in situ water within the plant material distends the plant cells and
leads to rupture of the glands and cell receptacles. Heating under
microwaves thus frees molecules of interest together with in situ
water. This physical phenomenon, known as hydro-diffusion, allows the extract to diffuse outside the plant material and drop by
earth gravity out of the microwave reactor through the perforated
Pyrex disc. A heat exchanger outside the microwave oven cools

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N. Bousbia et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 90 (2009) 409413

The potential of the green MHG technique has been investigated for isolation of essential oil and compared with conventional
methods, hydro-distillation (HD) and cold pressing (CP), as the current technique and commercial situation call for research about
new extracts and new extraction techniques. We have applied
MHG, HD and CP techniques to extract essential oil from citrus
peels. Belonging to the Rutaceae family, their essential oils are located in lysigenous secretory reservoirs inside the avedo of the
fruit. Extraction yields and rates, essential oil compositions, and
energy consumption are compared.

2. Experimental
2.1. Plant material
In this study, citrus fruits were gathered from the same experimental plantation Institut Technique de lArboriculture Fruitire
(I.T.A.F.), located in the Mitidja region 40 km south of Algiers (Boufarik, Algeria). The citrus fruits are: Eureka (Citrus limon L.), Villa
Frana (Citrus limon L.), lime (Citrus aurantifolia (Chrism.) Swing),
Marsh Seedless (Citrus paradisi L.), Tarocco (Citrus sinensis L.),
Valencia late (Citrus sinensis L.), Washington Naval (Citrus sinensis
L.), Tengelo Seminole (Citrus paradisi Macf.). Citrus fruits were
peeled to separate the external part of the lemon (avedo), giving
a yield of 20% (w/w) of the peel with respect to the whole fruit.
Fresh plant material was employed in all extractions.
2.2. Extraction apparatus and procedures
Hydro-distillation with a Clevenger-type apparatus was used to
extract 500 g of fresh citrus peels with 3 l of water for 3 h (until no
more essential oil was obtained). For cold pressing, essential oil
was collected from 1 kg of whole lemon fruit using an automated
cold pressing machine from Schwaub. The epidermis and oil glands
were lacerated by a needle, creating areas of compression in the
peel, surrounded by areas of lower pressure, across which the oil
owed to the exterior. The oil is carried down to a decantation
vessel in a stream of water, the emulsion being collected and then
separated by centrifugation. Microwave extrcation has been performed in a Milestone microwave laboratory oven (Milestone
srl). In a typical procedure at atmospheric pressure, 500 g of fresh
citrus peels was heated using a xed microwave power 500 W for
15 min. The essential oil was collected, dried under anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored at 4 C until used. Extractions were performed at least three times, and the mean values were reported.
The extraction apparatus are illustrated in Fig. 1.
2.3. Gas chromatography and gas chromatographymass
spectrometry identication

Fig. 1. Extraction methods of essential oils from citrus fruits (MHG, HD, and CP).

the extract continuously. Crude juice or extract (in situ water and
metabolites) is collected and separated in receiving asks. It is
important to note that this green method allows extracting natural
substances without distillation or solvent extraction which are the
most energy- and solvent-consuming unit operations.

The essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GCMS) (HewlettPackard computerized system comprising a 6890 gas chromatograph coupled to a
5973A mass spectrometer) using two fused-silica-capillary columns with different stationary phases. The non-polar column
was HP5MSTM (30 m  0.25 mm  0.25 lm lm thickness) and
the polar one was a StabilwaxTM consisting of CarbowaxTM-PEG
(60 m  0.2 mm  0.25 mm lm thickness). GCMS spectra were
obtained using the following conditions: carrier gas He; ow rate
0.3 mL/min; split-less mode; injection volume 1 ll; injection temperature 250 C; the oven temperature programme was 60 C for
8 min increased at 2 C/min to 250 C and held at 250 C for
15 min; the ionisation mode used was electronic impact at 70 eV.
The relative percentage of the components was calculated from
GC-FID peak areas. Most constituents were tentatively identied

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N. Bousbia et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 90 (2009) 409413

by comparison of their GC Kovats retention indices (RI), determined with reference to an homologous series of C5C28 n-alkanes
and with those of authentic standards available in the authors laboratory. Identication was conrmed when possible by comparison of their mass spectral fragmentation patterns with those
stored in the MS database (National Institute of Standards and
Technology and Wiley libraries) and with mass spectra literature
data (de lEurope. Pharmacope Europenne, 1996; Adams, 1995;
Arctander, 1994; Recueil des normes franaises, 2000).

2.4. Sensory evaluation

The sensory evaluation of essential oils was conducted by 12

trained panelists who were graduate students and staff members
in the laboratory of the University of Avignon. Randomly coded
samples were individually served to panelists.
2.5. Statistical analysis
The statistical analyses were carried out using the Microsoft
Exel software package (Microsoft Corp.) and XLSTAT add-on
(addinsoft). Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was performed
with extraction methods (CP, HD and MHG) as dependent variable,
concentrations of a-pinene, limonene, b-myrcene, linalool, terpin4-ol, citronellal, neral, a-terpineol, E-caryophellene, n-nonanal as
explanatory variables.
3. Results and discussion
An appropriate microwave irradiation power is important to ensure the essential oil is extracted quickly. However, the power
should not be too high otherwise loss of volatile compounds would
result. Fig. 2 represents the total extraction time (it was until no
more essential oil was obtained) in relation with the microwave
irradiation power. A microwave irradiation power of 500 W for
500 g of plant material was chosen as an optimum and permits
in only 15 min to extract the essential oil completely.
As shown in Fig. 3, MHG is clearly quicker than conventional
HD, an extraction time of 15 min with MHG provides yields comparable to those obtained after 180 min by means of HD, which
is the one of the reference methods in essential oil extraction.
The overall yield of essential oil obtained from lime peels was
1.0 0.1% and 1.1 0.1% by MHG and HD, respectively. The yield
is expressed as g EO/g citrus fruit.
The essential oils of lime peels extracted either by MHG, HD or
CP are rather similar in their composition and contains the same
dominant components (Table 1). The same number of volatile sec-

Total extraction time (min)

45.00
40.00
35.00
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Microwave Power (W)

Fig. 2. Microwave power prole as a function of total extraction time with MHG.

Yield (% )

8
7
6
5
4
3

time (min.)

0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Fig. 3. Yield (g EO/g lime peel) prole of lime essential oil obtained by MHG (d) and
HD (s) as function of the extraction time.

ondary metabolites is found in the essential oil isolated by MHG,

HD or CP, with relatively similar percentages. Limonene, a monoterpene hydrocarbon, is the main abundant component in the
essential oil extracted from lime with equivalent relative amounts
for both extraction methods: 70.9%, 71.22% and 71.86%, respectively for MHG, HD and CP. Geranial, an oxygenated monoterpene,
is present at 1.37%, 0.85%, and 1.82%, respectively for MHG, HD and
CP. In this application, microwave irradiation highly accelerated
the extraction process, but without causing considerable changes
in the volatile oil composition, a phenomenon which was already
described (Pare and Belanger, 1997; Chen and Spiro, 1995).
The organoleptic properties of essential oils extracted by MHG,
HD and CP have been done according to sensory evaluation conducted by twelve trained panelists who were graduate students
and staff members in the laboratory of the University of Avignon.
Randomly coded samples were individually served to panelists.
For MHG and CP, the extracted essential oils have the same odour
of terpenes hydrocarbons with fresh, light, ora woody and sweet
citrusy odour. For HD, the essential oil has an odour of terpenes
hydrocarbons fresh, pungent but different from fresh fruit and with
a persistent boiled odour. MHG method offers the possibility for a
better reproduction of natural aroma of the fruit essential oil comparable to CP but more than the hydro-distilled essential oil. MHG
could be a good alternative for the isolation of essential oils from
citrus fruits.
This sensory evaluation has been conrmed by the statistical
analysis done on 8 varieties of citrus extracted by MHG, HD and
CP. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was measured on eight
different citrus fruits considering MHG, HD and CP in order to evaluate the inuence of each method on the variety. As shown on
Fig. 4 and Table 1, extraction procedures are presented on factorial
axis. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was performed with
extraction methods (CP, HD and MHG) as dependent variable,
concentrations of a-pinene, limonene, b-myrcene, linalool, terpin4-ol, citronellal, neral, a-terpineol, E-caryophellene, n-nonanal as
explanatory variables. This graph allows us to conrm that extraction procedures are discriminated on factorial axis obtained by
using initial explained variables. As a consequence, essential oils
extracted from various citrus fruits with MHG, HD and CP methods
can be easily discriminated, function of the nature of identied
products but also by their relative proportion. Actually, the 24
essential oils studied can be classied in 3 distinct subsections representing MHG, HD and CP procedure respectively. It could be easily seen that the MHG group is relatively closed to CP group and
different from the HD group. This statistical analysis conrms the
sensory analysis and that essential oil extracted by MHG has an
odour relatively comparable to CP essential oil.

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N. Bousbia et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 90 (2009) 409413

Table 1
Chemical compositions of essential oils obtained by SFME, HD, and CP extraction from citrus peels
No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Compoundsa

R.I.b

Monoterpenes
Pinene<Alpha->
Pinene<Beta->
Myrcene<Beta->
Carene<Delta-3->
Limonene
Terpinene<Gamma->
Oxygenated Monoterpenes
Linalool
Citron ellal
Terpin-4-ol
Terpineol<Alpha->
Nerol
Neral
Geraniol
Geranial
Sesquiterpenes
Elemene<Beta->
Caryophellene<E->
Bergamotene<Alpha-Trans->
Humulene<Alpha->
Farnesene<(E)-Beta->
Germacrene D
Valencene
Bisabolene<(Z)-Alpha->
Bisabolene(Beta-)
Oxygenated Sesquiterpenes
Elemol
Nerolidol<E->
Bisabolol<Alpha->
Nootkatone
Other oxygenated compounds
Nonanal<N->
Citronellyl Acetate
Neryl Acetate

R.I.c

926
974
988
1101
1030
1103

1023
1109
1165
1290
1206
1285

1125
1167
1191
1203
1237
1268
1271
1284

1538
1478
1590
1677
1781
1670
1828
1714

1373
1391
1437
1450
1453
1477
1488
1498
1508

1583
1594
1577
1657
1650
1696
1705
1761
1718

1540
1555
1684
1799

1381
2026
2212
2250

1126
1342
1351

1400
1645
1706

Extraction time (min)

Yield (%)
Toal oxygenated compunds (%)
Total non oxygenated compounds (%)

Eureka

Villa Frana

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27

Monoterpenes
Pinene<Alpha->
Pinene<Beta->
Myrcene<Beta->
Carene<Delta-3->
Limonene
Terpinene<Gamma->
Oxygenated Monoterpenes
Linalool
Citronellal
Terpin-4-ol
Terpineol<Alpha->
Nerol
Neral
Geraniol
Geranial
Sesquiterpenes
Elemene<Beta->
Caryophellene<E->
Bergamotene<Alpha-Trans->
Humulene<Alpha->
Farnesene<(E)-Beta->
Germacrene D
Valencene
Bisabolene<(Z)-Alpha->
Bisabolene(Beta-)
Oxygenated Sesquiterpenes
Elemol
Nerolidol<E->
Bisabolol<Alpha->
Nootkatone

CP

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

92.10
1.60
10.20
1.57
0.11
69.65
8.25
3.01
0.20
0.1
0.08
0.21
0.26
0.76
0.24
1.08
0.85

0.13
0.26
0.03
0.01

0.02
0.38
0.02

0.01

0.95
0.08
0.02
0.30

92.76
1.75
15.35
1.33
0.20
65.25
8.08
3.89
0.18
0.05
0.42
0.56
0.49
0.68
0.60
0.89
1.06

93.73
1.62
14.00
1.42
0.15
68.81
7.04
2.65
0.10
0.08
0.03
0.22

0.77

92.50
1.94
13.09
1.46

63.44
11.17
4.91
0.36
0.05
0.19
0.37
0.13
1.55
0.07
2.05
1.92

0.24
0.50
0.06
0.02

0.17
0.29
0.03

0.31
0.54
0.06
0.06

0.17
0.03

0.01
0.03
0.43
0.1

0.05
0.81
0.02

0.03

0.03

0.09

0.02

0.02

0.86
0.09
0.03
0.26

0.65
0.06
0.04
0.19

0.75
0.10
0.02
0.34

1.19

0.04
0.87

0.82

0.02
0.60

97.93
0.41

1.73

95.05
0.01
0.45
0.17
0.05
0.02
0.06

0.04
0.02
0.03
0.49
0.06
0.17

0.04

0.10
0.01
0.01

0.07
0.52
0.04
0.01
0.01

0.04

0.05
0.75
0.03

0.56
1.00
0.13
0.03
0.05

0.10
1.51
0.02

95.80
1.62
14.00
1.42

68.81
8.90
3.71
0.22
0.08
0.03
0.23
0.09
1.06
0.07
1.82
1.98

0.35
0.58
0.09
0.02

0.07
0.87
0.03

0.03

0.59

0.04
0.19

97.03
0.45

1.81

94.21
0.03
0.51
0.18
0.02
0.09
0.08

0.03
0.02
0.04
0.50
0.04
0.20

0.04
0.03
0.44
0.03

93.60
1.02
9.24
1.55
0.15
71.86
8.90
3.65
0.22
0.07
0.02
0.23
0.09
1.06
0.07
1.82
2.12

0.35
0.58
0.09
0.02

0.11
0.07
0.87
0.04

0.04

0.69
0.08
0.04
0.32

88.70
1.86
11.60
1.40

60.56
11.91
5.11
0.25
0.05
0.08
0.38
0.20
1.66
0.12
2.23
3.56

0.18
0.28
0.04
0.02

88.39
1.18
7.08
1.52
0.15
71.22
6.58
3.75
0.35
0.06
0.37
0.53
0.44
0.53
0.56
0.85
0.88

0.16
0.20
0.05
0.01

0.07
0.02
0.31
0.24

0.15

0.71
0.02
0.02
0.36

97.27
0.27

1.55

94.54
0.01
0.36
0.07
0.03
0.02
0.05

1.30
1.65

89.68
1.53
6.99
1.51
0.16
70.92
7.70
3.72
0.20
0.09
0.09
0.29
0.30
0.94
0.32
1.37
0.99

0.16
0.01
0.01

0.13
0.74
0.04
0.01
0.01

0.26
0.04
0.02

0.15
0.38

0.05
0.05

180
0.8
4.78
93.82

60
0.1
3.33
95.38

15
1.6
4.57
90.57

180
1.7
4.70
89.27

60
0.2
4.38
95.72

15
0.8
6.32
92.26

180
0.8
5.75
94.42

60
0.2
4.33
97.78

15
1.0
1.07
98.42

180
1.1
1.41
97.53

60
0.2
1.00
99.15

15
0.7
3.98
92.95

926
974
988
1101
1030
1103

1023
1109
1165
1290
1206
1285

1125
1167
1191
1203
1237
1268
1271
1284

1538
1478
1590
1677
1781
1670
1828
1714

1373
1391
1437
1450
1453
1477
1488
1498
1508

1583
1594
1577
1657
1650
1696
1705
1761
1718

1540
1555
1684
1799

1381
2026
2212
2250

Marsh Seedless

HD

Tarocco

1
2
3
4
5
6

Lime

MHG

Valencia late

Washington Naval

0.04
1.88
0.08
0.72

Tengelo Seminole

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

98.02
0.46

1.85
0.02
95.19
0.01
1.11
0.88
0.04

0.06

0.05

0.05
0.19

0.01

0.01
0.12

98.11
0.49

1.87
0.06
94.68
0.05
0.60
0.17
0.02
0.12
0.05
0.06
0.01

0.03
0.45
0.02
0.01

0.03
0.28

0.05

98.10
0.50

1.89
0.01
94.94
0.01
0.61
0.49
0.02

0.04

0.02

97.57
0.43

1.64
0.09
94.64
0.05
0.99
0.62
0.06
0.03
0.09

0.05

98.71
0.51

1.85
0.15
95.48
0.06
0.56
0.30
0.03
0.06
0.06

0.03

98.33
0.45

1.78
0.25
95.20

0.67
0.41
0.03
0.01
0.06

0.07

96.24
0.53

1.76
0.23
93.16

0.64
0.27
0.02
0.12
0.09

0.03

98.45
0.50

1.90
0.28
95.00

0.29
0.15
0.04

0.02

0.02

97.24
0.91
0.37
1.88

90.34
3.78
1.16
0.62
0.04
0.08
0.16

0.01

89.38
3.90
0.57
0.27
0.08
0.01
0.10

0.01

0.09
0.11
0.01
0.02

0.01

0.01
0.02

0.05
0.12
0.01
0.01

0.02

0.01
0.04

0.07
0.18
0.01
0.01

0.01
0.13

0.03
0.29
0.02
0.01

0.01
0.13

0.04
0.38
0.02
0.03

0.01
0.26

0.24
0.03
0.01

0.02
0.02
0.12

0.35
0.04
0.01

0.01
0.04
0.08
0.10

0.08
0.01

0.02%

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.02

0.01

97.48
0.52
0.36
1.83

90.25
3.65
0.81
0.29
0.08
0.05
0.18

0.01

0.23
0.01
0.01

0.01
0.01
0.01
0.15

0.02

0.01

97.80
0.83
0.38
1.79

0.03
0.26
0.01
0.02

0.01

0.02
0.12

98.55
0.52

1.89
0.20
95.06
0.01
0.64
0.34
0.05
0.02
0.05

0.06

0.09
0.13
0.02
0.01

0.03

0.01
0.02

0.07%

0.04

0.01

0.05
0.01

0.01

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N. Bousbia et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 90 (2009) 409413

Table 1 (continued)
Tarocco

Other oxygenated compounds

Nonanal<N->
Citronellyl Acetate
Neryl Acetate

28
29
30

1126
1342
1351

Extraction time (min.)

Yield (%)
Toal oxygenated compunds (%)
Total non oxygenated compounds (%)
a
b
c

Valencia late

Washington Naval

Tengelo Seminole

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

MHG

HD

CP

0.24
0.02

0.01

0.30
0.05

0.33
0.01

0.26
0.03

0.38
0.05

0.43
0.06

0.31
0.04

0.18
0.02

0.06

0.01
0.01

0.07

0.03

1400
1645
1706

0.23
0.06

0.01
0.03

0.01
0.01

180
1.3
0.89
98.36

60
0.3
0.91
97.68

60
0.2
1.09
98.51

15
0.9
1.12
96.53

15
1.2
0.89
98.04

180
1.3
1.26
97.59

60
0.3
0.65

98.21

15
1.2
1.34
98.56

15
1.0
1.40
98.83

180
1.1
0.84
98.68

180
1.0
0.98
98.83

60
0.2
0.49
97.71

Essential oil compounds sorted by chemical families and percentages calculated by GC-FID on non-polar HP5MSTM capillary column.
Retention indices calculated on non-polar HP5MSTM capillary column.
Retention indices calculated on polar CarbowaxTM-PEG capillary column.

4. Conclusion

Observations (axes F1 et F2 : 100.00 %)

3

This is the rst time that microwave heating has been used in
combination with earth gravity to devise a fast and efcient extraction technique. Both the re-design of the glassware and the application of microwaves afford a development of a method that serves
as an example of its usefulness. Microwave hydro-diffusion and
gravity (MHG) makes use of physical and chemical phenomena
that are fundamentally different from those applied in conventional solvent extraction and distillation techniques. Using this novel process, fully reproducible extractions can now be completed in
minutes without adding solvent or water. Its additional advantages
are simplied manipulation and work-up, a higher purity of the nal product, no need for a post-treatment of waste water and the
consumption of only a fraction of the energy normally required
by conventional food extraction methods.

F2 (12.47 %)

-1

-2

-3
-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

F1 (87.53 %)
Fig. 4. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) measured on eight different citrus
fruits considering extraction methods MHG (d), HD () and CP (D) as dependent
variable and concentrations of 10 volatile compounds as explanatory variables.

The reduced cost of extraction is clearly advantageous for the

proposed MHG method in terms of time and energy. The energy required to perform the two extraction methods are respectively
3 kW h for HD, and 0.2 kW h for MHG. The power consumption
has been determined with a Wattmeter at the microwave generator entrance and the electrical heater power supply. Regarding
environmental impact, the calculated quantity of carbon dioxide
rejected in the atmosphere is much higher with HD (2400 g) than
with MHG (160 g). These calculations have been made according to
literature considering that recovering 1 kW h from coal or fuel
combustion is associated with 800 g of CO2 being rejected in the
atmosphere (Bernard, 2001). MHG could also be used to produce
larger quantities of essential oils by using available microwave
extraction reactors. These microwave reactors are suitable for the
extraction of 10, 20 or 100 kg of fresh plant material at a time.
These reactors could be easily modied and used for MHG
extractions.

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