I.

Experiment Number: 1
II. Title of the Experiment: Steam Distillation of Essential Oils and Identification of Essential Oil
Components using GCMS
III. Objectives of the Experiment:
a. To determine the Essential Oil component in the plant material
b. To determine other components in the plant material
c. To determine the percent yield of the distillation
IV. Brief discussion about the experimental procedure
Before starting the experiment, the researchers discussed on what plant material they are
going to use for steam distillation process. In which, the researchers chose Sibucao (Caesalpinia
sappan) wood as their plant raw material. The bark was prepared by chopping it to smaller pieces
making the surface area bigger for the distillation to hasten. The material to be steam distillated was
then weighed. The plant material was then placed into the distilling flask along with the boiling chips
for liquids to boil smoothly. The distillation set-up was then prepared.
After gradually increasing the heat, the liquid solution started to boil. In addition, evident vapor
coming from the distilling flask was seen. The vapor then entered the condenser cooling it back to
liquid. The first drop was then obtained. Moreover, temperature and atmospheric pressure was then
recorded. As well as, for every 10 mL distillate collected the temperature was recorded. The
researchers collected a total of forty (40) mL of distillate. The distillate had no obvious indication of the
presence of essential oil thus extraction was necessary. The essential oil in the distillate was extracted
through the absorption coming from its contact with dichloromethane. The essential oil is placed in a
separatory funnel along with ten (10) mL of dichloromethane. After shaking for a bit, it was settled for
five (5) minutes. The bottom layer, which contains the oil along with the dichloromethane, was then
extracted then placed in a 50mL Erlenmeyer flask. The extraction was repeated thrice to ensure an
efficient removal of oil from the distillate. The collected solution was then heated to evaporate the
unnecessary compounds. The essential oil left was then added with ten (10) mL of hexane to prepare it
for the GCMS.
After analyzing the oil through GCMS, a chromatograph depicting the components present in
the plant material which was then produced. Several peaks were observed. Each represents individual
compound separated from its mixture and its intensity. The peaks were analyzed and compared to the
library of compounds already available. Lastly, the compounds present were then analyzed and
identified.
V. Outline of the Procedure, schematic diagrams of set-up
Preparation for steam distillation

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ldiqroupidfablesgitnhsentoiboeivl ry 10mL
sthibuusceaxotrdaiscttiloanteisirseaqtuairiended
10mL distillate
Solvent extraction of essential oil

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h e x a n e fo r
GCMS

Sample of

VI. Tabulated Results

Wt. of 250mL beaker
Wt. of beaker w/ sibucao
wood
Wt. of sibucao wood
used

110.99g
150.09g
39.10g

1st batch
Barometric
pressure
Drop
1st
2nd
Last drop

29.59 inHg

T (C)
94.5
95.2
95.1

Vol. (mL)
0.3
0.8
10

2nd batch
Barometric
pressure

29.74 inHg

Drop
1st
2nd
Last drop

T (C)
94.3
94.4
94.6

Vol. (mL)
0.3
0.9
10

Drop
1st
2nd
Last drop

T (C)
94.8
94.8
94.9

Vol. (mL)
0.5
0.6
10

Wt. of 50 mL beaker
Wt. of beaker after
steam bath
Wt. of essential oil
obtained

GCMS Results

30.18g
30.42g
0.24g

VII. Calculations
a.) % Yield of Extract

yield=

yield=

mass of extract
mass of plant material

0.24 g
x 100
39.1 g

yield=0.61
b.) Molar Mass of Extract

p H 0 M H O mH O
=
p org M org
morg
2

pH2O @ 95C
barometric pressure
porg @ 95C
mH2O
morg
MH2O

= 634.00 Torr
= 29.59 in Hg
= 751.62 Torr
= 117.62 Torr
=242.5g
= 39.1 g
= 18g/mol

org
M

(117.62 Torr)
18 g
(634.00 Torr)(
)
mol

M org=15.64 g /mol

VIII. Discussion of Experimental Results

The researchers were able to identify the compounds present in the extract after the steam
distillation of chopped Sibucao wood. Unfortunately, there is no presences of an essential oil in the
extract. However, there were traces of some distinctive compounds in the extract. The following major
compounds were identified: a.)2,4-Diphenyl-4-2(E)-pentene, b.) 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, c.) 1HIndene, d.) Caryophyllene oxide, e.) Andrographolide, f.) Phenol 2,4-bis(1,-dimethylethyl), g.) Propanoic
acid, h.) Heneicosane. Phthalic acid is the common name for 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid,
an aromatic dicarboxylic acid with formula C6H4(CO2H)2. It is an important industrial chemical,
especially
for
the
large-scale
production
of
plasticizers
for
plastics.
Indene
is
a flammable polycyclic hydrocarbon. The principal industrial use of indene is in the production of
indene/coumarone thermoplastic resins. Caryophyllene is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that is a
constituent of many essential oils. Andrographolide is a labdanediterpenoid which has a broad range of
therapeutic applications including anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet aggregation activities and
potential antineoplastic properties. The other name for Phenol 2,4-bis(1,-dimethylethyl) is 2,4-di-tertbutylphenol which has a chemical formula of C 14H22O. It is a chemical intermediate which is exclusively
marketed to other professional chemical companies for the purpose of acting as an intermediate raw
material to be transformed into other chemical products. Propionic acid has a chemical formula
CH3CH2COOH. Most propionic acid produced is consumed as a preservative for both animal feed and
food for human consumption. It is also useful as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals,
especially polymers.
The % yield of extracted was too small maybe due to small amount of distillate collected. In a
small amount of time, the researchers had to allocate on the activities they were planning to perform.
In distillation, they had decided only to collect 40 mL distillate since they werent the only researchers
using the set-up. It is also worth mentioning that only 10 mL distillate was collected on the first day
thus on their second day they had to set up it again and wait for few minutes to boil the liquid.
The researchers cannot conclude that this experiment had gone unsuccessful for they werent
able to extract an essential oil. The experimenters were able to conduct a GCMS analysis and were
successful in identifying the compounds existing in the plant material they used. The experimenters

were only able to conclude and know, for the sake of science and research, that there is no essential oil
found in the bark of the Sibucao wood. The fault this experiment could have is the uncertainty whether
the Sibucao wood would have an essential oil.

IX. Conclusion
Based from the result shown by GCMS, the Sibucao (Caesalpinia sappan) wood had no
presence of any essential oils. Although, there were critical compounds found such as the following:
2,4-Diphenyl-4-2(E)-pentene, 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid,
1H-Indene, Caryophyllene oxide,
Andrographolide, Phenol 2,4-bis(1,-dimethylethyl), Propanoic acid and Heneicosane. On the other
hand, the % yield extracted was only 0.61% due to small amount of distillate collected.
X. Insights
The experimenters experienced hard time in preparing the Sibucao wood as it is quite difficult
to chop into finer pieces. But the experimenters were able to pull it off in the end. In the whole course
of the experiment, the experimenters enjoyed every development starting from the first drop of the
distillate down to the analysis of the extract. They all had expected and dreamed the best results for
this experiment.
All of the experimenters smile turned to vain as they know that there is no single trace off
essential oil in the Sibucao wood. The experimenters were truly disappointed as they started analyzing
the components of the extract. They were only able to identify few compounds. This, however, isnt
enough to bring down the experimenters as they realized that not every expectation in science would
come true. Even though the desired essential oil didnt came out, the experimenters are still satisfied
in their results as they know they did their best in every step in the experiment. The experimenters
hope that they would have a better result in the following experiments as they learned to research
more about what they are dealing with to come up an efficient result in every experiment they will
encounter in the future.
Knowing that not everything what we expect would happen is what the experimenters truly
learned in this experiment. With this learning, they are more matured to dwell the unexpected events
that may come in their life. As the experimenters dream and goal never ends, they do hope that they
are now more prepared than before.
XI. References

Atkins, P., & De Paula, J. (2010). Physical Chemistry. New York, NY 10010: Oxford University Press.
Sapan. (n.d.). Retrieved from StuartXchangeStuartXchange: http://stuartxchange.com/Sapan.html
Vapor Pressure of Water from 0 C to 100 C. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wired Chemist:
http://www.wiredchemist.com/chemistry/data/vapor-pressure
Water Density. (n.d.). Retrieved from USGS: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/density.html