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Name: Rhett Adrian C.

Seduco Date Performed: 27 February & 02 March 2017

Date Submitted: 06 March 2017

EXPERIMENT 4
STEAM DISTILLATION

I. Summary of Results

Table 4.1. Measured Masses and Percent Recovered

Plant Used: Calamansi

Scientific Name: Citrofortunella microcarpa

Part of Plant Used: Rind

II. Discussion

Essential oils are highly volatile substances isolated by a physical process from an
odoriferous plant. They are mixtures of organic compounds that are dominated by the terpenes
and the terpenoids, oxygen containing derivatives of the terpenes. The pleasant odor that we
come across the fruits, flowers, stems, barks and roots of nearly all plants is actually due to the
presence of these essential oils.

The oils are formed in the green (chlorophyll-bearing) parts of the plant, and with plant
maturity are transported to other tissues, particularly to the flowering shoots. Essential oils are
found in the vegetable structures to which they give their characteristic odor and are intimately
connected with the vital processes that take place in plants. Essential oils are used in a wide
variety of consumer goods such as detergents, soaps, toilet products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals,
perfumes, confectionery food products, soft drinks, distilled alcoholic beverages (hard drinks)
and insecticides.
The isolation of essential oils is sometimes accomplished by steam distillation. In this
technique, compounds that are less volatile than water are co-distilled with water. This allows for
distillation at temperatures lower than necessary to distill the oil by itself. High temperatures will
often cause an organic compound to decompose. In this experiment, the essential oils from
calamansi rind are steam distilled.

Three different methods of steam distillation are practiced. In the oldest and simplest
method a vessel containing water and the chopped or crushed plant material is heated by a direct
flame, and the water vapor and volatile oil are recovered by a water-cooled condenser. This
original method is being replaced by a process in which the plant material is suspended on a grid
above the water level, and steam from a second vessel is introduced under the grid. The volatiles
are condensed and the oil is separated. In the third process, the vessel containing the plant
material on a grid is heated to prevent condensation of steam, so that dry distillation is attained.

Citrus fruits include oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruits, in addition to tangerines and
pomelos. Not only are the citrus fruits in this diverse group delicious and refreshing, they earn
their definition of an all-star food for their richness in compounds called flavonoids, which have
anticancer properties. The plants are characterized by winglike appendages on the leaf stalks,
white or purplish flowers, and fruit (classified scientifically as a kind of berry) with a spongy or
leathery rind and a juicy pulp divided in sections. The leaves, flowers, and rind of the fruit
abound in volatile oil and emit a sharp fragrance.

Attempting to distill these essential oils directly from the plant material is generally not
feasible. In general, most of the oils' constituents are high boiling and will decompose under the
high heat needed to bring them to a boil. Steam distillation is a much gentler method of
achieving the same end. In steam distillation, the distilling pot is infused with steam, which
carries the oils vapor into the distilling head and then into the condenser, where the oil and water
co-condense.

Steam distillation works because the water and the oil are immiscible. Hence, they boil
independent of each other. So, boiling occurs when the sum of the pure vapor pressures equals
the atmospheric pressure. Thus, a mixture of two immiscible liquids boils at a temperature lower
than the normal boiling point or either component of the mixture. Because vapor pressure of
water is greater than the vapor pressure of oil, the mixture will boil at a temperature slightly less
than the normal boiling point of water. This means the oil will vaporize under very mild
conditions. Steam distillation can allow distillation of organic materials at lower than normal
temperatures. This is especially useful when substances are prone to decomposing under higher
temperatures.

In steam distillation process, it is observed that the total vapor pressure in the distilling
flask had become higher since there was an addition of the waters vapor pressure. So this means
that the mixture doesnt have to apply more energy and pressure for it to fulfill the requirement
for vaporization. Thus, the mixture with oil vaporized at a lower temperature.

For instance, imagine that there is a mixture of immiscible liquids (both water-insoluble)
that is subjected to steam distillation. At 90C, the vapor pressure of pure water is 526 mmHg. If
the vapor pressure of compound A is 127 mmHg and that of B is 246 mmHg at 90C, the total
vapor pressure of the mixture at 90C is 899 mmHg since you are just going to add the vapor
pressure of water, and compounds A and B. This mixture will boil at a temperature below 90C.
The boiling is the point at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to that of the atm
pressure. Since the BP is directly proportional to pressure, and that the atm pressure(760 mmHg)
is less than the vapor pressure of the liquid (899 mmHg), the boiling point will be approximately
76.08 degrees Celsius. Doubling the amount of water used results to no noticeable effect of
temperature on the vapor pressure and boiling temperature.

In other words, steam distillation is a separation process used to purify or isolate


temperature sensitive materials, like natural aromatic compounds. Steam or water is added to the
distillation apparatus, lowering the boiling points of the compounds. The goal is to heat and
separate the components at temperatures below their decomposition point. Steam distillation is a
special type of distillation for temperature sensitive materials like natural aromatic compounds.
Even though it become obsolete by vacuum distillation, still, it remains important in certain
industrial sectors.

In this experiment, calamansi is used as the plant raw material for essential oil
production. Calamansi (Citrofortunella microcarpa) is a smooth and slightly spiny plant, growing
to a height of 3 to 5 meters. Leaflets are elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 4 to 8 centimeters long.
Petioles are very narrowly or scarcely winged, about 1 centimeter long. Flowers are axillary,
solitary, rarely in pairs, white, and short-stalked. Fruit is yellow when ripe, nearly spherical, 2 to
3.5 centimeters diameter, 6- to 7-celled, and thin-skinned. The skin or peel is green to yellowish
green or yellow, loosely adhering to the flesh. The flesh contains a few light orange seeds.

Calamansi (spelled kalamansi in native Tagalog orthography) is a small, very round citrus
fruit thats ubiquitous in the Philippines. The fruits are often used when the thin rind is still green
on the outside, and that is the color associated with it. In the Philippines, calamansi is often
combined with soy sauce, the mixture of which is used as a marinade or dipping sauce. Some
properties of calamansi are aromatic, antiseptic, antiphlogistic, carminative, deodorant, and
refrigerant. Studies have suggested that it has antimicrobial, antianxiety, antidepressant,
hepatoprotective, expectorant, antioxidant properties.

There are several essential oils that can be seen in calamansi. But of all its essential oils
limonene is well-known as it is mostly found in almost all citrus fruits. Limonene, C10H16, is a
colorless liquid hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic terpene. It takes its name from the lemon, as
the rind of the lemon, like other citrus fruits, contains considerable amounts of this compound,
which contributes to their odor.

III. Conclusion

At the end of the experiment, the recovered essential oil of calamansi is found to be
0.5937 g. The percent recovered essential oil is calculated by dividing the mass of recovered
essential oil (1.595 g) to the pre-weighed sample of calamansi rind (203.24 g) and multiplying
their quotient to 100. Thus, the essential oil recovered is 0.29%. It is expected that the outcome
of the mass of oil is very small because calamansi essential oil contained in the rind of calamansi
is only at around ____% depending on the variety of calamansi used. One factor is the maturity
of the fruit used and also the season the fruit was picked.

Steam distillation was quite convenient for laboratory purposes because the set-up is
quite simple and no hazardous solvents were used. In addition, in the extraction of the oil from
the distillate, it could be more productive if organic solvent was used to dissolve the oil and distil
it to remove the solvent but this requires more time and careful handling of solvents because
organic solvents are quite toxic. In addition, grinding of the peelings to a more refined state
would ease the oil extraction from the peelings.

IV. References

Steam Distillation Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_distillation

Steam Distillation Definition in Chemistry. Retrieved from


http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryglossary/g/Steam-Distillation-Definition.htm

Kalamansi / Citrus microcarpa / Chinese orange / Gan: Philippine Medicinal Herbs /


Alternative Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.stuartxchange.org/Kalamansi.html

Sublimation and Steam Distillation | Bryle Kristiann Camarote - Academia.edu. Retrieved from
http://www.academia.edu/12417198/Sublimation_and_Steam_Distillation

Calamansi or Kalamansi: Philippine Lime / Citrus. Retrieved from


Limonene Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limonene
http://tagaloglang.com/kalamansi/

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