Distillation of Mentha x

Piperita
By George Escobedo & Hannah Farmer
Purpose

 Isolating an essential oil from M. piperita through steam distillation.

 Analyzng the distillate through Gas-Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy
(GC/ MS).
 Familiarization of the distillation technique and terms associated
Introduction

 Distillation is an ancient scientific technique that has been used for

centuries to separate the different components of a mixture.
 The separation of two or more compounds by using the boiling points
and Rault’s Law. It states that the partial vapor pressure of each
component of an ideal mixture of liquids is equal to the vapor pressure
of the pure component multiplied by its mole fraction in the mixture.
 It begins as a liquid, evaporates into vapor, and then condensates back
into liquid form.
Materials

 Mentha x pipereta,
 a mortar and pestle,
 a separatory funnel,
 distillation apparatus
 Tert-butyl methyl ether (C5H12O) or MTBE and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4)
were used during the extraction process.
 A Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010 SE, equipped with autosampler and SH-Rxi-
5SilMS column (30m x 0.24mm ID x 0.25µm df).
Methods

 Methods for this experiment were adapted from Miller (2018).

 9.905g sample of ground M. pipereta leaves were added to a round-
bottomed flask which was then filled to the halfway point with distilled
water and allowed to soak for approximately ten minutes.
 The sample was then distilled via steam method.
 Organic materials from the distillate were extracted twice using 5mL of
MTBE and then dried using sodium sulfate.
 Two milliliters (2mL) of the organic substance were set aside for GC/MS
analyzation and the remainder was allowed to airdry for 48 hours.
 After the drying period, a mass was obtained for the sample.
Methods and Materials
Right:
Drying
Below:
Distillation
Apparatus

Above: Extraction
Left: George being a
Roman
Results
Molecular Diagrams

 Menthol

 Menthone

 Menthyl acetate

 Pulegone -
Results cont.
 Decanol - a ten-carbon fatty
alcohol naturally found in coconut
oil, and is often used as a flavor additive
 Eugenol - an allylbenzene
most often found in clove oil
and many other aromatic plant
extracts
Discussion
Theoretical according to United Actual
States National Library of
Medicine Yield of M. 0.12%
Yield of M. 0.1-1.0% pipereta
pipereta Menthol 36%
Menthol 29-48% Menthone 3%
Menthone 20-31% Menthyl acetate 8%
Menthyl acetate 3-10% Decanol 16%
Pulegone 1-11% Eugenol 17%
Pulegone 13%
Discussion (cont.)

 Reasons for error

 Next steps
References

Miller, C. 2018. CHEM 2423: Isolation of Essential Oils by Distillation.

Accessed October 16, 2018.
United States National Library of Medicine. TOXNET Toxicology Data
Network. Accessed November 13, 2018. Retrieved from
https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi- bin/sis/search2/r?
dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+@rel+8006-90-4