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Top 5 Important Parameters of CO2 Agarwood Oil Extraction Process

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Supercritical CO2 extraction equipment

Agarwood: In China’s coastal areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, there is a tree called the “White Wood Fragrant Tree”.
This kind of tree is scarred by fat blown-off branches by wind, lightning strikes, insects, and artificial cuts. This is called agarwood, so it is very rare and precious. Ancient Chinese monarchs used agarwood to make water, make tea, and make wine, which has a good health preservation effect.

Agarwood essential oil: Agarwood essential oil is refined from precious agarwood raw materials after supercritical extraction, which is the essence of agarwood. Agarwood essential oil has multiple effects and effects on the human body, such as: improving aura, relieving stress, sleeping and anti-depression, regulating the body and mind, and promoting body metabolism. Due to the non-renewability of natural agarwood, refined agarwood oil is even rarer and more precious.

Top 5 Important Parameters of CO2 Agarwood Oil Extraction

The optimum process conditions for supercritical CO2 extraction of agarwood essential oil are as follows: soaking time 83h, extraction pressure 28MPa, temperature 46℃, material-liquid ratio 1:1.2, extraction time 2h. Under this condition, the extraction rate of agarwood essential oil was 1.89%.

The CO2 extraction method of agarwood essential oil

Agarwood pretreatment The agarwood was crushed, passed through a 40-mesh sieve and soaked in distilled water at room temperature for 83 hours. Then, the agarwood powder is recovered by filtration and air-dried for supercritical CO2 extraction.
Agarwood essential oil extraction steps Accurately weigh 100g of dried agarwood powder, add the corresponding proportion of (1:1.2) entrainer-ethyl acetate, and fill it in the extraction kettle.
After filling, turn on the instrument, After each part of the system reaches the set conditions, the average CO2 flow is controlled to be 20L/h, the temperature of separation 1 and separation 2 are both 55 °C, and then the extraction is started according to the set extraction temperature, pressure, and other parameters.

Model configuration of four popular agarwood oil supercritical CO2 extraction equipment in the market

Agarwood essential oil molecular distillation equipment
Agarwood essential oil molecular distillation equipment

Supercritical CO2 extraction of agarwood essential oil is first-class and pure. The essential oil in the aroma of agarwood can be extracted under extremely high pressure. This method has high extraction efficiency and guarantees the quality of the essential oil. If high-temperature processes are used to extract essential oils, the effective ingredients of the original agarwood essential oils will be destroyed.

TypeSpecificationPressureCombined
48L24L*240Mpa2 extraction vessels & 2 separator
72L24L*340Mpa3 extraction vessels & 2 separator
120L30L*440Mpa4 extraction vessels & 2 separator
200L50L*440Mpa4 extraction vessels & 2 separator

Top six features of the CO2 extraction method

  • Supercritical CO2 extraction can be performed at close to room temperature (35-40°C) and under the envelope of CO2 gas, which effectively prevents the oxidation and escape of heat-sensitive substances. Therefore, the effective components of essential agarwood oil are kept in the extract, and the substances with a high boiling point, low volatility, and easy pyrolysis can be extracted at a temperature far below their boiling point;
  • Supercritical CO2 extraction is the cleanest extraction method. Since the whole process does not use organic solvents, there are no residual solvents in the extract, thus preventing the existence of harmful substances to the human body and pollution to the environment during the extraction process, ensuring 100% The naturalness of
  • Extraction and separation are combined into one. When the saturated dissolved CO2 fluid enters the separator, due to the pressure drop or temperature change, the CO2 and the extract quickly become two phases (gas-liquid separation) and separate immediately, not only extraction The efficiency is high and the energy consumption is low, which improves the production efficiency and reduces the cost;
  • CO2 is an inactive gas, no chemical reaction occurs during the extraction process, and it is a non-flammable gas, tasteless, odorless, non-toxic, and very safe;
  • CO2 gas is cheap, high in purity, easy to prepare, and can be reused in production, thereby effectively reducing costs;
  • Both pressure and temperature can be used to adjust the parameters of the extraction process. The purpose of extraction is achieved by changing the temperature and pressure. When the pressure is fixed, the material can also be separated by changing the temperature; on the contrary, the temperature is fixed, the extract is separated by reducing the pressure. Therefore, the process is simple and easy to master, and the extraction speed is fast.