Steam Distillation
The Column Still is the most suitable for steam distillation of aromatic plants for essential oil and or hydrosol.
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| My Lemon Verbena is ready for distillation of hydrosol. It takes 50kg of lemon verbena leaves to produce 150ml of Lemon Verbena essential oil, so I am happy to produce a litre of fragrant hydrosol. Its uplifting, refreshing, good for focus and a refreshing drink in the summer. Dilute 30 ml of hydrosol to a litre of water. | I place the pot on a camping element that has a gas canister to heat it. You could use the hot plate on a barbecue, inside on a gas or electric element, any heat source that will bring the water to a boil. |
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| The pot is filled 2/3 with boiling water | Place the pot on the element and close the column |
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| Place your plant material in the column. Make sure there is some room for the steam to spiral through | Put the plant material in the onion dome as well |
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| Now place the onion dome on top of the column | Attach the pipes to the condenser bucket |
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| I have arranged my still on different levels. The garden hose is trickling into the condenser bucket as cool running water must flow around the coil at all times to achieve a quality distillate. I have blocked off the bottom outlet tube on the condenser and attached a hose to the top outlet to drain the excess water away. The distillate soon starts tricking into my beaker and the whole garden is filled with the fragrance of Lemon Verbena! |
If you notice steam escaping the joins, make a putty like paste using rye flour and water.
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| Roll the rye paste into a sausage shape and seal the joins. | Although it bakes on, the hardened paste is easily removed and washed off when you are finished. |
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| I collect the first 25ml of distillate. The essential oil floats to the top and I can measure the yield. I use this as a guide to when to stop distilling. By taking another 25ml in 30 minutes, I can see if the amount of essential oil has diminished. This is just a guide, as even with no essential coming to the top the hydrosol is still aromatic. It is my own sense of smell that decides when I stop distilling. |
When I see little of no essential oil in my 25ml measure and I notice the hydrosol has a grassy note, I decide to stop. I could refill the column and change the water in the bowl and continue if I wanted more hydrosol.
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| I keep my hydrosol in sterile glass AG Jars. They are labelled with the date of distillation, name of the plant and ph. I use glass as I can see if any blooms or discoloration appears that may indicate yeasts and bacteria contamination. They are kept in a cool dark cupboard and I decant them into smaller coloured glass atomizer bottles for my own use. |
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