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CO2 Essential Oil Extraction Equipment

Essential Oil Extractor

Over 30+ years expert in CO2 Oil Extractors. Free 100⁺ CO2 Essential Oil Extraction Process. CO2 Oil Extraction Machine for Sale.
The CO2 essential oil extraction process is very popular because CO2 essential oil extractor produces very clean essential oils without solvent residues that can be left behind, at the same time it can enhance the potency of essential oils and terpenes.

Essential oil CO2 extraction process

About BIT flowers (and other aromatic flowers such as roses, chrysanthemum, lavender) extraction technology, we have the world’s only unique technology, first use our drying equipment, extract flower water (such as roses water) from fresh flowers; The dry flower (and other dry aromatic flowers such as roses, chrysanthemum, lavender) will be the production of flower tea or extract essential oil or extract paste, the paste is used in cosmetics.

It should be noted that if there is no unique technical support: the drying process extracted the rose water, its storage period will be short, and there will be odor after ten days.
At the same time, BIT’s low-temperature drying technology will not lose the essential oil in the flowers. Of course, there will be some essential oils in rose water, which is necessary.

There are two steps in our flower extraction:
1: Extract the incense from the flowers
2: CO2 extracts essential oil or extract paste in dry flowers
Essential oils need to be separated from the extract (such as molecular distillation).

50L Supercritical CO₂ Essential Oil Extractor

The prototype of the 25L×2 supercritical CO2 extractor is HA220-40-48 supercritical CO2 essential oil extractor; P-25D has two 25L extraction kettles (extractor) with a maximum working pressure of 400bar, and two separation kettles (separator) with a capacity of 10L and a maximum working pressure of 200bar ;

supercritical co2 extraction of essential oil
co2 essential oil extraction equipment

Then why the supercritical CO2 extractor capacity of the past model is only 24L instead of 25L? Here is a small story. In past China’s pressure vessel regulations, for safety reasons, pressure vessels greater than or equal to 25L need to be tested by the government’s quality management department, and will cost some fees, so users only choose 24L for convenience. Therefore, China’s supercritical CO2 extraction machine used has these models: 24L×2, 24L×3, and 24L×4.

But now with the policy change, it has been changed to 25L×2, 25L×3, 25L×4. This can be regarded as a workaround between enterprise and government management.

In fact, the safety of pressure vessels is the most important anyway, and there is no room for sloppy;

BIT is one of the units that formulate China’s supercritical fluid equipment pressure vessel standards. BIT supercritical CO2 extraction equipment strictly follows the overall structure to many details at the beginning of the design.

Design in strict accordance with national standards and ASME standards, and strictly control all aspects of material procurement, production, assembly, testing, and acceptance to ensure safety.

EXTRACTORSEPARATOR
Volume25 L, 2 setsVolumeⅠ 15 L, Ⅱ 10L
Max Working Pressure450barMax. working pressure Ⅰ 180bar, Ⅱ 10L 160bar
CO2 HIGH PRESSURE PUMPCO-SOLVENT PUMP
Max. flowrate400 L/h Outlet pressure800 bars
Outlet pressure800 barsMax. flowrate1/4 – 20L L/h
CO2 STORAGE TANKPARAMETERS CONTROLLER/ DATALOGGING
Volume20 LParameters controlPLC / PC-based software with recipe for automation
Working pressure85 bar Screen/Datalogging7 inches/Included
OtherShipping
Power/CO23 phase/Food grade ≥99.5%HS code:8479200000
Installation5500x5000x4000mmAirport /Port of Lading:Shanghai  
Optional
Max Working Pressure500-900barBack pressure valvePneumatic control
Fractionating column300par 4-section gradient temperature control
co2 Essential Oil Extractor

This is a P-25D CO2 essential oil extractor equipped with a supercritical CO2 fractionation column.

This P-25DF is used in Thailand to extract capsaicin and chili oil, and it is suitable for the extraction of cannabis/hemp/hash oil because it can separate most of the useless substances in the fractionation process, such as wax, chlorophyll, etc., saving use cost.

The supercritical CO2 fractionation column is also called the supercritical CO2 rectification column in China. The configuration of this machine’s fractionation column is as follows:

Equipped with a water jacket circulating heating system, the temperature can be adjusted. Due to process requirements, a low-temperature coil is equipped in the water bath, and the control temperature is less than about 10 ℃ at room temperature.

Material 0Cr18Ni9

Specifications Φ60× 6× 3500 / 30MPa temperature control with four gradients

According to the process requirements, the user can choose the packing with relevant specifications. (With filler 5 × 5mm)

It can be used for supercritical fractionation extraction of cannabis/hemp hash oil, capsaicin, and garlic oil

Essential oil extraction process

Essential oils are extracted from the leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, roots, bark, resin, wood heart, and other parts of plants by steam distillation, cold pressing, liposuction, and solvent extraction. They have a high concentration of aroma and Volatile substances.

In addition to the essential oils that can be extracted from a certain part of the plant, some plants can extract essential oils in several parts. For example, bitter orange can extract essential oils from the buds, leaves, and fruits in three parts.

Not all plants can produce essential oils, only plants that contain balsam glands can produce essential oils. The distribution of balsam glands in different plants is different, some are on petals, leaves, rhizomes, or tree trunks.

Why is the CO2 extraction method?

CO2 Supercritical Extract is a bit thicker and more absolute because the CO2 extraction process is able to extract more of the heavier aromatic molecules, natural plant waxes and resins than can the process of steam distillation.

Aromatically, CO2 extract offers a beautiful, floral aroma that is more complete and more closely represents the natural fragrance of fresh flowers.

Terpenes

This is because the low-temperature CO2 extraction preserves the terpenes better in flowers.

Terpenes are aromatic oils that are found in a variety of organisms, including plants such as roses. More than 100 different terpenes have been found in some plants, and each different plant species has a unique terpene composition.

Terpenes are formed in the trichomes of plants and are responsible for making the plant’s aroma and taste. The development of terpenes within plants is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation to attract pollinators and repel predators.

However, this is not their only function, as scientists believe that terpenes can have a variety of physiological effects in humans. Since terpenes are hydrocarbons with variable structures, these effects are often related to their molecular “backbone”. The units in its molecular structure are acted upon by various enzymes, resulting in oxidation and increased function.

For this reason, it is not surprising that terpenes are the main constituents of essential oils. These aromatic oils are responsible for regeneration, oxidation, defense mechanisms, and immunity of plants. Furthermore, they have been extracted from plants by humans and used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years.

Essential oils contain many different ingredients. Some essential oils, such as rose, can be formed by combining more than 250 different molecules.

Various essential oils are composed of different organic compounds.

These compounds are soluble in alcohols, oils, emulsifiers, ethers, and chloroform. The aroma and therapeutic properties of each essential oil are related to the composition and concentration of the constituent essential oil molecules.

The ingredients mainly contain the following categories: alcohols, aldehydes, acids, phenols, esters, ketones, and terpenes.

Your sense of smell enables you to experience your surroundings in a powerful way. Essential oils are used to stimulate the sense of smell through aromatherapy. They can also be mixed with carrier oils and used directly on the skin or hair.

Distilled from the leaves, flowers, and seeds of plants, there are so many kinds of essential oils. To help you sift through the essential oil shelf, we rounded up a list of oils, along with specific recommendations.

Peppermint, Lavender, Tea tree, Bergamot, Chamomile, Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, Eucalyptus, Rose geranium, Patchouli

HOW TO EXTRACT ESSENTIAL OILS

Distillation

It is the most commonly used extraction method. Distillation technology and distillation method determine the quality of essential oils.
The distillation method is very convenient and does not require the use of chemical solvents, so the application is still very common now. Roses, lavender, rosemary, geranium, etc. mostly use this method.

Liposuction

An ancient method for extracting precious floral scents. The oil is used to absorb the aroma molecules, and then the “original essence” is extracted with alcohol. After the alcohol evaporates, the remaining aromatic essential oils are left behind.

Squeezing method (extrusion method)

By cutting, crushing, squeezing, and other methods, the plant water, and aromatic essential oils are separated from the raw materials to obtain a mixture of water and oil, and then centrifugation, filtration, and other methods are used to separate the oil and water to obtain the essential oil.

Solvent extraction

Refine flowers that are delicate and not suitable for high-temperature distillation extraction. Essential oils are generally labeled “absolute” on the market. Use alcohol, ether liquid butane, and other solvents to repeatedly pour on the plants, then separate the solvent containing essential oils, and then obtain essential oils by low-temperature distillation, which can replace liposuction. Such as cinnamon, benzoin, etc.;

Ultrasonic extraction

The latest extraction method is applied in countries with advanced technology. It uses high-intensity, high-energy ultrasonic waves to improve the defects of traditional solvent extraction methods, reduce heat loss caused by temperature, and extract more biologically active ingredients, so that the quality of essential oils is good, and the extraction efficiency is also high

Essential oil CO2 extraction process

The whole process is carried out at a low temperature, and the essential oil is dissolved from the plant under very high pressure, so the fragrance is not affected by heat.

The principle is: that the density of carbon dioxide under high pressure or low temperature is close to that of liquid while retaining some of the properties of ordinary gas. It is called “supercritical fluid”, which has the strong dissolving ability.

Due to the short extraction time, there will be no chemical reaction between the solvent and the flavor. In addition, due to the huge equipment and high cost, it is only used for precious essential oils, and the products are marked with CO2;

The supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method enables the extraction of essential oils at room temperature without using solvents harmful to the human body, and can better protect the natural activity of the product. It is a more advanced “green separation technology”.

co2 extraction of essential oils
  • Create supercritical CO2 fluid.
  • Alter pressure and temperature, depending on what’s being extracted and the goals of the extraction.
  • Pass the supercritical CO2 through an extractor containing the plant matter itself.
  • A solution forms as a combination of CO2 and essential oil, terpenes, and other plant-based compounds.
  • Pass the new solution through a separator to quickly and easily remove (and recycle!) the supercritical CO2 fluid.
  • Leave the new wax/oil extract out to allow any remaining CO2 to naturally evaporate.
Advantages and disadvantages of co2 extraction essential oils

Pros

  • Safety: CO2 is a common food additive and is used to produce things like carbonated soft drinks.
  • Effectiveness: CO2 has been used as an extraction solvent for years by food companies. It is used to remove caffeine from coffee and as an extraction solvent when producing essential oils.
  • Purity: The essential oil produced are potent and free of chlorophyll with minimal risk of contaminants.

Cons

  • Expensive: You can only complete the process with the aid of extremely expensive equipment.
  • Technical Ability: CO2 essential oil extraction is not something that should be attempted by an amateur chemist.

MOLECULAR DISTILLATION EXTRACTION

Molecular distillation technology uses the difference in the free path of molecular motion of different substances to realize the separation of substances so that it can realize operations far away from the boiling point. It has the characteristics of low distillation pressure, short heating time, and a high degree of separation, which can greatly reduce the separation of high boiling point materials. Cost, excellent protection of the quality of heat-sensitive materials.

Molecular distillation extraction technology has been widely used in the extraction of high-purity substances and is suitable for the extraction and separation of natural substances. For example, in the extraction of cannabis/hemp/hash oil and agarwood essential oil, molecular distillation extraction technology is used in the final process.

Traditional separation methods such as steam distillation, pressing and extraction have some shortcomings in the processing process. For example, natural active ingredients are easily destroyed, and organic solvents harmful to the human body may remain in the final product.