CONCLUSIONS
It might be worthwhile to review briefly the advantages
and disadvantages of the various methods of manufacturing natural flower oils.
1. Steam
Distillation of flowers
yields volatile oils for example oil of neroli bigarade, rose, ylang ylang. Not
all types of flowers, however, can be processed by hydrodistillation, because boiling
wr,ter and steam have a deteriorating influence upon the rather delicate odoriferous
constituents. The flowers of certain plants yield no oil at all when distilled,
and hence must be processed by methods other than distillation.
2. Enfleurage (extraction with cold fat). This method is carried
out only in France, where it is still practiced, but on a much smaller scale than
in former years. The method is restricted to those flowers (jasmine, tuberose, and
a few others) which, after picking, continue their plant physiological activities
in forming and emitting perfume. Enfleurage, in these cases, gives a much greater
yield of flower oil than other' methods. Despite this advantage, enfleurage has
lately been replaced by extraction with volatile solvents because enfleurage is
a very delicate and lengthy process, requiring much experience and labor.
3. Maceration (extraction with hot fat). This process used
to be applied to those flowers which gave a very small yield by distillation or
by enfleurage. Maceration, however, has lately been almost entirely superseded by
the modern process of extraction with volatile solvents.
4. Volatile
Solvent Process. Of general application,
this process is today applied to many types of flowers, and carried out in several
countries. It is technically the most advanced process, yielding concretes and alcohol
soluble absolutes, the odor of which truly represents the natural flower oil as
it occurs in the living flowers, or in the plants.
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