Extraction of the Essential Oils from Citrus Peels by Steam Distillation

The extraction of the essential oils from the peels of Shatin pomelo,orange and lemon by steam distillation were studied.The effects of the factors on the oil yield were determined.The results showed that the optimum extracting time was 90 min.Proper smash of the peels could improve the oil yield but excessive smash of the peels led to the decrease of the oil yield.The yields of the essential oils from dried peels of Shatin pomelo,orange and lemon were 55.2%,19.5%,77.5% higher than those from the fresh peels respectively,while the quality of the essential oil was worse than that of the fresh peels.Besides,the addition of sodium chloride,sodium sulfate,calcium carbonate improved the yields of essential oils from Shatian pomelos and lemon peels,but had little effect on the oil yield from orange peels.