Extraction of citral oil from lemongrass (Cymbopogon Citratus) by steam-water distillation technique

Abstract

In Indonesia, production of citral oil from lemon grass (Cymbopogon Cytratus) is done by a traditional technique whereby a low yield results. To improve the yield, an appropriate extraction technology is required. In this research, a steam-water distillation technique was applied to extract the essential oil from the lemongrass. The effects of sample particle size and bed volume on yield and quality of citral oil produced were investigated. The drying and refining time of 2 hours were used as fixed variables. This research results that minimum citral oil yield of 0.53% was obtained on sample particle size of 3 cm and bed volume of 80%, whereas the maximum yield of 1.95% on sample particle size of 15 cm and bed volume of 40%. The lowest specific gravity of 0.80 and the highest specific gravity of 0.905 were obtained on sample particle size of 8 cm with bed volume of 80% and particle size of 12 cm with bed volume of 70%, respectively. The lowest refractive index of 1.480 and the highest refractive index of 1.495 were obtained on sample particle size of 8 cm with bed volume of 70% and sample particle size of 15 cm with bed volume of 40%, respectively. The solubility of the produced citral oil in alcohol was 70% in ratio of 1:1, and the citral oil concentration obtained was around 79%.