Distillation is a method of separation of substances based on differences in their volatilities.



Distillation is used in aromatherapy to capture the essential oils from garden flowers and herbs. Once you have extracted the essential oil from the parent plant you can use it in any form that you like.
There are essentially four different methods that you can use to distil aromatherapy oil from plants. They are Enfleurage, Water distillation, Steam distillation and a combination of both which is known as Water and Steam distillation. Water distillation is the most common method practiced by home users.



The other two methods are slightly more laborious and involve the use of highly specialized equipment, and are as such used more on a commercial level. 

Enfleurage: Historically this is probably the first method used to obtain the essential oils from plants. In this process, the flower petals are placed on fat in layers. The essential oils are transferred from the petals to the fat. Then the fat is be removed by solvents. The solvent is then removed by rectification and further processes re-dissolve the essential oils in alcohol.



This is a very laborious and time consuming way of obtaining the essential oil.

Water Distillation: This process involves the distillation of aromatic herbs and flowers over water to extract their essential aromatic oils. Prior to carrying out water distillation, the plant is finely powdered. The equipment used is relatively simple and low priced. However, the yield from water distillation is not as high as that from the other two.

Steam and Water Distillation: This method uses a combination of water and steam to liberate the essential oils contained within a plant’s aromatic sacs through heat and pressure and transforms them into a liquid essence.



The process is slightly more complicated than water distillation and the equipment used is a little costlier.

Steam Distillation: Steam distillation produces the maximum yield and is used for extraction of aromatic essential oils on a large-scale commercial basis.  The equipment used is expensive and suitable mainly for commercial purposes. As of now, steam distillation is the most popular commercial method for distillation of essential oils from plants.

Equipment: Now that we know about the various processes of distillation, let us look at some of the kinds of distillation equipment that are available. Distillation equipment is available in a variety of materials. The common ones are glass, aluminum, iron, stainless steel, and copper.



The vessel into which the raw material is placed is called the still.  The still body is designed depending on the type of distillation process that it is to be used for. It can be designed to hold water, to have steam pumped into it or have perforated plates upon which the materials sit, etc.

The sophistication of the equipment will depend on the type of distillation process that you will utilize, and on the scale on which you wish to carry out your operations. Keep in mind that equipment that is just right for home use, could prove to be ineffective, if used on a commercial basis, and so on. The simplest sort of distillation equipment for home use would consist of a boiling flask, a receiving beaker, a copper distillation tube and a condensing cover.



Ideally an alcohol based burner should be sued as a heat source. For commercial purposes you may want to utilize a commercial capacity steam distiller. These are large gas-fired distillers with built in automation and safety features.

Choose your equipment wisely so that you can get the best out of extracting your favorite essential oils from aromatic herbs and flowers.