Frankincense Essential Oil Supercritical CO2 Extraction

It’s important to note that, because they are so concentrated, essential oils are extremely potent and should be handled with care, diluted before applying to skin.

Frankincense (Olibanum) trees grow in Northern African, mainly in Oman, Somalia, and Ethiopia. The resin of the tree is harvested by cutting into the wood and allowing the resin to seep out and harden. The hardened resin pieces are then steam distilled to yield the oil. These trees grow in a harsh environment, sometimes even protruding out of solid rock, and this quality of persistence can be brought into your life by using frankincense essential oil.

Frankincense essential oil is considered a base note and helps to bind other aromas together. Frankincense melds perfectly with cedar, amyris, sandalwood, vetiver, fir, pine, cypress, juniper, basil, rosemary, geranium, neroli, lavender, bergamot, cardamom, black pepper, and balsam peru. Combine frankincense and oils of your choosing with a carrier oil, like sweet almond or jojoba.

This oil moisturizes skin and works to visibly reduce fine lines. Be sure to add to a carrier oil, then press into damp skin. Not only do you get the skin benefits, but it offers aromatherapy advantages too. Add a few drops to your bath for a lovely scent that makes skin feel super soft.
Because this oil has been found to be calming to skin you may find products with frankincense essential oil to be helpful for stress breakouts or rashy, dry, irritated skin.

1. Low critical temperature, suitable for extraction and purification of heat sensitive compound.
2. Being capable to provide insert environment to avoid oxidation of products and affection of effective content of extracts.
3. Fast extraction speed, no toxicity, non-flammable, safe application and no pollution upon environment.

4. No residue of solvent, no nitrate and ions of heavy metal.

Difference between Steam Distillation & Supercritical CO2 Extraction

Essential oils derived from the supercritical CO2 extraction of herbs are similar to the oils produced through distillation in that they can be used in aromatherapy and natural perfumery.

Oils derived from steam distillation vary in their qualities depending on the temperatures, pressures, and length of time applied for the process. The CO2 extraction process might thus produce higher quality oils that have not been altered by the application of high heat, unlike the steam distillation process. In CO2 extraction, none of the constituents of the oil are damaged by heat.

Thus, the difference between traditional distillation and supercritical extraction is that instead of heated water or steam, CO2 is used as a solvent in the latter method. The supercritical extraction process operates at temperatures between 35℃ to 50℃, whereas steam distillation operates at temperatures between 60℃to 100℃.

In steam distillation, the molecular composition of both the plant matter and the essential oil are changed due to the temperature applied. On the other hand, a CO2 extract is closer in chemical composition to the original plant from which it is derived, as it contains a wider range of the plant’s constituents.

For example, CO2 Extraction of German Chamomile flowers yields a green extract, because the absence of heat means it was not altered from its natural state or “denatured.” The resulting extract is thus more similar in composition to the original flower than the distilled essential oils is.

CO2 extracts are usually thicker than their essential oil counterparts and often give off more of the aroma of the natural herb, spice, or plant than a distilled essential oil. CO2 extracts have been said to contain more plant constituents than the amount extracted from the same plant using steam distillation.

THE CO2 EXTRACTION PROCESS

·    Pressurized carbon dioxide becomes liquid while remaining in a gaseous state, which means it is now "supercritical." In this state, it is pumped into a chamber filled with plant matter.

·    Because of the liquid properties of the gas, the CO2 functions as a solvent on the natural plant matter, pulling the oils and other substances such as pigment and resin from the plant matter. The essential oil content then dissolves into the liquid CO2.

·    The CO2 is brought back to natural pressure and evaporates back into its gaseous state, while what is left is the resulting oil.

 

CO2 is colorless, odorless, and can be easily and completely removed by releasing the pressure in the extraction chamber. It is what we exhale and is needed by plants in order for them to thrive, which illustrates its harmlessness when employed in the extraction process. This absence of potentially harmful solvents in CO2 extraction means neither the human body nor the environment is polluted.