Steam Distillation Lab Report

Steam distillation is an ideal method when using two compounds that are immiscible (i.e., water & oil or Benzene & water). Benzene being the organic solvent that is non-polar and water the inorganic solvent that is polar, creates a dilemma since the two can-not be mixed together. When vaporizing something the vapor pressure must equal the applied pressure. This results in liquid turning to gas. If two immiscible compounds have the same vapor pressure then they will have the same boiling point. Another example would be water & naphthalene, in which water depresses naphthalene’s boiling point. When water boils it creates steam. This steam can be used to pick up particles. One can use steam distillation to pick up immiscible compounds. In our case, the solvent is water and the solutes are the cloves (potentially Eugenol oil). Eugenol oil can be used as an anesthetic. To release the contents of the cloves we can boil them. We can implement the Gaffney principle

The first step in extracting and analyzing the carvone from the spearmint oil was the column chromatography. The result of this was 1.88 grams of carvone product. The percent yield for this was 66.9% which indicates that a majority of the carvone was saved. This value is could have been decreased during the boiling off of the hexane. Some of the carvone product could have been evaporated if the water became too hot.

With a 9-inch pipet was used to add water through the condenser to keep the flask no more than half way full. Clove oil was extracted from the distillate in 1 mL increments every 5 to 10 minutes. The distillation and extraction process was approximately 37 minutes with 7 mL of distillate recovered. The product recovered was a light yellow liquid color with the same strong, sweet, cinnamon odor as the raw clove. 1 mL of dichloromethane solution was used to rinse the Hickman still and was then transferred to the centrifuge tube. Another 2 mL more of dichloromethane was added and shaken vigorously. Upon shaking the the mixture turned a cloudy white color with two layers resulting. The major component of clove oil was extracted with two more 3 mL portions of dichloromethane solution. The mixture was allowed to cool and left in the hood overnight to dry.

1. Derive a systematic name for the active component of clove oil, and use this to find its common name in The Merck Index or another reference book.

Simple distillation is a separation technique which can be used to separate and purify distillates from a liquid mixture which ideally contains one volatile and one non-volatile compound. If such ideal conditions are not possible—as is usually the case—then simple distillation can be applied as long as the liquid in question is composed of compounds that differ in volatility such that their boiling points differ by at least 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. Because

The purpose of this lab is to investigate the processes that can be used to separate two volatile liquids in a mixture based on their chemical properties. This is accomplished by fractional distillation, which separates chemicals in a mixture by differentiating them by their boiling points at atmospheric pressure. Specifically in this lab, fractional distillation is used to separate an unknown mixture into its respective pure components. The components are then identified using gas chromatography, which is also telling of the purity of the extracts and success of the procedure. The procedure of this experiment was specified in lecture by Dr. Fjetland and in Gibert and Martin’s student lab manual, Experimental Organic Chemistry: A Miniscale and Microscale Approach, 6th Edition.

3.) Combine the ground cloves with 50ml of water in the boiling flask then; steam distill the mixture to obtain the clove oil. Continue the distillation until a drop or two of the emerging distillate, collected on a watch glass, is odorless and water-clear; with no oily droplets. 150ml might need to be distilled before it becomes clear. Vent the steam line or raise the steam inlet tube above the liquid level in the boiling flask before you turn off the steam. Took about 20-30 minutes for emerging distillate to drop on watchglass and first few drops seemed clear. But we went ahead and placed a flask and started collected liquid because the process of distilling 150ml of fluid was taking quite some time. A sufficient amount of fluid was collected and checked by Professor.

Distillation is a method of separating two volatile chemicals on the basis of their differing boiling points. During this lab, students were given 30 mL of an unknown solution containing two colorless chemicals. Because the chemicals may have had a relatively close boiling point, we had to employ a fractional distillation over a simple distillation. By adding a fractionating column between the boiling flask and the condenser, we were able to separate the liquids more efficiently due to the fact that more volatile liquids tend to push towards the top of the fractionating column, thereby leaving the liquid with the lower boiling point towards the bottom. After obtaining the distillates, we utilized a gas chromatograph in order to analyze the volatile substances in the gas phase and determine their composition percentage of the initial solution. Overall, through this lab we were able to enhance our knowledge on the practical utilization of chemical theories, and thus also demonstrated technical fluency involving the equipment.

Plant extracts known as essential oils have been utilized for centuries by many cultures for therapeutic and medicinal purposes. Essential oils are extracted primarily through steam distillation or mechanical presses. The oils are then used through skin absorption, inhalation, or ingestion. The inhalation of essential oils is termed aromatherapy. Either a single essential oil or a combination of essential oils are inhaled through an inhaler, oils placed on an absorbent material, or in an essential oil diffuser. When inhaled, the olfactory system is triggered. The olfactory bulb sends messages to the limbic system which initiates a systemic physiologic response to the inhaled oil. When essential oils are inhaled, the respiratory system

There are several different methods administered in order to separate volatile compounds from each other in a mixture. For example, simple distillation is commonly used to separate a liquid and solid mixture, or a liquid and liquid mixture, as long as the difference between the each boiling point is greater than 40-50%. However, if the difference of the boiling point of the compounds is not at least 40-50% then fractional distillation is used. In this lab, fractional distillation is used to isolate an unknown liquid in order to determine its identity.

Clinical aromatherapy intension of application is includes inhalation and topical absorption of diluted essential oils from 3% to 5%. Safety precautions must be strictly observed as essential oils above 2% may have potential drug drug interaction and adverse skin reaction. Due to potential drug drug interaction with essential oils, Clinical Aromatherapy or interventions with essential oil should comply to safety standards as advised by a qualified aromatherapist. Oral ingestion is contra indicated unless prescribed by individuals with proper credentials and licensing.

There are numerous conditions that utilize aromatherapy treatments since it is widely applicable with patient’s psychological and physical healing. It has been noted that “the effects of aroma and touch can occur rapidly, and be either relaxing or stimulating depending on one 's previous experience as well as the chemistry of the essential oils used” (Buckle, 1999, p. 42). Aromatherapy has been used in many treatment processes ranging from pain reduction to corrective curing of disease, and reduction of common discomforts such as headaches. Because essential oils are

The reason is essential oils should be applied in the correct way. At times if not handled properly can cause damage. Some essential oils if inhaled does not damage your system however they can cause some minor skin irritations. Good examples are clove, oregano, bergamot and cinnamon bark oils.

The methodology involved using the plant’s flower bud by washing it in sterile water, dried, and crushed into a powder. Eventually it was converted into an ethanol and methanol extract and observed for any effects on MRSA strains (Yadav et al., 2011). The results showed that both extracts had inhibitory effects on various MRSA strains and could have the potential for use as an antibacterial agent for multidrug resistant strains (Yadav et al., 2011). In some ways the study suggests that cloves can play a role in treating bacterial infections, but it is possible that converting it into an ethanol or methanol extract might have improved its effectiveness on MRSA strains. Using clove capsules to cleanse the body of microorganisms may or may not be as effective since the concentration of cloves per dose is different from the effectiveness of an ethanol or methanol extract used as an antibacterial

What are Essential Oils? Essential oils are extracts from leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds of various plants. The oils are distilled into extremely concentrated forms and contain active ingredients that are thought to have beneficial effects. The use of essential oils as treatment for various ailments is known as aromatherapy.