Fractional vs. Steam Distillation: Which Apparatus Do You Need?

When it comes to fractionation or extraction of essential oils — two different methods are performed, fractional distillation & steam distillation. It is important to understand the primary distinctions of these two distillation methods to pick a fitting one according to your demands in a distillation equipment

Fractional Distillation is a technique which is used separate different components in a liquid mixture due to their boiling points

The process starts by heating the mixture to such a great heat and then carefully managing the temperature for the sequential collection of components as they vaporize. Industries as diverse as oil refineries rely on fractional distillation to separate crude oil into components such as gasoline, diesel, and kerosene

On the contrary, Steam distillation is primarily a method of extracting essential oil from plant materials

This includes blowing steam through the plant material to evaporate only the essential oils, and then cooling down and condensing in a new vessel. Steam distillation is still one of the most popular methods used in essential oil production, and it is particularly useful as a method for isolating essential oils due to its inherent qualities that provide numerous benefits

Picking a suitable distillation apparatus is dependent upon what you want to get as an end product of the distillation process. If you are trying to determine the boiling point of compounds in a liquid mixture for separation then fractional distillation would be the proper selection. Nevertheless, to extract essential oils from plant materials we use steam distillation

In comparing fractional and steam distillation, the advantages and properties of each must be taken for example efficiency, effectiveness, ease of use etc

Fractional distillation can give very accurate and high purity separation between components so it is perfect for industries that require very high quality separation of components

Fractional distillation for example could be a bit more complicated and time consuming when compared to steam distillation

Meanwhile, steam distillation is much more basic and organic and uses plants in their natural form to extract the oils. The sudorific oils get extracted from the plant materials under high pressure. Moreover, steam distillation is famous for its power to protect the fragile aromatic compounds in essential oils — which explains why it is extensively used in generating superior quality oils used for aromatherapy and perfumery. But ive read before steam distillation is not as good as fractional to separates components with really close boiling points

Ultimately the choice of whether to extract essential oils or separate components would depend on the kind of need that your application has

If you want to create pristine essential oils with little post-processing, then steam distillation is the method for you. But if you need to separate components accurately in a liquid mixture than fractional distillation is the best method

Fractional and Steam distillation are two relevant techniques in the realm of chemistry and industries. Knowing the major distinction between both of these techniques can help you look for an suitable distillation equipment based on your requirements. Comparing the efficiency and effectiveness of both fractional and steam distillation methods, you will be able to choose a better option that should give you better quality and stronger yield in your distillation