Garlic Oil Production Technique – Steam Distillation

Garlic Oil Description

Garlic oil is commonly produced in China with an annual crop around April – May. Oil production is secondary to the fresh garlic herb and the processing of garlic granules industry.

Garlic oil is an extract of Allium sativum L. bulb, a small perennial plant.

The oil itself is primarily used in both the food industry, as a flavouring and in the pharmaceutical industry.  Garlic’s medicinal effects are primarily due to allicin content.

Normally, we use steam distillation method to produce natural garlic oil.

Garlic Oil Production Process Principle

The principle is to pass water vapor into an organic substance that is insoluble or insoluble in water but has a certain volatility (garlic oil has a certain volatility), so that the organic substance is distilled together with the water vapor at a temperature below 100 ℃ Come out, and further separation to obtain a more pure substance. The general technological process of this method is: peeling garlic → washing → mashing with water → enzymolysis → steam distillation → oil-water separation → garlic oil.

Steam Distillation Description

Steam distillation is the process of separating organic compounds or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water or water-based process fluids. It is a continuous distillation process particularly useful for removing temperature-sensitive solutes such as natural aromatic compounds.
Steam distillation is a separation technique that harnesses the low boiling point property of immiscible mixtures. It is predominately used to separate temperature-sensitive organic molecules from a non-volatile contaminant. The organic molecule must be immiscible in water.

Steam Distillation is used for distilling volatile components from various raw materials, like spices, seeds, leaves, roots etc. These oils are generally recovered by directly applying steam to raw materials followed by condensation of the distillate. The temperature of the steam needs to be carefully controlled – just enough to force the plant material to let go of the essential oil, yet not too hot as to burn the plant material or the essential oil. Different components of these essential oils contribute to the characteristic fragrance and aroma. These oils can be customised to meet the exact requirement of the user.