Extraction Of Lavender Oil
The primary method of extraction is steam distillation where steam is passed through the plant material which diffuses the oil. As the steam condenses in a cooling chamber the oil, which is lighter than water, is easily separated and collected. The stills that lavender growers use are rather simple and easy to use. " The stills are constructed of copper, and generally built to take a charge of about 5 cwt. (hundred weight) of flowers at a time. It is important to avoid burning, and the practice is to provide the stills with two chambers with a perforated plate separating them. The lower chamber is filled with water which should be as soft as possible. Distillation is conducted by boiling the water beneath the flowers with steam brought from a boiler to a coil, the top of which must be at least 1 foot beneath the bottom of the charge chamber (2)." The steam then carries the oil to a condenser where the oil is collected. Oil flow from the condenser must be watched, and complete distillation of the charge usually takes about six hours from commencement of the flow.
Source:http://www.wsu.edu/~gmhyde/433_web_pages/433Oil-web-pages/essence/essence-oils.html
