Optimal Extraction and Evaluation on the Oil Content of Citronella Oil Extracted From Cymbopogon Nardus

An investigation on the extraction of citronella oil from Cymbopogon nardus (C. nardus) using a custom made medium scale steam distillation apparatus has been conducted. The Clevenger apparatus was used to generate a continuous flow of the hydrosol, creating an efficient distillation system. In the case for C. nardus leave samples orientation; the sleeping/ standing and close/ loose packing in steam distillator was found to have significant effects on the yield of extraction. The 3.5 hours distillation process produced an extraction yield of 0.64 % in sleeping position of the leaves as compared to the standing position (0.43 %), while the loose packing (0.70 %) has almost two fold of yield percentage as compared to the close-packing (0.40 %) of the leaves. Therefore, the steam distillation of C. nardus leaves using a custom made medium scale steam distillation apparatus was found to be most effective in the combination of sleeping position with a loose packing. Furthermore, the age of C. nardus leaves also affect the physical and chemical quality of the citronella oil extracted. The younger leaves produced citronella oil that consists mainly of citronellal, citronellol and geraniol while the older leaves contained a high composition of citral. (author)