What Is a Clevenger Apparatus?
A Clevenger Apparatus is a tool used for essential oil extraction using steam. This technique uses temperature to separate the aromatic oil from an organic source.
Organic compounds are separated using steam, so as not to degrade the essential oil. Essential oils are what is used for perfume, food, medicines or atomizers. The Clevenger Apparatus conducts the distillation process by boiling, condensing and decantation to separate the oil. This is also the official standard method for extracting essential oils for quality control. When this method is used, there is less loss of the organic matter that the oil is being desecrated from. In this standard method, the distillation procedure is closely defined vegetable products, according to the reference method indicated in the standard is done with steam distillation, collecting the distillation product in xylene.
The Clevenger Apparatus comes in several sizes to accommodate the size of the organic material that is being distilled. The Clevenger appears like a glass double boiler with several valves to increase the temperature or release the steam to lower the temperature; this has been the main method of flavor extraction. The Clevenger Apparatus equipment ranges in cost depending upon the size of the tool needed.
