Before the creation of perfumes it is essential to obtain odorants to be used in the various process of its composition. Odorants can be obtained through synthetic as well as natural methods. While synthetically, odorants are produced through organic synthesis and purification, natural methods of extraction vary according to the type of plant as well as the type of oil that is produced. Every method adopted does not give equal results and the degree and quality of the essential oil obtained out of the different processes will differ. It should be remembered that as the difficulty of the process increases, the purity of the oil will be more and so will the expense. The cheaper methods employed may sometimes cause allergies in the skin.
Maceration is one of the most frequently used technique in the extraction of essential oils and it is also considered economical too. As a result this technique is widely used for extraction in the perfume industry today. Also known as solvent extraction, the process employed in this method is quite simple. Maceration makes use of a solvent which has the power to dissolve the desired aromatic compounds. The required raw materials are submerged in this solvent to obtain the desired results.
The duration of dissolving the raw materials in the solvent and extraction of aromatic compounds may take anywhere from a couple of hours to months together. It depends upon the material that is immersed and the quality of the essential oil that has to be extracted. Some of the main oils extracted this way are those obtained from woody and fibrous plant materials as well as those obtained from animal sources.
The method of maceration or solvent extraction is also employed in such cases where the odorants are extremely volatile or highly denatured due to heat. The process of maceration is gentle enough then to deliver high quality aromatic oil safely.
The process of maceration makes use of several suitable solvents for achieving the purpose. The most common among the solvents used in this process are hexane, ethanol, and di methyl ether. The name given for the product obtained after the process of maceration is ‘Concrete’.
Tim Walt