RANKERS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

2024-2025

CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

TOPIC: - Extraction of essential oils present in Illaichi

Submitted to Submitted by
Mr. HEMANT VISHWAKARMA NARENDRAKUMAR PATIL

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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this “CHEMISTRY Investigatory Project”
on the topic “Extraction of essential oils present in Illaichi
(cardamom)” has been successfully completed
NARENDRAKUMAR PATIL of class XII under the guidance of
Mr. HEMANT VISHWAKARMA Sir in particular fulfillment of
the curriculum of Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE) leading to the award of annual examination of the
year 2024-2025.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have put efforts into this project. However, it would
not have been possible without the kind support and
help of many individuals.
I would like to thank my principal Dr. Mamta Dwivedi
ma’am and school for providing me with facilities
required to do my project.
I am highly indebted to my Chemistry teacher, Mr.
Hemant Vishwakarma Sir for his valuable time and
guidance which has sustained my efforts in all stages of
this project work.
I would also like to thank my parents for their
continuous support and encouragement.
My thanks and appreciation also goes to my fellow
classmates in developing the project and to the people
who willingly helped me out with their abilities.

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 :: INDEX ::
 CERTIFICATE
 AIM
 INTRODUCTION
 REQUIREMENTS
 THEORY
 PROCEDURE
 EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
 OBSERVATION
 RESULT
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 :: AIM ::

“The goal of this project it to study

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:: INTRODUCTION
::
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid
containing volatile aroma compounds from
plants. They are also known as volatile oils, ethereal
oils, aetherolea etc. Essential oils are made up
of highly volatile substances which can be extracted
from numerous plant species. Distillation based
recovery processes such as steam and vacuum
distillation are preferred for the extraction of
essential oils from plant materials. Virtually all naturally
occurring essential oils are made up of
hydrocarbons such as camphene, pinene, limonene,
phellandrene cedrene, and oxygenated
hydrocarbons such as alcohols, aldehydes, esters,
ethers, ketones, lactones, phenols and organic
acids. The essential oils get their odours from the
oxygenated compounds contained in them and
these confer stability on the oil against oxidation. The
hydrocarbons are less stable and they are

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responsible for the degradation observed in the oils.
The hydrocarbons contained in the essential
oils are often removed so that the oils can be more
stable and still retain their odours and flavours.

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:: REQUIREMENTS ::
 Steam generator (Copper Vessel),
 Round bottom flask (500 ml),
 Conical flask,
 Condenser,
 Glass tubes,
 Iron stand,
 Sand bath,
 Separatory funnel,
 Tripod stands,
 Burners
 Cardamom (Elaichi)
 Petroleum ether (60-80℃)

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 :: THEORY ::
Steam distillation is a type of distillation (a separation
or extraction process) for a temperature-sensitive plant
such as natural aromatic compounds. It once was a
popular laboratory method for purification of organic
compounds but has become obsolete by vacuity
distillation.
Steam distillation still important in certain industrial
sectors. Steam distillation is one of ancient and official
approved methods for isolation of essential oils from
plant materials. The plant materials charged in the
alembic are subjected to the steam without maceration
in water. The injected steam passes through the plants
from the base of the alembic to the top. Steam
distillation is a method where steam flows through the
material as shown in diagram below. This steam
functions as agents that break up the pores of the raw
material and release the essential oil from it. The
system yields a mixture of a vapour and desired
essential oil. This vapour is then condensed further and
the essential oil is collected.

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The principle of this technique is that the combined
vapour pressure equals the ambient pressure at about
100 C so that the volatile components with the boiling
points ranging from 150 to 300 C can be evaporated at
a temperature close to that of water. Furthermore, this
technique can be also carried out under pressure
depending on the essential oils extraction difficulty. We
are all familiar with the pleasant odours coming out
from flowers, spices and many trees. The essence or
aromas of plants are due to volatile oils present in
them. These smelling volatile oils present in plants are
called essential oils. Cinnamon, clove, cumin,
eucalyptus, garlic, jasmine, peppermint, rose,
sandalwood, spearmint, thyme, wintergreen are a few
familiar examples of valuable essential oils. The term
"essential oils" literally means "oils derived from the
essence" of plants. Essential oils are mainly used for
their pleasant odours and flavours in perfumes and as
flavouring agents in foods. Some are used in medicines
(e.g., camphor, wintergreen, eucalyptus) others as
insect repellents (e.g., citronella). Chemically essential
oils are composed of complex mixtures of ester,
alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones and
hydrocarbons. They are essentially non-polar
compounds and are thus soluble in non-polar solvents
such as petroleum ether, benzene etc.

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 Essential oils may occur in all parts of the plant, but
they are often concentrated in the seeds or flowers.
They are obtained from the plants by the process of
steam
distillation and extraction. The technique of steam
distillation permits the separation of volatile
components from non-volatile materials without
raising the temperature of the distillation above 100° C.
Thus, steam distillation reduces the risk of
decomposition of essential oils.
CARDAMOM OIL (ELAICHI):
 Botanical Name: Elettaria cardamonum
 Common Method of Extraction: Steam Distillation
 Aroma: Very complex and smooth spice aroma
 Extraction: Cardamom oil is extracted using steam
distillation method. For this, seeds of the fruit are
used just before they ripe. The yield through this
process is normally 1 to 5 per cent.
 Chemical Composition: Cardamom oil contains
sabinene, myrcene, a-pinene, b-pinene,
aphellandrene, limonene, p-cymene, terpinolene,
1,8-cineole, y-terpinene, linalool, linalyl acetate, a-
terpineol acetate, citronellol, nerol, terpinen-4-oil,
aterpineol, geraniol, methyl eugenol and trans-
nerolidol.

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 Uses:
a) Cardamom oil has a vast range of usage for
treatment of sciatica, coughs, abdominal pains,
spasm and nervous disorders.
b)Traditionally, it is used for pulmonary disease,
fever, digestive and urinary problems in India and
China for over 3000 years.
c) It is also used to flavour pharmaceutical products.
Apart from pharmaceutical usage, cardamom oil is
also used as a fragrant in soaps, perfumes and
cosmetic products

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 :: PROCEDURE ::
 Set the apparatus as shown in the picture of
Experimental Setup.
 The apparatus consists of a steam generator
connected to the round bottom flask through a
glass inlet tube. The flask is connected to a water
condenser through a glass outlet tube. Condenser
is further attached to a receiver through an
adaptor.
 Take about 750 ml of water in the steam generator
and start heating to produce steam.
 In the round bottom flask take about 75 gm of
crushed Illaichi.
 A vigorous current of steam from steam generator
is passed through the round bottom flask.
 A part of the steam condenses in the round
bottom flask. As more and more steam is passed,
the steam volatile components of Illaichi pass
through the condenser along with steam. These
contents on condensation are collected in the
receiver.
 The contents in the round bottom flask may be
heated by a bunsen burner to prevent excessive
condensation of steam.
 The process of steam distillation is continued for
about half an hour.
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 Transfer the distillate to a separating funnel and
extract with 20 ml portions of petroleum ether 3
times.
 Combine the petroleum ether extracts in a 250 ml
conical flask and dry it with the help of anhydrous
sodium sulphate.
 Remove the solvent from the dried filtrate by
careful distillation in a water bath.
 The essential oil is left behind in the distillation
flask.
 Find the weight of the extracted essential oil.
 Note the colour, odour and weight of the essential
oil.

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::EXPERIMENTAL SET UP::

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 :: OBSERVATION ::
Cardamom (ilaichi) :-
 Weight of ilaichi taken = 100gm
 Initial Weight of the bottle = 10 gm(x)
 Weight of bottle + essential oil =
11.25gm(y)
 Weight of essential oil extracted =(y-x)
=1.25 gm
 Percentage of essential oil =
(y/100)×100=1.25%
 Colour of the oil = Colourless
 Odour of the oil = ilaichi like smell.

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 ::RESULT::
Essential oils present in cardamom are
extracted from Steam distillation
method.

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 ::BIBLIOGRAPHY::
1. Comprehensive Lab Manual for Class
XII by Laxmi Publication.
2. www.icbse.com
3. www.scribd.com

THANKYOU
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