In this study, the kinetic models of steam distillation of orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), pomelo (Citrus grandis L.), and lemongrass (Cymbopogoncitratus) for the recovery of essential oils were developed. The model parameters wereestimated based on experimental data and comprehensive kinetic mechanismsof the solid-liquid extraction process. | Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology 56 (4A) (2018) 182-189 MODELING OF ESSENTIAL OIL EXTRACTION PROCESS: APPLICATION FOR ORANGE, POMELO, AND LEMONGRASS Nguyen Dang Binh Thanh, Nguyen Trung Dung, Ta Hong Duc* Hanoi University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Dai Co Viet road, Ha Noi * Email: Received: 17 July 2018; Accepted for publication: 6 October 2018 ABSTRACT In this study, the kinetic models of steam distillation of orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), pomelo (Citrus grandis L.), and lemongrass (Cymbopogoncitratus) for the recovery of essential oils were developed. The model parameters wereestimated based on experimental data and comprehensive kinetic mechanismsof the solid-liquid extraction process. Numerical results showed that, the extraction mechanism of the three materials were best fit to the Patricelli twostage model in which the diffusion of the oil was followed by the washing step. Moreover, the model parameters obtained from the measured data reflected clearly the nature of the two-stage extraction at which the kinetic rate of the washing step (surface extraction) was higher than that of in-tissue diffusion step. Thus, the kinetics of the extraction processes obtained from the present work could be usedfor the scale-up of the extraction process operating at a large scale and for the purpose of process control as well. Keywords: essential oil, steam distillation, modeling, optimization, kinetic. 1. INTRODUCTION Essential oilsextracted from sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), pomelo (Citrus grandis L.), and lemongrass (Cymbopogoncitratus) have useful components in the production of food, pharmacy and perfume industries [1, 2, 3]. According to literature, essential oils can be extractedby different methods, from traditional techniques to novel techniques such as solvent extraction, steam distillation, hydrodistillation, microwave extraction, ultrasound extraction and supper critical CO2 extraction. Each method .
