How to Extract Oil From Sandalwood
Sandalwood oil is a highly prized oil that comes from the sandalwood trees that grow in Central and East Asia. Sandalwood oil is becoming more and more expensive each year because of dwindling forests, and consumer demands for it are on the rise because of its skin care benefits and aromatic properties. The best sandalwood oil is extracted from the heartwood in the roots of the tree, and is extracted by steam-heating it in a distiller or by boiling it and collecting the steam.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Purchase a distiller or construct one yourself. Distillers are expensive and if you don't have one already, making one would be a much less expensive option.
-
2
Grind up the root heartwood of a sandalwood tree, if it isn't already ground up, and place it in the part of the distiller where the plant material goes. The heartwood is the inner-most layer of the tree.
-
-
3
Run your distiller by heating up the water or by turning it on. The steam will pass through the powdered sandalwood, collect the oils, and pass through to another chamber that will cool the steam causing it to condense. The cooled water will collect at the bottom with the oil floating on top.
-
4
Skim the top of the cooled water with a container to collect the essential oil. Make sure all of your containers have tight seals to prevent evaporation or oxidation. Keep the water--also known as hydrosol--as well as the oil, as it can also be used for its aromatherapy benefits.
-
1
