Application of pressing and hydro distillation technology in the extraction of seedless lemon essential oil (Citrus latifolia Tanaka)

Citrus is one of the most popular tropical fruit tree genera in the world with delicious taste and a rich content of vitamins C, A, fiber, and other essential minerals. The citrus essential oil has the main component being D-limonene, which is a substance with high antibacterial and antioxidant properties, along with various compounds. The experimental process of essential oils extraction from seedless lemon peels by mechanical distillation method combined with hydrodistillation, followed by comparative analysis of the chemical composition of the resulted essential oils. Results have shown that the yield of essential oils obtained from the mechanical pressing and distillation process is 0.089% and 0.10%, respectively. The main compound present in these essential oils is D-limonene with the concentrations in pressed and distilled oils being 58.967% and 38.552%, respectively. The research results show that the technological process of extracting essential oils by mechanical pressing can provide basic understanding about different extraction methods.