Читать книгу Aromatherapy Workbook - Shirley Price - Страница 23

Percolation is even newer than CO₂ extraction and in 1991 we visited a unit in France. It was extremely interesting; most of the resultant oil had an aroma nearer to the plant than a distilled oil. The equipment, unlike that for CO₂ extraction, is very simple and the process quicker than distillation, the plant being in contact with the steam for a much shorter time.

This process works like a coffee percolator. The steam passes through the plant material from top to bottom of the container, which has a grid to hold the plant material. The oil and condensed steam is collected in a vessel in the same way as distillation. The colour of oils I have seen is much richer than that of distilled oils and time and tests alone will, as with the CO₂ method, reveal their true value in aromatherapy – it is certainly exciting! Percolation is not suitable for all oils; there are still a few practical difficulties to overcome (sometimes an emulsion is produced), but I am tempted to do a research project on one or two myself!