Essential Oils Production
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are aromatic oils extracted from herbs and flowers. They
are basically what make flowers and fragrant herbs smell good. Essential
oils are used mostly in the soap and perfumes industries, and many also
have medicinal properties.
Many local herbs and flowering plants yield valuable essential oils;
the ylang-ylang for example is in high demand for the French perfume industry.
They represent a wide untapped potential for agribusiness.
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State of the Industry
- Essential oils are used in a very wide variety of products for their
pleasing aroma and healthful benefits.
- In 1987, the Philippines imported 127,000 tons of essential oils.
- The number one imported essential oil was Citronella, made from a
plant of the lemongrass family; the Citronella plant is actually very
common in the Philippines, so why did we have to import?
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Common Local Herbs Used
- Citronella Oil
- Citronella Oil is distilled from tanglad tsina, a plant of
the lemongrass family that can grow anywhere. Fully planted, a hectare
can yield 30 kilos of essential oil. Harvest is every 4 months after
the initial 9 months. No need for replanting for 10 years. It is used
as a cleaning agent and is known for its aroma. Present price is P550.00
per kilo.
- Patchouli Oil
- Patchouli Oil is used as a fixative in French perfume. Again, a hectare
can yield 30 kilos of the essential oil. Patchouli needs more care than
citronella. There is a lack of Patchouli oil in the export market. Prices
can go as high as $140.00 per liter for the purified oil while the local
price is P2,800.00 per kilo
- Ylang-ylang Oil
- Ylang-ylang Oil is harvested after 3 years. It takes 40 kilos of flowers
to produce a liter of this essential oil. The ylang-ylang tree needs
pruning to produce more flowers. The Sabah Variety that grows in the
Philippines is the preferred tree. It costs P10,000.00 per kilo.
- Sabila or Aloe Vera
- Sabila or Aloe Vera is known around the world for its use in shampoo
and hair care aside from medicinal purposes like burn ointment, ulcers
etc. In Europe and the US, Aloe Vera is planted in greenhouses that
are are air-conditioned in summer and heated in winter. In the Philippines,
it grows anywhere at any season. It costs P1,200.00 per kilo.
- Yerba Buena
- Yerba Buena herbs grow wild and has a minty smell. It is used for
massage oils, food products and aromatheraphy. It costs P1,500.00 per
kilo.
- Vetivert
- Vetivert has a woodsy, earthy smell that is used as a fixative in
perfumes. It comes from the roots of vetivert grass, which is prevalent
in the Bicol region. It costs P2,500.00 per kilo.
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Extracting Essential Oils
Essential oils are usually extracted from raw plant parts (leaves, blossoms,
fruit rinds, etc.) by distillation.
The plant parts to be used are boiled in a closed boiling chamber or
pot, and the steam containing water vapor and the essential oils is collected
in a condenser where it returns to liquid. The liquid is collected and
let stand for the oils and water to separate, the oil floating to the
top.
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| Simple distillation rig used by DHCE. It uses a charcoal fired boiler
(right), which feeds into a water-cooled condenser (left). Such a
still can easily be crafted for you by your local welder. |
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The Program
We are encouraging farmers to explore the possibilities of growing herbs
for the essential oils industry as an added source of income. We can provide
seeds and teach the simple distillation technology to those interested,
and offer a ready market through our sister company DHCE which uses the
oils for its soap manufacture business.
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