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Process Production of Clove Oil

Clove oil is one kind of essential oils found in Indonesia, especially in Central Java province as Tegal regency, Banyumas, Salatiga, Solo and clove and surrounding. Processing done by way of extraction. Extraction of oil carried on the flowers, flower stalks and third leaf. The most economical section is an extract of the leaves. Therefore, a common type of clove oil clove leaf oil is traded (clove leaf oil).

Clove leaf oil is one essential oil produced in Indonesia with water distillation and steam distillation method. Clove leaf oil is liquid  translucent color until  yellowish, who has a spicy taste, loud, and smelled the scent of cloves. The color will change to brown or purple if it comes in contact with iron or due to storage. (Ernest, 1990)

The distillation of clove leaf oil from the farmer have levels of eugenol ranged from 70-80%, while the industry needed to oil the lowest levels of 90% eugenol.

The main component of clove oil are terpenes and their derivatives. This is an important component in industrial activities such as in perfumes, flavors, pharmaceuticals, paints, plastics and others. Terpenes present in clove oil is eugenol, eugenol acetate and caryophylene.Ketiga the compound is the main component of clove oil constituent with a total content reaches 99% of essential oils it contains.

Essential oils produced from plants cloves. Most of Eugenol. Eugenol including phenol group, so it can be lathered by NaOH to form salts. Sodium eugenolat soluble in water. By doing lathering clove oil on the scale tool Cassia flask on his neck, because it can not be lathered terpenes and insoluble in water, the volume of terpenes can be known. Eugenol oil volume can be determined from the difference between the volume of clove oil reduced the volume of terpenes.

(Firdaus, 2009).

Process Production  of Clove Oil
1. Raw Material Preparation
Clove leaf that is used is the fallen leaf, dry, intact and clean.

2. Preparation Kettle Flute
Before the boiler system, the amount of excess water must be removed before distillation, because it contains salt water and degradation of components that can contaminate the quality of oil produced.

3. Insert the leaves into the kettle flute
Dried leaves do not need to be shredded, can be directly inserted into the kettle flute. Charging is done in stages and is trampled, forced to increase the density of leaves in the kettle. The optimum density of dry clove leaves in the kettle about 70-80 grams / liter.

4. Distillation Process
Distillation using water vapor is the most widely used. This method is only suitable for the type of essential oils that are not damaged by the hot steam water. Raw materials are placed separately with water. To facilitate the process of evaporation, the kettle for raw materials should be given adequate space. Materials should not be compacted. After ready, the kettle was closed and then heated for 5-7 hours. Steam and clove leaf oil vapor diluted by flowing circular pipe into a cooling pond (condenser). Temperatures are very influential at temperatures that are water. Pipe in the cooling pond has a length of approximately 10 meters. getting longer of pipe is used, the better the process of condensation occurring. In Samigaluh, often elongated pipe used, not circular (spiral) because the price is relatively cheaper. Pipes must not leak and the water temperature must be maintained to always stay cool to the process of condensation can take place properly.
Clove leaf oil distillates and water flowed into the place of drums that have been provided. After the refining process for about seven hours, the distillation process of settling a while so the water and oil of clove leaf separately. Clove leaf oil is under water because it has a more type big. Air and clove leaf oil can be separated by a kind of special cloth or separated manual. Residual water that has been separated still contains clove leaf oil and still be separated again after some time.
Long distillation of clove leaf wet about 7-8 hours and distillation of dried leaves around 6-7 hours. Use of the pressure gradually from 1 bar to 2 bar can shorten long distillation to 4-5 hours. The yield of clove leaf oil produced around 2.0 to 2.5%.

5. Cooling (condensation) Steam
Cooling is done by cooling unit (condenser) refrigerant pipe model of multi-tubular or spiral mounted in a tube immersed in a water bath or cooling. The flow of cooling water is made in opposite directions (counter flow) with the direction of vapor flow within the pipe. The aim is that the distillate at the time will come out of the cooling pipes have been condensed perfect.

6. Separation of oil from water distillation
Distillation temperature that flows out of condenser tubes sought similar / close to the incoming cooling water temperature (maks.30 oC). Separation of oil carried in principle based on the difference density of water with oil. If the oil density<1, then the oil will be above the water surface. As for density<1, the oil will settle to the bottom of the oil and water separator unit above it.

7. Filtering Oil
The resulting oil still looks cloudy because it still contains a small amount of water and dirt are dispersed in oil. Water needs to be separated by filtering the oil using Teflon fabric / screen printing or can be done by adding Anhydride Sodium Sulfate (Na2SO4) as a binder of water by 1% then stirred and filtered.

8.  Bleaching Clove Oil
If the oil produced is still yellow brown / dark brown usually contain metallic iron kettle distilled from the oil reservoir and tools made ​​of iron. If desired clove oil pale yellow and free of ferrous metal can be done in 2 ways bleaching, namely 1) clove leaf oil under vacuum; 2) bleaching with the addition of chelating agent  such as citric acid and tartaric acid.