I was dreaming..
I've read many posts on here, and it seems I have not gathered much as of yet. What I [think] I have learned is.. that camphor oil is seperated from the plant matter by Steam Distillation. I have seen several methods of steam distillation and was curious which one works best for camphor.
I live in florida and have many camphor trees around. 5-6 months ago I dug some root out of the ground and shaved the bark off. I have a little over 1kg. I've read a few posts on here that says the bark needs to be used as soon as it is harvested. Does this mean if it is stored for some time the oil just disappears, or breaks down?
1)A diagram of an internal steam distillation setup out of
The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, 4th Ed., p.219, James W. Zubrick.
What I don't understand is how dropping hot water into the distillation flask is going to be any different than a simple distillation. Getting plant matter into a 24/40 flask would be brutal, so I think using this method for any reasonable quantity would be out of the question.
2) A retail essential oil distiller unit: again getting the material into the flask would be an issue.
http://www.heartmagic.com/EssentialDistiller.html
3) I've seen some posts that used some sort of metal [moonshine] distillery, some suggesting a pressure cooker can be built upon.
Post 260235 (missing)
(ethyl: "Steam distillation of C.Camphor", Newbee Forum) I also have a 55g drum which may be handy for doing bulk amounts. I have a distillation apparatus, I am not sure if I could somehow connect that to either my pressure cooker or 55g drum, for condensing and collection purposes.
I thought I exhausted my UTFSE abilities, but If any of this has been previously covered here (or on any other site) I'd really appreciate a link, and then you can delete my post and throw rocks at me and whatever else my punishment should be.
Lastly, I Really appreciate all the time you guys have put into this place, spreading your wealth of knowledge. I cannot get enough of it.
thanks