ABSTRACT
In this chapter the uses of steam distillation (SD) in food processing and related industries are discussed. First, in Section 2.1 the fundamentals of the process are presented; this section gives examples of two applications of SD in food processing: (1) deacidifi cation of fi xed oils and (2) obtaining volatile oils (VOs) from aromatic, condimentary, and medicinal plants. Next, in Section 2.2 the deacidifi cation of vegetable oils by stripping is discussed. This section is a good example of the use of simulation in predicting the behavior of a complex system. In Sections 2.3 and 2.4
the focus is on the use of SD to produce VOs from aromatic, condimentary, and medicinal plants. VOs or essential oils are mixture of terpenoids produced by the plants’ secondary metabolism. The reader will notice that we prefer to use “volatile oils” instead of “essential oils”; this distinction is intended to make clear that we are dealing with substances responsible for the aroma, and in some cases also for the taste, which are characteristic of these plants. The review of the literature in Section 2.3 is entirely devoted to the applications of SD in obtaining VOs. Finally, the basis for estimation of the cost of manufacturing (COM) VOs is presented in Section 2.4. The COM VO from fi ve aromatic plants (anise seed, chamomile, rosemary, black pepper, and thyme) was estimated using the described methodology. Because obtaining VOs is still considered an art instead of a technology, engineering data related to process design for the production of VOs by SD are scarce in literature. Therefore, in Section 2.4 a compilation of available data for the fi ve plants previously mentioned and their use in COM estimation is extensively discussed.
