Most of the industrial process requires a temperature level below 250?C which
is easily achievable using solar energy. Pakistan is fortunate enough to
have long sunlight hours and high intensity of solar insolation. The mean
total irradiation falling on a horizontal plane is about 200-250 Watt per m2
per day. This precious source of natural energy has tremendous potential in
the agro-based industry like the distillation of medicinal plants. The main
objective of this study was to conduct a Quantitative and Qualitative
analyses of solar distilled oil of the medicinal plant. Solar distillation
systems had been installed at Agricultural Engineering Workshop, Faculty of
Agricultural Engineering and Technology and Rosa Lab, Institute of
Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. This
distillation system was designed according to the latitude of Faisalabad.
This system comprised of primary reflector, secondary reflector, condenser,
and Florentine flask. In this study Eucalyptus Camaldulensis and Eucalyptus
Citriodora, essential oils were distilled by solar distillation system and
by a conventional distillation system for comparing the results. GC-MS
analysis of Eucalyptus Camaldulensis and Eucalyptus Citriodora essential
oils were carried out at National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic
Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad. The results of quantitative and qualitative
analyses of essential oils showed that the quantity and the quality of
essential oils of same species of Eucalyptus, distilled by Solar
distillation system and conventional controlled distillation system were
same. So, it was concluded that the quality and quantity of essential oils
of same species don?t differ significantly either distilled by solar
distillation system or by conventional controlled distillation system.
Experimental study on solar distillation system for oil extraction from eucalyptus plant leaves
