Montagem de uma aparelhagem com materiais alternativos para a extração do limoneno das cascas de laranja

Abstract

Essential oils are volatile substances and can be obtained through several methods: hydrodistillation, extraction by organic solvents, steam distillation, extraction by supercritical fluid, flowering, cold pressing, among others. This work aimed to investigate the extraction of essential oils from the orange peel using a distillation apparatus assembled with alternative materials and to compare its efficiency with the conventional apparatus used in the laboratory. For the extraction of limonene, the methodology used was the hydrodistillation technique, which is an old and versatile method in which the plant material remains in contact with boiling water, the steam forces the cell walls to open and the oil that is between them evaporates. the plant cells. The proposal to build the material and extract the oil was due to the need to facilitate the teaching and learning of chemistry concepts in high school. The idea of extracting the essential oil from the orange peel was an artifice used to encourage experimental activities at school. Because, when observing an experiment, the student has the opportunity to make an internal reconstruction of everything experienced at that moment. In conclusion, in this work, the construction of a low cost homemade condenser was elaborated, using alternative materials and later the oil extraction where some concepts can be studied, such as boiling point, condensation, evaporation, intermolecular forces, solubility, polarity etc.