[Cheese_Burgers]

Doing a little essential oil extraction tomorrow for fun. yaH friday!

Carvacrol, the major component of Oregano oil, has a density that is really close to water. Although water is slightly more dense, i feel like i'm going to end up with a colloidal suspension, even if i distill into saturated NaCl. Will setting this hydrosol out for a few hours in the fridge separate it?

If not, I was thinking of extracting with ether/ heptane, then evaporating the ether out and distilling off the heptane to isolate the oil. Would that work? I wouldn't consume the oil or use it in cooking after this method of isolation....

What about a dialysis membrane???

What about centrifuge??

I appreciate any response   

[opsomath]

Adding saturated salt brine is a good way to break a suspension like this.

[Archer]

I used to work for a firm which manufactrued essential oils and it is common to find oils which are more dense than water, Particularly if you distill for a long time the more dense molecules come over towards the end.

If you are using a clavenger apparatus then you can just add a little solvent like ether to the collector to catch the essential oil as it azeotropes over. You will need a very efficient condenser to make sure the ether is not lost to the atmosphere. If you dont have one of these then you will need to keep the ether topped up.

If you are doing a straight distillation you could extract with ether after the distillation is complete. Use a gentle stream of air and a warm water bath to remove all of the solvent without losing the front end of the oil.