Modeling the kinetics of essential oil hydrodistillation from Vietnamese ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Zingiber officinale is a frequently used herb and food flavouring agent, commonly known as ginger. Z. officinale belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, comprising of more than 1200 species [1]. In traditional therapeutic systems, Z. officinale is known for its various medicinal properties that give rise to the ability to cure a variety of diseases. Ginger oil is a potential commodity, but the extraction of these oils takes a long time to produce good quality essential oils. Thus, optimization work is required in the extraction process. In this study, the extraction was performed with the hydro-distillation method, which has been widely used to extract essential oils from natural plant and herbs due to its feasibility and green technology The extraction was carried out over several extraction cycles from 15 minutes until the amount of essential oil recovered is almost unchanged. The maximum yield in ginger essential oil extract achieved 0.5% from 100 g starting material. This yield was obtained on optimum temperature conditions, extraction time and water to material ratio such as 204 W, 120 min, and 1:4 mL/g. The mathematical model of essential oil extraction was constructed, which is a crucial step in the industrial plant project because it helps to understand the extraction process and to achieve optimal operating conditions. The process kinetics in this study was modeled by the first and second-order kinetic models. The kinetics of the extraction of ginger essential oil by the hydrodistillation method has demonstrated that the extraction process is based on a second model as it has been done experimentally. The second order model was satisfactorily modified, with extremely high correlation coefficients (R-2= 0.99355), demonstrating that the process was successfully described.