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. 2022 Apr 23;14(9):1730. doi: 10.3390/polym14091730

Table 2.

Advantages and disadvantages of each essential oil extraction method [46].

Type of Method Method Advantages Disadvantages
Conventional Hydrodistillation
  • -

    Versatile and simple;

  • -

    Easy implementation;

  • -

    Selectivity.
  • -

    Complete extraction is not possible;

  • -

    High energy consumption;

  • -

    Long extraction time.
Steam distillation
  • -

    Extraction time and loss of polar molecules are reduced (compared with hydrodistillation).
  • -

    Longer extractions;

  • -

    Present non-appreciable and higher cost compounds due to the long process time.
Organic solvent extraction
  • -

    Simple, cheap, and reasonably efficient;

  • -

    Appropriate for small scale.
  • -

    Time consuming;

  • -

    High solvent consumption;

  • -

    Does not allow agitation to speed up the process;

  • -

    Organic solvents can cause chemical changes or toxic effects in final product.
Cold pressing
  • -

    Simple and inexpensive;

  • -

    Suitable for the production of citrus oils.
  • -

    Oil extraction is not complete;

  • -

    Not feasible for low-oil samples.
Innovative Supercritical fluid extraction
  • -

    Reduced time;

  • -

    Low toxicity solvents;

  • -

    Solvent-free extract.
  • -

    High cost of equipment, installation, and maintenance operations.
Microwave-assisted extraction
  • -

    High reproducibility;

  • -

    Simple manipulation;

  • -

    Low solvent consumption;

  • -

    Lower energy input;

  • -

    Improved extraction yield.
  • -

    Filtration or centrifuging required at the end.
Ultrasound-assisted extraction
  • -

    Simple and inexpensive (compared to SCFE and MAE);

  • -

    Reduced extraction time;

  • -

    Low solvent consumption;

  • -

    Mass transfer intensification;

  • -

    Improvement of solvent penetration.
  • -

    Difficult to scale up;

  • -

    High power consumption.