How to Make Benzoin Absolute

Benzoin absolute is an essential oil used in aromatherapy, and it smells somewhat like vanilla. It is usually used in an aroma lamp, because other methods of burning the benzoin can cause problems. For example, cleaning the nebulizer after burning it can be difficult. This aroma is used to treat bronchitis, coughs, asthma and laryngitis, and the substance comes from Styrax benzoin trees -- native to Indonesia. It is extracted from resin produced by the benzoin. Essential oils are “absolute” when they are derived using the solvent extraction method, which makes the benzoin more concentrated.

Things You'll Need

• Benzoin tree
• Container
• Alcohol
• Extracting unit
• Ethanol
• Pot
• Stove

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Instructions

• 1

  Cut the bark on the benzoin tree to cause the sap to run out, and collect the sap in a container. The sap will eventually harden.

• 2

  Add a hydrocarbon solvent to dissolve the essential oil. Add pure alcohol to the mixture. The alcohol evaporates, and the essential oil remains.

• 3

  Load the extracting unit with the dried sap. The extracting unit will use the hydrocarbon solvent to dissolve the plant material. This material is then filtered and subjected to low pressure distillation. This extracts the waxes, pigments and highly volatile organic aromatic materials. The solution is filtered and the distillation process continues, recovering the solvent. A waxy mass is left behind -- containing as much as 55 percent of the volatile oil.

• 4

  Heat the concentrate in a pot, over a stove, and stir it with ethanol to break up the concentrate into globules. The alcohol helps make the aromatic molecules more soluble.

• 5

  Freeze the solution at around -30 degrees Fahrenheit, to allow the wax to precipitate.