Development of New Economical and Sustainable Processes for the Extraction of Essential Oils from Aromatic and Medicinal Plants

In this study, biomass residues from the aromatic and medicinal oil extraction industries were used as fuel for the production of steam necessary for the extraction of essential oils (EO) by hydrodistillation from a plant around the Mediterranean, Daucus carota L. The results obtained in terms of yield and extraction time were compared with those obtained by the classical method of hydrodistillation (HD) using electric heating. Several advantages with hydrodistillation in the presence of biomass as an energy source (BEHD) have been observed: faster kinetics and higher efficiency with similar yields: 1.03% and an extraction time of 30 min against 180 min for classic hydrodistillation. The chemical composition of the EO was determined by gas chromatography (GC/FID) and gas chromatography coupled with apolar column mass spectrometry (CG/MS). The antimicrobial activity of the EO was evaluated against four bacteria and one pathogenic yeast, using the disc-diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), whereas, the antioxidant activity of the EO was evaluated using the DPPH test.