Solvent extraction
Solvent extraction separates aromatic compounds from raw materials. Learn how concretes and absolutes are produced and what the method does not guarantee.
Updated
Solvent extraction uses a liquid or fluid that dissolves selected components from a raw material. In conventional perfumery extraction, a volatile solvent contacts the botanical, then is recovered to leave a concentrated aromatic extract.
With fresh flowers, that first extract is often a waxy concrete. Further alcohol treatment separates much of the wax and produces an absolute after the alcohol is removed. Other source materials and processes produce extracts with different names.
The method can recover a different range of compounds from distillation. That can be useful for a particular scent, but it does not make every solvent extract a perfect copy of the living plant or automatically better than its distilled counterpart.
- Solvent
- The substance that dissolves components from the raw material.
- Concrete
- A waxy aromatic extract commonly obtained from fresh plant material after the initial solvent is removed.
- Absolute
- A refined aromatic extract, often made by alcohol treatment of a concrete or resinoid.
- Resinoid
- An aromatic extract associated with resinous raw materials; its properties depend on the source and process.
- Solvent recovery
- Removing and collecting the extraction solvent. Specifications and quality controls address the resulting material.
- CO2 extraction
- Extraction using pressurized carbon dioxide as the solvent. It is a distinct process within the wider idea of solvent extraction.
- Extraction vs. synthesis
- Extraction separates substances from a source. Synthesis makes substances through chemical reactions.