How could i get a greater yield of limonene by improving the steam distillation technique?
Steam distillation is a wonderful technique but the yield are almost always low. The more finely divided the sample, (lemon or orange peels ) the more efficient it will be. A short path distillation head for lab scale is recommended. Sometimes if you pass the steam through the solution as opposed to just distilling a mixture can improve the yield slightly.
1. You could reheat the steam by passing it over a heated tube.This would increase the temperature of the steam and extract more of the limonene. 2. You could make sure that the condenser was colder by passing the incoming water through an ice bath, OR put the collection vessel into an ice/salt mixture. 3. Use a better condenser such as one with a coil as well as a jacket.
