Sciencemadness Discussion Board

I don't get this flask...

Funkerman23 - 8-3-2012 at 19:05

( I don't now about Link etiquette so please forgive me if this is rude)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Essential-Oil-Distillation-2000mL-45...

Anybody out there know what's the deal with these "Bio Flasks"?
I mean.. a few days ago these where scarce as hen's teeth and now I count about 3 Chinese (and one unknown) made kits; this one selling the flask alone. Now I have a full 19/22 kit and working on the 24/40 kit but are these just for the casual tinkerer? I mean aside from ease of cleaning and filling I don't see how a flask with a 45/50 top and a 24/40 bottom is so vital. The flask aside since when where Essential oils so popular? as always opinions greatly appreciated

bfesser - 8-3-2012 at 19:09

They're for extracting essential oils via steam distillation. More for the hobby perfume enthusiast or Wiccan than scientific use. Don't worry about it, you don't need one. They come and go in waves on eBay.

[edit]
I almost forgot to explain the design. Pack bulb with plant material through the larger top joint, steam in the bottom, out the top. Run like a simple distillation you're familiar with, except it appears that they sometimes use special receivers designed to hold the oil while allowing excess water to run out.

[edit again]
Here's a related video I found by searching "essential oil distillation" on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JytLP9AWqc
I don't recommend watching the full video . . . it's <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/excruciating">excruciating</a>.

[edit: fixed typo]

[Edited on 7/6/13 by bfesser]

Funkerman23 - 8-3-2012 at 19:42

That link shows the very kit I was talking about when I mentioned the one I can't trace where it was made.
and you weren't kidding about the excruciating part..wish I had listened. the fleecing never ends it seems...

tastyphenome - 8-3-2012 at 20:45

Its due to Martha Stewart's hot new book, "Country Kitchen essential amphetamine production and seasonal tea cossys".

GreenD - 9-3-2012 at 07:04

to the chemist the 24/40 all around is probably more useful.

Essential oil extraction is a growing hobby in the past 20 years. People want their own perfume and make up, rather than big bad companies making it for them.

peach - 9-3-2012 at 15:38

Quote: Originally posted by bfesser  
More for the hobby perfume enthusiast or Wiccan than scientific use.


Quote: Originally posted by GreenD  
People want their own perfume and make up, rather than big bad companies making it for them.


:D

Soap making seems to have gone through a big boom with the arrival of LUSH (more specifically, soap that looks like actual cake) and youtube. There are tons of videos of girls brewing up buckets of soap on there. Some of it is rather impressive!

Type in something like 'Lush dupes', and prepare to get bombarded.

Check out what I found last week in a waiting room:


By peachmadness at 2012-03-09

I kept it, but fear not, for there is a curious inscription:
Quote:
This book is dedicated to be passed on.

If you have found this book in a public place, please feel free to take it home. Once you have read it, or gleaned the information you require from it, please pass it on to a friend, relative or colleague or leave it in a public place such as a doctor’s dentist’s or hospital waiting room. If you like, add your name, the month and the year you passed it on.

world-wide-library.com


It is a turn up for the books :P that it happens to have landed in my hands. As both the chemistry and the perfumes themselves have always been of interest.

Ambergris features in some of them, which is where the other book comes in handy:


By peachmadness at 2012-03-09

I've already completed phase one of the second book, the rest should be plain sailing.

I thought it'd be amusing, if only to myself, to create smeliture by strategically coating the pages of the book with the components of one of the perfumes; hoping that they will stay somewhat distinct on each page, but the book as a whole will smell of that particular blend.

I believe this was written in the US, so it'd be nice if it somehow found it's way back there at some point; after a tour around France, Italy and the Far East.

I also just bought a copy of:


By peachmadness at 2012-03-09

Which promises me zombie kittens and tickling machines. That can go in the pile when I'm done with it.

[Edited on 9-3-2012 by peach]