Essential oils are very popular today, and the range of their application is simply huge. Therefore, often beginning entrepreneurs are interested in the question of whether it is possible to make capital on the manufacture and sale of this product. What equipment for the production of essential oils will be needed? How complicated can the manufacturing procedure be? What pitfalls will you face?
Essential oils - why are they needed?
Aromatherapy is an ancient science, which today is becoming more and more popular. As for essential oils, they, as a rule, are a mixture of 50–70 various low molecular weight compounds, including terpenes, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, cholines, cytokinins, aromatic amino acids, etc.
The benefits of essential oils have been known for a long time. Each of them has its own unique and valuable properties. For example, they can calm the nervous system, tone up, activate the immune system, stop the inflammatory process, etc.
That is why these substances are widely used in modern pharmacology and alternative medicine. In addition, they are added to various cosmetics, such as shampoos, creams, lotions, etc. It can be concluded that the market for essential oils is quite large.
How is the production of essential oils?
To date, there are several ways to obtain essential oils:
- The simplest, cheapest and most frequently used method is water distillation, in which the plant material is subjected to steam treatment. In this way, volatile fractions of the feed are released. By the way, in this case, experts recommend paying special attention to the correct temperature regime, since each plant has its own optimal steam temperature.
- The extraction method is used if the plant material cannot be treated with hot steam, since under the influence of high temperatures the oils are destroyed. In such cases, special plates of glass or silk are treated with absorbent material (most often these are vegetable oils or pork fat), after which vegetable raw materials are placed in them. After some time, the absorbent substance is scraped off from the plates and treated with alcohol to isolate the essential oil.
- The newest way is to produce essential oils using carbon dioxide. Today, such a technique is rarely used, since such an apparatus for the production of essential oils is very expensive and not easy to find.
What equipment will be needed to produce the product?
There are many different models of equipment for the production of essential oils. Their quantity and cost directly depend on how much product you are going to produce. For example, you will need distillers in which the oil extraction process takes place.
In addition, heat exchangers, receiving tanks where the separation of essential oils, as well as cochobation columns can be added to the list of necessary equipment. Typically, such equipment is capable of producing up to 50 kg of essential oils per day. The price of an installation for the production of essential oils will range from 700 thousand to 1 million rubles, depending on the manufacturer and some technical specifications.
Of course, you can pick up cheaper options. For example, the Alfa Ether installation, which is intended for the manufacture of a small amount of essential oils, is especially popular with beginning businessmen.Some people even keep it in the house, producing oils for their own use. Its cost ranges from 100 to 300 thousand rubles. This option is suitable for a novice manufacturer.
What else is needed for business?
Equipment for the production of essential oils and the ability to use it - this is not all that is needed for a successful business. In this case, one of the most important problems is the search for quality raw materials. Of course, there are plenty of companies involved in the supply of necessary plants, but they will have to be searched.
In addition, do not forget that during the production process some chemicals are needed, including cleaners, etc. This will also have to be taken care of. And, of course, the essential oil needs to be poured into dark glass jars, which will also need to be purchased. By the way, do not spill the product in containers whose volume exceeds 10 ml.
As for the technical aspects, it will be necessary to rent a room for production. It is also advisable to equip a special warehouse for storing finished oils. Before starting production, some storage requirements must be examined. For example, some oils should be kept in the refrigerator, and some in the dark. In addition, there are those that should be stored for at least 12 months before sale - this is troublesome, but such a product is much more expensive.
How profitable can such an enterprise become?
Of course, such a business can be profitable, especially if you loudly declare yourself in the market and build a good reputation. By the way, you should first deal with what kind of oil you are going to produce. The method of water distillation, of course, is much simpler, but not all plants can be processed in this way.
But extraction allows you to get even the rarest essential oils. But here we mainly need manual work, and, accordingly, a larger number of employees. On the other hand, oils obtained in this way cost from 50 to 100 dollars per 10 g, and sometimes much more.
I am writing from the Crimea. We have the opportunity to produce essential oil from high-quality plant materials, we are interested in what specific equipment (which brand) for production can be used if we produce about 8-10 kg of oil per day.