bereal511
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Extraction of Limonene
Recently, my friend asked me to distill the essence of lemons for her as a present for Valentine's Day. The chemical responsible for the smell of
lemons is limonene, and I thought it was a simple enough extraction. So after an hour or two of cutting lemon rinds, boiling them in water, then
doing a simple distillation of the liquid, I was able to obtain a liquid (which also contained water) that smelled strongly of lemons.
But after doing a bit of research, it is said that limonene is supposed to form a seperate layer from water. The liquid that I obtained does not
exhibit any double layer. Should I have done the extraction differently? And how can I obtain limonene in a purer form?
As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I became a
scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
-- Matt Cartmill
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Esplosivo
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You could try steam distillation of the rind itself. It works, although don't expect enormous yields unless you have a lot of rind. I managed to
extract thin oily films, but nowhere close to 5mL yet, even though I have access to a lot of lemons and other fruits.
Limonene, which is an essential oil terpene, is being investigated for a use as an anti-cancer drug. Research shows that limonene, together with some
other essential oil terpenes, may induce apoptosis of certain cancer cells. Fun isn't it? 
[Edited on 14-2-2006 by Esplosivo]
Theory guides, experiment decides.
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unionised
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This
http://www.oxyboost.com/products/orange100.html
would be cheating.
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chochu3
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Lemon grass will yield a greater yeild. We tried on of these in lab in my first organic chem lab.
\"Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind.\" -
Katha Upanishad
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bereal511
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Well, we have a lot of citrus fruit trees around here, so I just didn't want to buy anything out of the way.
As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I became a
scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
-- Matt Cartmill
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