Effects of soaking on Yield and Quality of Agarwood Oil

The aims of this study were to investigate vaporisation temperature of agarwood oil, determine enlargement of wood pore size, analyse chemical components in soaking solvents and examine the chemical composition of agarwood oil extracted from soaked and unsoaked agarwood. Agarwood chips were soaked in two different acids, namely, sulphuric and lactic acids for 168 hours at room temperature (25 °C). Effects of soaking were determined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and gas chromatography-mass spectrum analysis. With regard to TGA curve, a small portion of weight loss was observed between 110 and 200 °C for agarwood soaked in lactic acid. SEM micrograph showed that the lactic acid-soaked agarwood demonstrated larger pore size. High quality agarwood oil was obtained from soaked agarwood. In conclusion, agarwood soaked in lactic acid with concentration of 0.1 M had the potential to reduce the vaporisation temperature of agarwood oil and enlarge the pore size of wood, hence, improving the yield and quality of agarwood oil.