Comparison of microwave assisted hydrodistillation and improved solvent free microwave assisted distillation for essential oil extraction from fennel

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) has been recognized as a technique with several advantages over other extraction methods, such as reduction of costs, extraction time, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions [1]. In this study, essential oil of fennel was extracted by microwave-assisted hydrodistilation (MAHD) and improved solvent free microwave extraction (ISFME) method. In ISFME we added microwave absorption to the plant mass. Results showed that the use of microwave absorption powder makes that less power to be extracted essential oil components. Comparison of the chemical composition for the essential oil, extracted via two mentioned method shows that various methods have no effect on the amount of compounds in the oil.