Valorising waste biomass from aromatic and medicinal plants to produce steam for the extraction of essential oils

Biomass residues from the aromatic and medicinal oil extraction industries were used as fuel to produce steam necessary for the extraction of essential oils (EO) by hydrodistillation from a plant around the Mediterranean, Daucus carota L. The results obtained in terms of yield and extraction time were compared to those obtained by the classical method of hydrodistillation (HD) using electric heating. Several advantages with hydrodistillation in the presence of biomass as an energy source (BEHD) have been observed: faster kinetics and higher efficiency with similar yields: 1.03% and an extraction time of 30 min against 180 min for classic hydrodistillation. The antimicrobial activity and the antioxidant activity of the EO extracted by HD and BEHD were evaluated. The results showed that the oil extracted by BEHD has a better antioxidant activity and it is much more active than that isolated by HD. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.