ABSTRACTIsolation of citronellal from citronella oil has been studied by using bench scale (2-6 L) fractionation unit. The column used has packed with 120 stages and equipped with a reflux unit. The separation processes were based on temperature, the variation of vacuum pressure 40, 60, 80 mmHg and reflux ratio 10:10, 20:10, 30:10. The optimum condition was obtained at reflux ratio 20:10 and vacuum pressure 60 mmHg with yield of 41.33%. Chromatography analysis showed that isolate has citronellal content about 96.103%. Keyword: citronella oil, citronellal, fractionation
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