Alexandria Engineering Journal (2017) xxx, xxx–xxx

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Alexandria University

Alexandria Engineering Journal

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from

sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave
air-hydrodistillation method
H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud

Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, Indonesia

Received 12 April 2016; revised 4 November 2016; accepted 13 February 2017

KEYWORDS Abstract Essential oil from sandalwood is commonly obtained by conventional extraction meth-
Air flow; ods which requires great energy, significant amount of solvents, and quite a long process time.
Kinetics modeling; Therefore, the use of new ‘green method’ for extracting essential oil with minimum/low energy, sol-
Microwave hydrodistillation; vents, and time needs to be considered. One extraction method that has been successfully developed
Microwave air- is microwave hydrodistillation method. This research employs a method developed from microwave
hydrodistillation; hydrodistillation, that is microwave air-hydrodistillation for optimizing the extraction of essential
Sandalwood oil; oil. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the presence and absence of additional
Santalum album air flow to the microwave hydrodistillation method. The material used in this study includes sandal-
wood powder. The extractions by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods were done on the power of 600 W; the ratio of the raw material to be extracted and the
solvent was 0.05 g mL
1 and the extraction time was 120 min. In the extraction by microwave
air-hydrodistillation, the rates of air flow used were 0.1, 0.5, 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0 L/min. The results
of the research show that the extraction of sandalwood oil by microwave air-hydrodistillation is fas-
ter and produces higher yields compared to the extraction by microwave hydrodistillation method.
Based on kinetics modeling that has been done, it can be said that the second-order kinetic model
more can represent well the experimental results of sandalwood oil extraction by microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods when compared with the first-
order kinetic model. The testing of the physical properties of the sandalwood oil indicates that
essential oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation has the
same quality (refractive index and specific gravity). Further, the testing of the chemical properties
of the sandalwood oil shows that essential oil obtained by microwave air-hydrodistillation has bet-
ter quality (flavor) compared to the oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation.
Ó 2017 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

E-mail addresses: heriseptyakusuma@gmail.com (H.S. Kusuma), mahfud@chem-eng.its.ac.id (M. Mahfud)

Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
1110-0168 Ó 2017 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
2 H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud
1. Introduction
Essential oil is also commonly known as volatile oil or fly oil.
Essential oil is a fluid compound, that is obtained from plant
parts such as roots, barks, stems, leaves, fruits, seeds, or flow-
ers by steam distillation. Essential oil generated from aromatic
plants is an export commodity which is needed by various
industries, such as the perfume industry, cosmetics, pharma-
ceuticals/medicine, as well as the food and beverage industry.
In trading, this commodity is seen as having a strategic role
for producing primary and secondary products, for both
domestic and export needs.
Despite the price fluctuation, the commodity of essential oil
still exists. As such, farmers and producers still receive the ben-
efits. Furthermore, various types of essential oil which have
high prices have been developed. The price of essential oil from
flowers can reach tens of millions rupiah; essential oil from the
leaves, twigs, and seeds of herb plants (plants with soft stems,
not forming wood) can reach hundreds of thousand rupiah per
kilogram [1].
Every year, the consumption of essential oil or fly oil
increases approximately 8–10%. It happens not only in
Indonesia, which is the world’s source of essential oil, but also
in other producer countries, such as India, Thailand, and
Haiti. Such a trend is triggered by the increase in the needs
of essential oil for the perfume industry, cosmetics, and health
care. It is also driven by the tendency of consumers to switch
from using materials containing synthetic compounds to using
natural materials; this increases the demand for essential oil.
Additionally, the products from essential oil cannot be
replaced by synthetic materials.
It is estimated that there are 150–200 plant species which
can produce essential oil, including the family of Pinaceae,
Labiatae, Compositae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Umbellifer-
aceae [2]. Indonesia is one of main essential-oil producer coun-
tries in the world. In Indonesia, there are about 45 plant
species which can produce essential oil. However, only 15
plants have become export commodities. They are citronella
oil, vetiver oil, patchouli oil, cananga oil, sandalwood oil, nut-
meg and mace oil, clove leaf, stem, bud oil, cullilawan oil, mas-
soi oil, sassafras oil, ginger oil, blackpepper oil, agarwood oil,
turpentine oil, cajeput oil, and kaffir lime oil. In the interna-
tional market, there are 90 kinds of essential oil traded [3].
The good prospect of essential oil in Indonesia should be
followed by the mastery of refining technology and the cultiva-
tion of plants producing essential oil, so that the business of
essential oil can grow in terms of quantity and quality to meet
the needs of the world, and be able to improve the country’s
competitiveness, especially with suppliers from other countries.
This can be seen from the extraction of sandalwood oil which
is commonly done by hydrodistillation, steam-hydro distilla-
tion, and steam distillation.
The extraction of sandalwood oil has long been done by
refiners in Kupang by steam distillation. It generally takes
40–70 h. The distillation process is usually stopped when the
distilled oil is estimated to run out and economically not
viable/efficient. Further, the distillation of sandalwood oil is
usually done at the vapor pressure of 20–40 lb. High-
pressured distillation can also be done to produce higher oil
yield; it is done in a shorter distillation process. This is because
Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
the use of high pressure can raise the temperature of distilla-
tion. However, the increase in temperature can result in the
decomposition of oil components; this produces less oil frag-
nant. Therefore, the use of a new ‘green method’ for extracting
essential oil with low/minimal energy and solvent should be
considered. A new method for extracting essential oil has been
developed, that is by microwave.
Previous research has shown that extraction by microwave
is an alternative method which can be further developed due to
the high level of product purity, the minimal use of solvent,
and short processing time [4]. Some extractions by microwave
which have been developed include microwave hydrodistilla-
tion – which is the combination of hydrodistillation and heat-
ing with microwave [5], and microwave steam distillation –
which is the combination of steam distillation and heating with
microwave [6].
In this study, the development of microwave hydrodistilla-
tion will be used, that is microwave air-hydrodistillation for
the extraction of essential oil. This method consists of three
elements: a compressor that serves to inject air into the distiller
containing matrix (parts of the plant to be extracted), micro-
wave, and a condenser as the cooling system.
The addition of air flow in the microwave air-
hydrodistillation is expected to improve the yield and quality
of sandalwood oil extracted. The addition of the air flow is pre-
dicted to assist in carrying important oil components in the cell
membrane or plant tissue that is difficult to diffuse. This is
because sandalwood oil is heavy oil containing heavy fraction
components which are difficult to extract without an addition
of air flow. Thus, to examine the effect of the air flow in micro-
wave air-hydrodistillation, the extractions of essential oil from
sandalwood (Santalum album) by the methods of microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation were
done in this research.
Up to now many researchers have modelled the microwave-
assisted extraction kinetics of essential oil extraction from
plant material [7]. However, no data on the influence of differ-
ent microwave-assisted extraction methods on the yield, com-
position or microwave-assisted extraction kinetics of essential
oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) can be found in the lit-
erature. In this research the essential oil from sandalwood
(Santalum album) was obtained by two different microwave-
assisted extraction methods and the yields, as well as the com-
position of the resulting essential oils was compared. Also, the
microwave-assisted extraction kinetics were compared, with an
aim to choose the kinetic models which can represent well the
experimental results of sandalwood oil extraction by micro-
wave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials and chemicals
Powder sandalwood (Santalum album) used in this research
was obtained from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, and stored
at room temperature until required. Aquadest and anhydrous
sodium sulfate used in the experimental work were all of ana-
lytical grade.
Kinetics studies of sandalwood oil extraction by microwave-air hydrodistillation method 3

2.2. Microwave air-hydrodistillation
A domestic microwave oven (EMM-2007X, Electrolux, 20 L,
800 W; variable in 200 W increments, 2.45 GHz) was modified
for microwave hydrodistillation operation. The dimensions of
the PTFE-coated cavity of the microwave oven were
46.1 cm  28.0 cm  37.3 cm. Twenty grams of sandalwood
powder samples was placed in a 1 L flask containing deionized
water (400 mL). The flask was setup within the microwave
oven cavity and a condenser was used on the top (outside
the oven) to collect the extracted essential oils. Using the com-
pressor (MELZER V-777, electric motor: 1/5H.P., max pres-
sure: 3 bar), air flow was added into the distiller containing
the sandalwood powder and deionized water. Next, the air
flow is set in accordance with the operational condition and
the determined research variables using flow meter (Fig. 1).
The microwave oven was operated at 600 W power level for
a period of 2 h. This period was sufficient to extract all the
essential oils from the sample. The essential oil was separated
using a separating funnel. To remove water, the extracted
essential oils were then dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate,
weighed and stored in amber vials at 4 °C until they were used
for analysis. The yield of sandalwood oil was found by the fol-
lowing equation
V order and t (min) is the extraction time.
y¼  100
W
where y is the sandalwood oil yield (%, w/w), V is the weight
or mass of extracted sandalwood oil (g) and W is the weight or
mass of sandalwood powder (g).
2.3. Microwave hydrodistillation
Twenty grams of sandalwood powder samples was placed in a
1 L flask containing deionized water (400 mL). The flask was
setup within the microwave oven cavity and a condenser was
used on the top (outside the oven) to collect the extracted
essential oils (Fig. 2). The microwave oven was operated at
600 W power level for a period of 2 h. This period was suffi-
cient to extract all the essential oils from the sample. The
essential oil was separated using a separating funnel. To
remove water, the extracted essential oils were then dried over
anhydrous sodium sulfate, weighed and stored in amber vials
at 4 °C until they were used for analysis.
2.4. The kinetics modeling on extraction process
In this study the kinetics modeling for the extraction of sandal-
wood oil by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods was done using the first-order and
second-order model, where the latter can be known kinetic
model corresponding to the experimental results for the extrac-
tion of sandalwood oil by microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation methods.
2.5. First-order kinetic model
The first-order kinetics equation by Lagergren [8–10] can be
written in differential form as follows:
dCt
¼ k1 ðCS
Ct Þ ð2Þ
dt
where k1 (min
1) is the extraction rate constant for the first-
ð1Þ Furthermore, Eq. (2) integrated with the boundary condi-
tion Ct = 0 at t = 0 and Ct = Ct at t = t:
 
CS
ln ¼ k1 t ð3Þ
CS
Ct
Eq. (3) have been obtained can be converted into a linear form
as follows:
k1
logðCS
Ct Þ ¼ logðCS Þ
t ð4Þ
2; 303
Then a plot is created between log (CS-Ct) with t to get the
slope and intercept that can be used to determine the value
of the extraction rate constant for the first-order (k1) and the
value of the extraction capacity (CS).

Figure 1 Schematic representation of the microwave air-hydrodistillation apparatus used in this study.

Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
4 H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud

Figure 2 Schematic representation of the microwave hydrodistillation apparatus used in this study.

2.6. Second-order kinetic model and the initial extraction rate h, with Ct = t when t approaches
0, can be defined as follows:
The second-order kinetics equation for the rate of extraction h ¼ k2 C2S ð12Þ
by Ho et al. (2005) [11] can be written as follows:
Eq. (9) can be changed again so that it can be finally found:
dCt
¼ k2 ðCS
Ct Þ2 ð5Þ t t 1
dt ¼ þ ð13Þ

1
1 Ct CS h
where k2 (L g min ) is the extraction rate constant for the
second-order. The initial extraction rate h, the extraction capacity CS, and
By grouping variables in Eq. (5) is obtained: the extraction rate constant for the second-order k2 can be
determined experimentally from the slope and intercept by
dCt
¼ k2 dt ð6Þ making a plot between t/Ct with t.
ðCS
Ct Þ2
Further Eq. (9) can be obtained by integrating Eq. (6) using 2.7. Physical constants
the boundary conditions Ct = 0 at t = 0 and Ct = Ct at
t = t and by performing rearrangement as follows: Specific gravity and refractive index of the essential oils
1 1 extracted from sandalwood (by both methods) were measured

¼ k2 t ð7Þ according to the method suggested by ISO 3518:2002(E).
ðCS
Ct Þ CS
Specific gravity and refractive index were measured at 20 °C.
CS
Ct ¼ CS
ð8Þ 2.8. Chemical analysis of essential oil constituents
1 þ C S k2 t

C2S k2 t Essential oil composition was determined by gas chromatogra-

Ct ¼ ð9Þ phy coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis on a
1 þ C S k2 t
Hewlett–Packard 6890 gas chromatograph coupled to a
Eq. (9) is the integrated extraction rate law for a second-order 5973A mass spectrometer, using two fused-silica-capillary col-
and can be converted back into linear form as follows: umns with different stationary phases. The non-polar column
t 1 t was HP5MSTM (30 m length, 0.25 diameter and 0.25 lm film
¼ þ ð10Þ thickness) and the polar one was a StabilwaxTM consisting of
Ct k2 C2S CS
CarbowaxTM-PEG (60 m length, 0.25 mm diameter and
The extraction rate (Ct/t) can be obtained from Eq. (11) as 0.25 lm film thickness). GC–MS spectra were obtained using
follows: the following conditions: carrier gas He; flow rate
Ct 1 1.0 ml min
1; split 1:50; injection volume 1.0 lL; injection tem-
¼ ð11Þ perature 300 °C; oven temperature progress from 100 to
t ð1=k2 CS Þ þ ðt=CS Þ
2

250 °C at 10 °C min
1; the ionization mode used was elec-

Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
Kinetics studies of sandalwood oil extraction by microwave-air hydrodistillation method 5

tronic impact at 70 eV. Most constituents were tentatively 1.4000 1.3170

1.2423
identified by comparison of their GC Kovats retention indices 1.1938
1.1209
1.2000
(RI), determined with reference to an homologous series of

Sandalwood oil yield (%)

0.9989 1.1930 1.2184
C5–C28 n-alkanes and with those of authentic standards avail- 1.0000 1.1231
1.0055
able in the authors’ laboratory. Identification was confirmed 0.8000
by comparison of their mass spectral fragmentation patterns
0.6000
with those stored in the MS database (National Institute of
Standards and Technology and Wiley libraries) and with mass 0.4000
MHD
spectra literature data [12,13]. For each compound on the 0.2000
MAHD 5,0 L/min
chromatogram, the percentage of peak area relative to the
0.0000
total peak areas from all compounds was determined and 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
reported as relative amount of that compound. Time (min)

Figure 3 Comparison of sandalwood oil yield obtained by

3. Results and discussion
microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods.
3.1. The effect of the addition of airflow to microwave air-
hydrodistillation method on the yield of sandalwood oil

In the extraction of sandalwood oil, it can be observed that the 1.4000 (a)
yield of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave air- 1.2000

Sandalwood oil yield (%)

hydrodistillation is higher compared to yield obtained by
1.0000
microwave hydrodistillation. The comparison chart of sandal-
wood yield obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and 0.8000
microwave air-hydrodistillation methods in a variety of micro- 0.6000
wave power can be seen in Table 1. As presented in Table 1, it Experimental
0.4000
can be seen that the higher the air flow, the higher the obtained First-Order Model
yield of sandalwood. 0.2000
Second-Order Model
To determine the effect of the addition of airflow in the 0.0000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
method of microwave air-hydrodistillation for extracting san-
Time (min)
dalwood oil, the extraction was done using 600 W power; the
ratio of sandalwood and distilled water was 0.05 g mL
1.
Extraction by microwave hydrodistillation produced sandal- 1.4000 (b)
wood oil yield of 1.2184 ± 0.1139%. On the other hand, 1.2000
Sandalwood oil yield (%)

extraction by microwave air-hydrodistillation with the air flow

1.0000
rate of 5.0 L/min produced sandalwood oil yield of 1.3170
± 0.0973%. The microwave hydrodistillation method 0.8000

required up to 80 min to obtain yield of 1.1930 ± 0.0404%, 0.6000

while the microwave air-hydrodistillation method only needed Experimental
0.4000
40 min to produce an almost similar amount of yield, 1.1938 First-Order Model
± 0.0979%. Furthermore, the microwave hydrodistillation 0.2000
Second-Order Model
method took up to 120 min to obtain yield of 1.2184 0.0000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
± 0.1139%, while the microwave air-hydrodistillation method
Time (min)
only took 50 min to obtain an almost similar amount of yield,
1.2423 ± 0.0986%. The comparison of sandalwood oil yield Figure 4 Comparison between kinetic model of first-order and
obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air- second-order with the experimental results on the sandalwood oil
hydrodistillation with the air flow rate of 5.0 L/min can be seen extraction obtained by (a) microwave hydrodistillation and (b)
in Fig. 3. microwave air-hydrodistillation with the air flow rate 5.0 L/min.

Microwave air-hydrodistillation method produces sandal-

Table 1 Yield of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave wood oil yield higher than that produced by the microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation. hydrodistillation method, because the air flow will help to opti-
mize the process of mixing during the extraction. The mixing
Extraction method Air flow Sandalwood
process directly affects the mass transfer process in the dissolv-
rate (L/min) oil yield (%)
ing phase. This results in the balance of liquid and steam
Microwave hydrodistillation 0 1.2184 ± 0.1139 phases in the extraction of sandalwood oil obtained by micro-
Microwave air-hydrodistillation 0.1 1.2248 ± 0.1037
wave air-hydrodistillation, which can be achieved more
0.5 1.2985 ± 0.0762
quickly than that obtained by microwave hydrodistillation
1.5 1.3170 ± 0.0634
3.0 1.3170 ± 0.0968 [14] (see Fig. 4).
5.0 1.3170 ± 0.0973 Furthermore, the air flow is suspected to help to carry the
important oil components in the cell membrane or plant tissue

Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
6 H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud
difficult to diffuse. This is because sandalwood oil is heavy oil;
there are several components of heavy fraction which is diffi-
cult to be extracted without the addition of air flow. To deter-
mine and confirm the components of heavy fraction difficult to
extract without the addition of air flow, the composition of
compounds in sandalwood oil can be obtained by microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods
presented in Table 5. In general, it can be seen that the compo-
sition of compounds of sandalwood oil which is obtained by
microwave air-hydrodistillation is larger/bigger than that
obtained by microwave hydrodistillation. The air flow in
microwave air-hydrodistillation can also be said to serve as a
transfer medium for the components of essential oil, contained
in the material to evaporate. This has an implication for the
increase in the sandalwood oil yield obtained.
3.2. Kinetics modeling on sandalwood oil extraction by
microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods
In the extraction of sandalwood oil by microwave hydrodistil-
lation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods, it can be
seen that the sandalwood oil yield obtained will increase
rapidly in the beginning and then will decline along with the
length of extraction time. Changes in the sandalwood oil yield
obtained can be demonstrated by making a plot between yields
with extraction time. It is then used to determine and study the
kinetics model on the extraction of sandalwood oil by micro-
wave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods.
To study the first-order kinetics model on the extraction of
sandalwood oil that using microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation with the air flow rate of
5.0 L/min, it can be done by making a plot between log
(CS
Ct) with t. Furthermore do the linearization of the plot
to get the slope and intercept that can later be used to deter-
mine the value of k1, CS, and the coefficient of determination
(R2). In addition, to determine the value of k1 and CS can also
be done by minimization of the sum of square of errors
between the experimental data with model data (data obtained
from a first-order kinetics mathematical model) using Solver
(Table 2). Generally from Table 2 it can be seen that the
first-order kinetic model for sandalwood oil extraction by
microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation with the air flow rate 5.0 L/min had a coeffi-
cient of determination (R2) relatively low. So it can be said that
the first-order kinetic model is less able to represent well the
experimental results of sandalwood oil extraction by micro-
wave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods. This is also supported by Ho and McKay (1999)
Table 2 Linearization of first-order kinetic model from the extraction of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation with the air flow rate 5.0 L/min.
Extraction method Calculation method
Microwave hydrodistillation Linear regression
Solver*
Microwave air-hydrodistillation (5.0 L/min) Linear regression
Solver*
*
Values obtained from Microsoft ExcelÒ.
Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
[15] which states that not all processes can be explained well
by the first-order kinetic model. In addition Covelo et al.
(2004) [16] also states that the first-order kinetic model can
only represent well the process that has just one mechanism.
In the sandalwood oil extraction by microwave hydrodistil-
lation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods, in general
there are two mechanisms, where the first mechanism is the
changing structure of the cells of the matrix caused by electro-
magnetic waves. In this case the microwave interacts with
water molecules contained within the gland and the vascular
system of the matrix. Thus the system will be expanded dra-
matically, which is followed by the outbreak of the network.
Any breach of this network then allows the components of
essential oils out, while the second mechanism is the essential
oil-containing organic compounds that can strongly absorb
microwave energy. Organic compounds contained in the essen-
tial oil which has high and low dipolar moments can be
extracted with a specific composition. However, organic com-
pounds contained in the essential oil that has high dipolar
moment will be easier to interact with the microwave and
can be extracted more easily when compared to aromatic com-
pounds that have low dipolar moment [14].
It can also be seen that the extraction rate constant for the
first-order (k1) and extraction capacity (CS) on sandalwood oil
extraction by microwave air-hydrodistillation method is higher
when compared to the extraction is done by microwave
hydrodistillation method. So that it can be used to explain that
the additional air flow to the microwave air-hydrodistillation
method can make the extraction process run faster to extract
sandalwood oil when compared with extraction is done by
microwave hydrodistillation method.
As was explained earlier that the sandalwood oil extraction
by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods that in general there are two mech-
anisms, so in this study is also studied the use of second-order
kinetic model to represent the experimental results from the
extraction process. To study the second-order kinetic model
on the sandalwood oil extraction by microwave hydrodistilla-
tion and microwave air-hydrodistillation with the air flow rate
5.0 L/min, it can be done by making a plot between t/Ct with t.
Furthermore do the linearization of the plot to get the slope
and intercept that can later be used to determine the value of
k2, CS, and the coefficient of determination (R2). In addition,
to determine the value of k2 and CS can also be done by min-
imization of the sum of square of errors between the experi-
mental data with model data (data obtained from a second-
order kinetics mathematical model) using Solver (Table 3).
Generally from Table 3 it can be seen that the second-order
kinetic model for sandalwood oil extraction by microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation with
Slope* k1, min
1 Intercept* CS, g L
1 R2*

0.0076 0.0175
0.5635 0.2732 0.7575
0.0176 0.2732

0.0332 0.0765 -0.0908 0.8113 0.9158
0.0766 0.8113
Kinetics studies of sandalwood oil extraction by microwave-air hydrodistillation method 7

Table 3 Linearization of second-order kinetic model from the extraction of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation
and microwave air-hydrodistillation with the air flow rate 5.0 L/min.
Extraction method Calculation method Slope* CS, g L
1 Intercept* k2, L g
1 min
1 R2*
Microwave hydrodistillation Linear regression 1.6027 0.6239 5.9432 0.4322 0.9986
Solver* 0.6239 0.4322
Microwave air-hydrodistillation (5.0 L/min) Linear regression 1.4480 0.6906 7.8737 0.2663 0.9965
Solver* 0.6906 0.2663
*
Values obtained from Microsoft ExcelÒ.

Table 4 Results of the analysis of the physical properties of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave
air-hydrodistillation methods.
Extraction method Air flow Quality standard (ISO 3518:2002(E)) The physical properties of essential oil
rate (L/min)
Refractive Specific gravity Refractive Specific gravity
index (20 °C) (20 °C/20 °C) index (20 °C) (20 °C/20 °C)
Microwave hydrodistillation 0 1.5030–1.5080 0.9680–0.9830 1.5087 0.9720
Microwave air-hydrodistillation 0.1 1.5087 0.9751
0.5 1.5057 0.9833
1.5 1.5047 0.9784
3.0 1.5037 0.9822
5.0 1.5037 0.9762

the air flow rate 5.0 L/min had a coefficient of determination
(R2) relatively high. So it can be said that the second-order
kinetic model can represent well the experimental results of
sandalwood oil extraction by microwave hydrodistillation
and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods.
In addition, based on the value of the extraction rate con-
stant for the second-order (k2) which has been obtained from
the second-order kinetic model (Table 3), it can be said that
the value of the extraction rate constant for second-order
(k2) on sandalwood oil extraction by microwave hydrodistilla-
tion method is higher (1.6230 times) when compared with the
extraction done by microwave air-hydrodistillation method.
While based on the value of the extraction capacity (CS) which
has been obtained from a second-order kinetic model, it can be
said that the value of the extraction capacity (CS) on sandal-
wood oil extraction by microwave air-hydrodistillation
method is higher (1.1074 times) when compared with extrac-
tion done by microwave hydrodistillation method.
Although the extraction of sandalwood oil by microwave
air-hydrodistillation method has the extraction rate constant
for second-order (k2) which is lower than the extraction is done
by microwave hydrodistillation method, but with the value of
the extraction capacity (CS) on the sandalwood oil extraction
by microwave air-hydrodistillation method is higher when
compared with the extraction done by microwave hydrodistil-
lation method; then, it is a cause or a reason why the sandal-
wood oil extraction by microwave air-hydrodistillation
method is faster when compared with extraction done by
microwave hydrodistillation method. This is also supported
by the equation for the rate of extraction (Ct/t) (Eq. (11)) as
follows:
Ct 1
¼ that in general, the values of the refractive index and specific
t ð1=k2 C2S Þ þ ðt=CS Þ
where from equation it is seen that the value of the extraction
capacity (CS) is more influential when compared with the value
of the extraction rate constant for second order (k2). So from
the second-order kinetic model can also be used to explain that
the additional air flow to the microwave air-hydrodistillation
method can make the extraction process run faster to extract
sandalwood oil when compared with extraction done by micro-
wave hydrodistillation method.
3.3. The analysis of physical and chemical properties of
sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation
In determining the quality of sandalwood oil obtained by
microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods, an analysis of physical and chemi-
cal properties of the oil needs to be conducted. The analysis
of the physical properties of the sandalwood oil obtained by
microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods can be done by determining the
specific gravity and refractive index. Further, the analysis of
the chemical properties of the sandalwood oil obtained by
microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods can be done by identifying the com-
position of compounds contained in the essential oil using
GC–MS. Besides indicating the purity and quality of essential
oil, the comparison of physical and chemical properties using
quality standard data can show the forgery of the essential
oil. However, the analysis of the physical and chemical proper-
ties is not always directly related to the fragnance produced by
essential oil [17].
Based on the analysis of the physical properties of the san-
dalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation methods, it can be proposed
gravity have met the quality standard. Additionally, based
on the analysis of the physical properties of the sandalwood
oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave

Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
8 H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud

Table 5 The chemical compositions of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation
methods.
No. Compound name Mol. Formula, mol. weight Area (%)
MHD MAHD (5.0 L/min)
1 N-Phenylformamide C7H7NO, 121,14 0.67 0.57
2 Camphene C10H16, 136,23 0.95 0.82
3 a-Pinene C10H16, 136,23 0.06 nd
4 Santolina triene C10H16, 136,23 0.07 nd
5 b-Ocimene C10H16, 136,23 0.58 nd
6 cis-Ocimene C10H16, 136,23 1.87 0.09
7 (Z)-Alloocimene C10H16, 136,23 0.06 nd
8 a-Terpinene C10H16, 136,23 1.04 1.11
9 1-Cyclohexylidene-2-methylpropene C10H16, 136,23 nd 1.19
10 Isoterpinolene C10H16, 136,23 0.31 nd
11 4,6-Dimethyl-2-propylpyridine C10H15N, 149,23 0.55 0.27
12 8-Methylene-2-exo-noradamantanol C10H14O, 150,22 nd 0.04
13 3a,6-Methano-3aH-inden-7(4H)-one, hexahydro-7a-d-, (3aa,6a,7ab)- C10H14O, 150,22 0.72 nd
14 m-Carbomethoxyphenol C8H8O3, 152,15 nd 4.05
15 4-Propylresorcinol C9H12O2, 152,19 1.72 nd
16 Teresantalol C10H16O, 152,23 4.58 1.45
17 Sabinene hydrate C10H18O, 154,25 0.10 nd
18 3-Methyl-4-quinazolinone C9H8N2O, 160,17 nd 0.37
19 9-Methyl-10-azatricyclo[5.2.2.0(1,5)]undec-2-ene C11H17N, 163,26 nd 0.02
20 Dispiro[2.1.2.1]octane, 1,1,6,6-tetramethyl C12H20, 164,29 nd 0.02
21 Cyclododecyne C12H20, 164,29 nd 0.31
22 Vitispirane C13H20O, 192,30 nd 0.05
23 a-Curcumene C15H22, 202,34 0.19 0.12
24 a-Farnesene C15H24, 204,35 0.50 1.88
25 b-Patchoulene C15H24, 204,35 0.62 nd
26 a-Santalene C15H24, 204,35 nd 0.03
27 a-Cedrene C15H24, 204,35 nd 0.05
28 c-Curcumene C15H24, 204,35 nd 0.17
29 a-Guaiene C15H24, 204,35 0.66 0.11
30 Isosativene C15H24, 204,35 0.18 nd
31 b-Santalene C15H24, 204,35 0.05 0.07
32 Seychellene C15H24, 204,35 0.77 nd
33 a-Patchoulene C15H24, 204,35 0.38 nd
34 Germacrene B C15H24, 204,35 5.50 0.10
35 a-Selinene C15H24, 204,35 0.06 nd
36 d-Guaiene C15H24, 204,35 0.48 0.15
37 c-Elemene C15H24, 204,35 nd 3.69
38 a-Bergamotene C15H24, 204,35 nd 0.20
39 Bicyclogermacrene C15H24, 204,35 0.64 0.45
40 2-Methyl-6-(4-methylcyclohex-3-en-1-ylidene)hept-2-ene C15H24, 204,35 nd 0.71
41 Acoradiene C15H24, 204,35 1.39 0.59
42 Bicycloelemene C15H24, 204,35 nd 1.36
43 Viridiflorene (ledene) C15H24, 204,35 0.91 nd
44 Cyclopentanepropanoic acid, 3-oxo-2-(2-propynyl)-, methyl ester, trans- C12H16O3, 208,25 nd 0.08
45 b-Costal C15H22O, 218,33 0.53 nd
46 (E)-Nuciferol C15H22O, 218,33 6.59 7.07
47 5-Hydroxycalamenene C15H22O, 218,33 nd 2.15
48 b-Santalol C15H24O, 220,35 22.67 24.80
49 a-Santalol C15H24O, 220,35 27.81 28.73
50 a-Bergamotol C15H24O, 220,35 10.82 10.18
51 cis-a-Copaene-8-ol C15H24O, 220,35 1.86 nd
52 cis-Lanceol C15H24O, 220,35 3.42 2.74
53 a-Cedrol C15H26O, 222,37 nd 2.65
54 Caryophylla-3,8(15)-dien-5.alpha.-ol C15H26O, 222,37 0.47 0.52
55 Isolongifolol C15H26O, 222,37 0.21 0.59
56 3-Phenyl-1,4(E)-dodecadiene C18H26, 242,40 nd 0.21
57 Dodecenyl succinic anhydride C16H26O3, 266,38 nd 0.19
58 2-Octylcyclopropaneoctanal C19H36O, 280,49 nd 0.03
59 Oleic acid C18H34O2, 282,46 nd 0.07
Monoterpenes 4.94 3.21

Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
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Kinetics studies of sandalwood oil extraction by microwave-air hydrodistillation method
Table 5 (continued)
No. Compound name
Sesquiterpenes
Oxygenated terpenes
Other compounds
air-hydrodistillation methods, it can be seen that the values of
the refractive index and specific gravity have met the quality
standard. Additionally, based on the analysis of the physical
properties of the sandalwood oil, it can be seen that the values
of the refractive index and specific gravity of the oil obtained
by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods do not show a significant difference.
Therefore, it can be proposed that sandalwood oil obtained by
microwave air-hydrodistillation has a similar quality (the
refractive index and specific gravity) with sandalwood oil
obtained by microwave hydrodistillation. The results of the
analysis of the physical properties of sandalwood oil obtained
by microwave hydrodistillation and microwave air-
hydrodistillation methods can be seen in Table 4.
Based on the analysis of the chemical properties of
sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation methods, it can be proposed
that the quality of the sandalwood oil has met the quality
standard, shown by the composition of the main compounds.
The quality of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods
can be seen from some main compounds, such as a-santalol,
b-santalol, a-bergamotol, cis-lanceol, a-santalene,
b-santalene, a-bergamotene, and a-curcumene. Additionally,
based on the standard of the International Organization for
Standardisation, the quality of sandalwood oil can also be seen
from the total content of santalol. Commercial sandalwood oil
contains 50–70% santalol [18]. Therefore, it can be proposed
that sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation
and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods has the same
quality with commercial sandalwood. The composition of
compounds of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave
hydrodistillation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods
can be seen in Table 5.
As shown in Table 5, it can be seen that the compound
composition of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave
air-hydrodistillation method is larger than that obtained by
microwave hydrodistillation. In the extraction of sandalwood
oil by microwave air-hydrodistillation, there are 37 com-
pounds identified, while in the extraction of sandalwood oil
obtained by microwave air-hydrodistillation, there are 43 com-
pounds identified. Therefore, it can be proposed that the addi-
tion of air flow in the microwave air-hydrodistillation method
can help to extract the heavy fraction components in the cell
membrane or plant tissue difficult to diffuse. This is supported
by the more heavy fraction components contained in sandal-
wood oil by microwave air-hydrodistillation method, com-
pared to oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation. In the
extraction of sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodis-
tillation, there are only 2 heavy fraction components (mol.
weight  222.37). On the other hand, in the extraction of
Please cite this article in press as: H.S. Kusuma, M. Mahfud, Kinetic studies on extraction of essential oil from sandalwood (Santalum album) by microwave air-
hydrodistillation method, Alexandria Eng. J. (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2017.02.007
9
Mol. Formula, mol. weight Area (%)
MHD MAHD (5.0 L/min)
12.33 9.68
81.50 85.39
1.22 1.77
sandalwood oil obtained by microwave air-hydrodistillation,
there are 7 heavy fraction components (mol. weight  222.37).
The heavy fraction components found in sandalwood oil
are important oil components, because most of the compo-
nents belong to oxygenated terpenes. The components of oxy-
genated terpenes contribute more to the aroma/fragnance
produced by essential oil, compared to other compounds
[19]. Therefore, the more components of oxygenated terpenes
found in sandalwood oil obtained by microwave air-
hydrodistillation, the better the quality of the oil; it can
improve the aroma/fragnance of the oil. Thus, it can be pre-
dicted that sandalwood oil obtained by microwave air-
hydrodistillation has better quality (aroma/fragnance) com-
pared to that obtained by microwave hydrodistillation.
4. Conclusions
The extraction of sandalwood oil by microwave air-
hydrodistillation is faster and produces higher yield compared
to the extraction by microwave hydrodistillation. The addition
of air flow in the microwave air-hydrodistillation method can
increase the yield of the obtained sandalwood oil. The bigger
the air flow, the more yield of sandalwood oil will be obtained.
Based on the obtained yield, it can be proposed that the addi-
tion of air flow in the microwave air-hydrodistillation method
can extract more sandalwood oil from the raw material, com-
pared to the microwave hydrodistillation method. The second-
order kinetic model more can represent well the experimental
results of sandalwood oil extraction by microwave hydrodistil-
lation and microwave air-hydrodistillation methods when
compared with the first-order kinetic model. The quality of
sandalwood oil obtained by microwave hydrodistillation and
microwave air-hydrodistillation methods can be determined
by analyzing the physical and chemical properties of the oil.
Based on the analysis of the physical properties of the sandal-
wood oil, it can be proposed that the sandalwood oil obtained
by microwave air-hydrodistillation has the same quality
(refractive index and specific gravity) with that obtained by
microwave hydrodistillation. Furthermore, based on the anal-
ysis of the chemical properties of the sandalwood oil, it can be
proposed that sandalwood oil obtained by microwave air-
hydrodistillation has better quality (aroma/fragnance) com-
pared to that obtained by microwave hydrodistillation.
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