Some of the major constraints in sustainable industrial exploi- tation of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are due to the fact that the countries of South East Asia have poor agricultural practices for MAPs, unscientifi c and indiscriminate gathering practices from the wild, poor post- harvest and post-gathering practices leading to poor quality raw material, lack of research for the development of high-yielding varieties of MAPs, poor propagation methods, ineffi cient processing techniques, poor quality control procedures, lack of research on process and product development, diffi - culty in marketing, non-availability of trained personnel, lack of facilities and tools to fabricate equipment locally, and fi nally lack of access to the latest technologies and market information. This calls for co-operation and co- ordination among various institutes and organizations of the region, in order to develop MAPs for sustainable commercial exploitation.
The process of extracting MAPs determines how effi ciently we add value to MAP bioresources. In the case of essential oils, the extraction process affects the physical as well as internal composition. External ap- pearance, at times, can result in rejection of the batch even if the analytical results are within acceptable limits. Furthermore, essential oils are evalu- ated internationally for their olfactory properties by experienced perfumers and these olfactory qualities supersede analytical results. Variations in the chemical constituents of the extracts of medicinal plants may result by us- ing non-standardized procedures of extraction. Efforts should be made to produce batches with quality as consistent as possible (within the narrowest possible range).
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2 Role of Process Simulation in
Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
M. Fermeglia
Abstract
This paper illustrates the role of process simulation in the fi eld of extraction technolo- gies for medicinal and aromatic plants. The paper starts with a brief introduction to process simulation fundamentals and the role of process simulation in the industry today. It describes procedures to follow in simulating a process and the benefi ts of process simulation. In the second part of the paper, phytochemical processes that have been simulated at ICS-UNIDO are listed, followed by two case studies to illustrate the applicability of the methodology proposed: (i) turpentine oil batch distillation and (ii) menthol recovery by crystallization of mentha oil. At the end, recommendations are given advocating the importance of process simulation for developing countries.