Characterization of down-flowing steam distillation system using step test analysis

This paper presents an application of step test in analysing the characterization and to observe the dynamics of new system which is down-flowing steam distillation system. Steam temperature data were collected in two condition: (a) without sample in the steam tray, (b) with sample in the steam tray-Cymbopogon Nardus (serai wangi). The down-flowing steam distillation column developed in this work is intended for extracting the essential oil by steam distillation technique to improve the quality of output yield and get high quantity of essential oil as compare to the conventional steam distillation. Step test is a conventional method that was conducted to observe the process dynamics of heating such as time delay, Td and dominating time constant, Tc. From this analysis, the dynamic of down-flowing steam distillation system for both situations are consistent along the process running.