Uses Of Organic Chemistry In Industry -2 (perfumes)

Perfume has been used throughout history for a variety of reasons. People have used perfume, oils and unguents on their bodies for thousands of years in lesser or greater amounts dependant on fashion whims. In the early Egyptians used perfumed balms as part of religious ceremonies and later as part of pre love making preparations. Now it is used by thousands of Consumers to indicate their lifestyle, character, presence and Specialty in the industry. This explains how the perfumes are made and what ingredients are involved in it.

Perfume is made from about 78% to 95% of specially denatured ethyl alcohol and a remainder of essential oils. Perfumes are made up of a blend of different aromas that usually come from essential oils. Perfume formulations can be expressed in volumetric or weight proportions of each of its components. Perfumes today are being made and used in different ways than in previous centuries. Perfumes are being manufactured more and more frequently with synthetic chemicals rather than natural oils.

Natural ingredients—flowers, grasses, spices, fruit, wood, roots, resins, balsams, leaves, gums, and animal secretions—as well as resources like alcohol, petrochemicals, coal, and coal tars are used in the manufacture of perfumes. Some plants, such as lily of the valley, do not produce oils naturally. In fact, only about 2,000 of the 250,000 known flowering plant species contain these essential oils. Therefore, synthetic chemicals must be used to re-create the smells of non-oily substances. Synthetics also create original scents not found in nature.

Some perfume ingredients are animal products. For example, castor comes from beavers, musk from male deer, and ambergris from the sperm whale. Animal substances are often used as fixatives that enable perfume to evaporate slowly and emit odors longer. Other fixatives include coal tar, mosses, resins, or synthetic chemicals. Alcohol and sometimes water are used to dilute ingredients in perfumes. It is the ratio of alcohol to scent that determines whether the perfume is "eau de toilette" (toilet water) or cologne.

 
Types of Aromatic Compounds

 A common source of aromatic compounds comes from plants. These compounds are usually the byproducts of chemicals made to discourage animals from eating the plants. These compounds can be found in the bark (such as cinnamon), the flowers (such as rose and jasmine scents), fruits (such as apples and strawberries), leaves and other plant parts. Perfumes can also be found in ambergris, which is an oxidized fatty substance commonly found in whales. Other animal sources include musk, which can be taken from the musk sacks of deer.

 
Aromatic Compound Extraction

 The most common method of obtaining aromatic compounds for the purpose of turning them into perfume is the solvent extraction process. In this method, the source material is put into a liquid that can dissolve the desired material. These liquids can be made up of hexane and ether. Another technique is distillation, in which steam from boiling water is passed through the desired material. The condensed steam is then concentrated and purified in a special flask. Other methods include crushing plants between presses and embedding them into wax.

 

Perfume making process :

Collection

Collection of raw materials is the first step in the perfume making process. Fragrance can be obtained from flowers, grasses, mosses, leaves, tree barks and fruit peels. Once raw materials are collected, the fragrance is extracted by distillation, absorption or extraction using solvents.

Distillation

In the distillation method, raw materials are steamed. As the steam rises, the scent is carried into a glass tube where the mixture condenses as it cools. The mixture is then put into flask where the essential oil naturally rises to the top and is skimmed off for use in the perfume.

 

Absorption

Absorption is used for raw materials that can't with stand the heat of the distillation process. They are steeped in heated fats or oils, then filtered through fabric to obtain the scented solid. The solid is then washed in alcohol. When the fat is removed, the perfumed alcohol remains.

 Extraction

Fragrance also is drawn when plant matter and volatile solvents are combined in a rotating tank. The solvent extracts the essential oils and dissolves the plant matter, leaving a wax-like oil. Once the oil has evaporated, a perfume paste remains.

 Aromas

Musk and castor are animal secretions frequently used in perfume making. Synthetically produced aromas also are used.

Blending

Once the perfume oil is extracted, the blending process commences. A perfumer, known as "a nose," uses an extensive knowledge of fragrance characteristic to blend anywhere from 20 to 800 raw materials to compose a scent. Once the scent is developed and tested, batches are robotically mixed.

 
The pure perfume oil is then diluted with alcohol and water. If a full perfume is desired, 10 to 20 percent of the oil is dissolved in alcohol with a minute amount of water. Cologne is 3 to 5 percent oil, 80 to 90 percent alcohol and 10 percent water. An eau de toilette is 2 percent oil, 60 to 80 percent alcohol and 20 percent water. Then the perfume is ready to be aged, filtered and bottled.