THE DIARY GAME : 26/04/2021 - Travel and Study - sri lankan cinnamon oil extraction industry

Today is a holiday in my country. So, I decided to go out with my friend. I love to walk freely. I think in addition to our job we can get a lot of experience by traveling. 🚴🚴🚴🚴

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Today I went to a cinnamon cultivation abandoned area. There were so many cinnamon leaf oil factories. What do you know about cinnamon trees? First of all, we discuss the history of this tree. I heard that according to Roman records Romans mixed cinnamon products for their medicinal and culinary values. Also, I remember my grandma used cinnamon oil for toothaches.

When we talk about the history of Sri Lankan cinnamon cultivation, true cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. My country has occupied a very high economic position from this cinnamon cultivation. Still, Sri Lanka maintains its monopoly as the world's premier cinnamon supplier. It is said that the Dutch developed the cinnamon plantation commercially in Sri Lanka and exported it to many countries. Most of Sri Lankans cinnamon is used as a spice in cooking.

Cinnamon is a tropical plant. It is cultivated in wet and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka. The Batapola area I was visiting today is also very rich in cinnamon cultivation. guys, I hope you all can get some idea about cinnamon trees.

so let me share my experience about cinnamon leaf oil production. Both bark and leaves are used in the production of essential oils associated with the cinnamon crop. But most of the demand has gone to cinnamon leaf oil. Sri Lanka is the largest and the main supplier of this oil in the international market. America, West European countries as well as India are the main buyers of cinnamon leaf oil made by Sri Lanka. The factory with the machinery used for oil extraction is called the oil shed. Depending on the industry of this area some may rent oil sheds, bring leaves to their oil sheds or buy cinnamon leaves from other lands and extract oil in their own land or someone else oil sheds. The owner of this cinnamon shed where I came today has rented it out his shed. He thus obtains cinnamon oil in exchange for money on a rental basis.

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As a professional engineer I would like to explain to you about the scientific methodology here. Cinnamon oil extraction is an industry that Sri Lanka is proud of. Do you know the role that chemistry plays in it? A liquid boils when its vapor pressure is equal to the outside atmospheric pressure (1 atm). The total vapor pressure reaches 1 atm at a lower temperature than when heated alone, so the inert liquid comes to a boiling temperature of 2 at a lower temperature. Organic compounds decompose at high temperatures and are prevented by this method (steam distillation).

Extraction process

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I will explain it to you in simple terms.

The water in the caldera is heated and the steam is pumped through a white iron tube into the leaf pot. When the steam comes in, add eight lumps of leaves and control with the steam and gradually tighten the leaves in the pot. Eight lumps of leaves are put into the pot. And after that the water in the caldera is heated by controlling the steam and occasionally setting the stove on fire through a closed system to prevent it from escaping.

Cinnamon leaves are pressurized and the oil in the cinnamon leaves evaporates. The oil thus evaporated condenses and separates into water and oil. This water is called goda and has a monetary value. Finally, the oil and goda are poured into three jars called kalanchi next to the water tank.

The above process takes about eight hours. Finally Depending on the density of the oil and the goda, they eventually separate.

A servant at this shed explained this process to me and I explained this description to you very briefly here.

Cinnamon cultivation requires proper fertilization, rainfall and temperature. Otherwise, the density of the leaf will decrease and hence the amount of oil extracted will also decrease.

Unfortunately today when I go there that shed does not produce oil. Or I could have contributed labor to it. However, today I came to know a lot of information about a major export crop of the country. I am especially thankful to that employee. He explained everything to me very well.

Travel at will. Learn even the smallest things. Sometimes that knowledge can come in handy when you least expect it... So I hope you also enjoy my experience.

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