PRODUCTION" OF SWEET-ORANGE OIL. 
COMPARISON OF THE VARIOUS OILS. 
In order that the oils obtained by the processes outlined might be 
compared with commercial imported Italian hand-pressed oil. a 
sample of the latter was purchased in the open market, and the 
results of the comparison are shown in Table A . 
Table V. —Comparison of the oils obtained by vacuu distillation and by pressi 
a commercial sample of hand-pressed imported oil. 
Description 
of oil. 
Color. 
Odor. Taste. 
Specific 
gravity. 
at25 = C. 
Specific 
rotation 
2-y c. 
Evap- 
oration 
r-rsi-iv.T. 
Total 
absorp- 
tion by 
; . liv.m 
bisul- 
phite. 
Italian hand 
pressed. 
Florida: 
Vacuum 
distilled. 
Machine 
pressed. 
Lemon yellow. 
Lemon vellow. 
with "slight 
brown tinge. 
Reddish yel- 
low. 
Characteristic Characteristic. 
orange, aromatic: no 
bittern^s. 
do do 
Characteristic i do 
orange: excel- 
lent fruity 
aroma. 
B.8415 
.8445 
115° 6' 
115° IS' 
Percent. 
1.73 
2.10 
. 1 
2 : 
4.00 
Sweet-orange oil is graded on the market according to its color. 
odor, taste., specific gravity, and angle of rotation. The ninth 
decennial revision of the United States Pharmacopoeia describes 
orange oil as a yellow liquid, having the characteristic odor and taste 
of orange peel. The specific gravity, at 25° C. lies between 0.842 and 
0.S46: the optical rotation is not less than — 94 : in a 100-mm. tube 
at 25° C. 
Table V reveals some interesting comparisons. The color of the 
pressed oil as given is reddish yellow, due entirely to coloring matter 
which was forced out by the heavy pressure used in extracting the 
oil. This color in no way interferes with the commercial uses of the 
oil and is not detrimental to its sale. The odor, on comparison, 
shows that the pressed oil is somewhat superior to the vacuum- 
distilled oil and also to that of the commercial sample. It possesses 
the characteristic odor of orange peel, and in addition has a fine, 
fruity, very agreeable aroma. In all the samples, the oils possessed 
a fine, characteristic, aromatic taste. The specific gravity of the 
sample bought in the open market is slightly below that stated in 
the Pharmacopoeia as the minimum limit. The vacuum-distilled 
and pressed oils are safely within the limits. The angles of rotation 
of the commercial sample and the vacuum-distilled oils agree very 
closely: that of the pressed oil is somewhat lower, indicating that 
this sample probably contains more of the valuable optically inactive 
constituents and less of the optically active limonin. The residue 
50399 c — Bull. 399—16 2 
