Lemon Oil Ref
Lemon oil ref, sold as refined or rectified lemon oil, is cold pressed lemon oil from the peel of Citrus limon that has been redistilled under vacuum to remove colour bodies, waxes, coumarins and oxidised material. Rectification converts an oil that is turbid, coloured and prone to spoilage into a clear, nearly colourless one that behaves predictably in clear beverages and in alcoholic systems.
The oil remains mainly monoterpene hydrocarbon, with d limonene at 60 to 75 percent, beta pinene and gamma terpinene next in order. Its character is carried by citral, the combined neral and geranial that gives lemon its sharp fresh top and which is usually contracted at 2.5 to 5.0 percent, together with linalool, geranyl acetate and neryl acetate. Compared with the unrefined cold pressed oil, the rectified material is cleaner and brighter at the top but has lost part of the fatty peel depth carried by the non volatile residue.
It is a mobile, colourless to very pale yellow liquid, lighter than water, soluble in ethanol at 90 percent and above and in fixed oils, and insoluble in water. Removal of the natural antioxidant residue leaves the citral exposed, so rectified lemon oil is stored refrigerated in full, nitrogen blanketed containers away from light and acid, since citral degrades rapidly in acidic aqueous systems.
We source bulk Lemon Oil Ref from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Beijing. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Essential oil
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear mobile liquid, free from haze and sediment |
| Colour | Colourless to very pale yellow |
| Odour and flavour | Fresh, sharp, characteristic of lemon peel |
| Total citral as neral and geranial | Not less than 3.0 percent |
| d Limonene | 60.0 to 75.0 percent |
| Beta pinene | 7.0 to 17.0 percent |
| Specific gravity at 25 degrees Celsius | 0.849 to 0.855 |
| Refractive index at 20 degrees Celsius | 1.4730 to 1.4760 |
| Optical rotation at 20 degrees Celsius | plus 57 to plus 70 degrees |
| Solubility in 90 percent ethanol | Soluble in 3 volumes, clear solution |
| Evaporation residue | Not more than 0.5 percent |
| Peroxide value | Not more than 10 meq/kg |
| Water content | Not more than 0.2 percent |
| Heavy metals as Pb | Not more than 10 mg/kg |
Common Markets Grades
Rectified lemon oil is graded on citral content, commonly at 2.5, 3.0 or 3.5 percent minimum, and on colour, with water white qualities commanding a premium over pale yellow. Furocoumarin reduced and bergapten free grades are a separate line, produced because the coumarins removed during rectification are the constituents responsible for photosensitisation in leave on cosmetic use.
Folded rectified oils, produced by taking the deterpenation further, are sold as fivefold and tenfold concentrates for beverage work, where they give higher citral per unit dose and better solubility in dilute alcohol. Terpeneless lemon oil is the limit of that series. Cold pressed lemon oil, distilled lemon oil recovered from juice evaporator vapour, and lemon essence oil remain separate articles traded alongside the rectified grade. Delivery forms include weighted emulsions for cloudy drinks, propylene glycol and ethanol dilutions, and spray dried encapsulates on modified starch.
Applications
- Clear carbonated lemonade and lemon lime drinks, where the unrefined oil would leave visible haze or ring
- Alcoholic beverages, notably limoncello, gin botanicals and cocktail bitters, which expose colour and residue
- Flavoured waters and still soft drinks, usually as a folded rectified oil
- Hard candy and boiled sweets, where a bright citral top must survive the sugar cook
- Bakery fillings, icings, glazes and lemon curd flavours
- Dairy, ice cream and sorbet flavours calling for a clean lemon
- Instant powders and dry beverage mixes, delivered as an encapsulate
- Personal care and fine fragrance, where furocoumarin reduced material is required for leave on products
- Household cleaning products for a fresh lemon fragrance without colour carry over
- Feedstock for the isolation of natural citral and for onward conversion to natural vitamin A intermediates and ionones
China Manufacturers of Lemon Oil Ref
Top Lemon Oil Ref manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States, 21 CFR 182.20 covers lemon oil in its generally recognised as safe listing of essential oils, oleoresins and natural extractives, naming it there, and rectified and terpeneless lemon oils fall within the same listing as processed forms of the same natural extractive. The oil carries Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association GRAS status as a flavouring substance, and Food Chemicals Codex monographs exist for lemon oil and for terpeneless lemon oil.
In the European Union the oil is a natural flavouring preparation obtained from a food source, and Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 permits it without individual authorisation, subject to the general safety requirements of that Regulation. Limonene, citral and linalool present in the oil are declarable fragrance allergens in cosmetic use under the cosmetic products Regulation, and that Regulation restricts furocoumarin bearing citrus oils in leave on products, which is why furocoumarin reduced rectified grades are produced. An ISO monograph covers expressed lemon oil, and the Joint FAO WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has evaluated citral and the related terpene aldehyde flavouring group without raising a safety concern at flavour use levels.
Manufacturing Process
Lemons are washed, graded and cold pressed, either in whole fruit extractors that rasp the flavedo while the juice is taken from within, or by juicing the halved fruit and screw pressing the spent peel with water. The oil in water emulsion produced is screened, desludged in a centrifugal separator and polished at high speed to recover the crude cold pressed oil, which is then winterised at low temperature and filtered cold to drop out the waxes.
That cold pressed oil is the feedstock for the rectification step. It is charged to a short path or falling film vacuum still and distilled at low temperature and high vacuum, conditions chosen to move the volatile constituents overhead while leaving coumarins, waxes, pigments and oxidised residue behind in the pot. Fractionating the distillate allows part of the terpene head to be removed at the same time, producing folded and terpeneless qualities from the same operation. The rectified oil is checked for citral by gas chromatography, adjusted to the contracted assay by blending, polish filtered and filled under nitrogen into lined drums for chilled storage.
