Brown Camphor Oil - Production, Properties and Uses

Camphor oil is derived by steam distillation method from the Camphor tree Cinnamomum Camphora Sieb. The tree is largely grown in China, Japan, Taiwan and Australia. The crude oil is made of at least 50% camphor in it, which can be separated from the oil by cooling and centrifugation.

Camphora is a pest xenophyte tree species now grown in northern NSW region. Camphor tree radiates chemicals from its roots into the soil that helps in killing worms as well as other bio-organisms. The leaves of Camphora can kill aquatic organisms near leaf-drop regions. A camphor tree has a shelf life of more than 1200 years.

While obtaining camphor crude oil, you also get a solid material, which is a partly crystalline mass of crude camphor. The crude camphor is separated from the oil by using the method of filterpressing. Thus the oil separated using this method is crude camphor oil. This crude oil separated using filterpressing is again fractionally distilled under vacuum to separate another 50% of crude camphor from the oil. The remaining oil thus obtained is free of camphor now.

Basically fractionation of the crude camphor oil (filterpressed and camphor-free) gives two oils:

1.White Camphor Oil:

Constituting 20% of crude camphor odorless liquid with odor similar to cineole. It is the only fraction of camphor oil that is non-toxic and can be used in aroma therapy and other uses.The tree has a shelf life of more than 1200 years.

2.Brown Camphor Oil:

This has a boiling point which is slightly higher than the boiling point of white camphor oil. It is a pale yellow to brown color liquid with odor similar as that of sassafras oil.

This contains nearly 80% safrole and therefore it is used as a raw material for making piperonal via isosafrole. that contains high amount of safrole can also be extracted by using steam distillation method of the wood of tree Cinnamonum parthenoxylon Nees. Brown camphor oil amounts for 6-7% of the total oil. It is produced in large amounts in Formosa and Japan.

That is of much of interest to perfumers. Redistilled brown obtained from the oil us used in making soaps because of its magnificent masking effect. The high content of safrole can be isolated and used as the main starting material for making vanillin, heliotropine and other perfume materials.The remaining oil thus obtained is free of camphor now.