LAUSR

Abstract The main objective of the present study was to model the kinetics of essential oil extraction from swelled ground juniper berries by classic hydrodistillation (HD) and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD). A new phenomenological kinetic model was developed on the basis of the juniper essential oil extraction mechanism that assumed three mass transfer processes occurring simultaneously: washing, unhindered diffusion and hindered diffusion. The new model was compared to the existing kinetic models. Among the tested models, the new model had the smallest mean relative percentage deviation and the highest corrected Akaike information criterion value. In addition, that, the new model was verified for HD and MAHD of essential oils from some other plant materials. On the basis of the above-mentioned facts, the new model can be recommended for modeling the kinetics of essential oil extraction by both HD and MAHD.