Abstract: A process of reducing the agricultural residue (AR) content of a citrus oil, comprising (a) vacuum batch-distilling an AR-containing cold-pressed citrus oil to give a low-AR distillate and a high-AR residue; (b) subjecting the high-AR residue from (a) to thin film evaporation to give a high-AR distillate and a low-AR residue; (c) subjecting the high-AR distillate from (b) to a further batch distillation to give a redistilled low-AR distillate and a waste high-AR redistilled residue; and (d) combining the distillate of (a), the residue of (b) and the redistilled distillate of (c) to give a low-AR citrus oil. The oil thus produced has not only a reduced content of ARs such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and miticides, but it also contains most or even all of the desirable citrus components substantially eliminated by conventional distillation processes.

Abstract: A process of reducing the agricultural residue (AR) content of a citrus oil, comprising (a) vacuum batch-distilling an AR-containing cold-pressed citrus oil to give a low-AR distillate and a high-AR residue; (b) subjecting the high-AR residue from (a) to thin film evaporation to give a high-AR distillate and a low-AR residue; (c) subjecting the high-AR distillate from (b) to a further batch distillation to give a redistilled low-AR distillate and a waste high-AR redistilled residue; and (d) combining the distillate of (a), the residue of (b) and the redistilled distillate of (c) to give a low-AR citrus oil. The oil thus produced has not only a reduced content of ARs such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and miticides, but it also contains most or even all of the desirable citrus components substantially eliminated by conventional distillation processes.