The effect of material amount in distillation tank to chemical composition of citronella oil (Cymbopogon nardus L. Rendle)

The need for essential oils such as citronella oil has increasingly increased along with the development of modern industries such as perfume, cosmetics, food, aromatherapy, and medicine industries. However, the volume of essential oil exports in recent years has decreased. The problem so far is the quality problem. The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition of citronella oil using the GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy) method with the treatment of material amount in the distillation tank (A = 40 kg; B = 50 kg; C = 60 kg; D = 70 kg; and E = 80 kg). The results showed that citronella oil from treatment A contained three main components, namely: citronellal (41.97%), geraniol (18.89%), and citronellol (12.91%), with the highest percentage compared to four other treatments. This refutes the society's stigma in the citronella plantation area of Padang Sarai, Lubuksikaping District, Pasaman Regency, which considers that the greater amount of raw material in refining tanks will produce better quality citronella oil. This research concludes that the increase in the amount of raw material in the refining tank decreases the percentage of three main components (citronellal, geraniol, and citronellol).