Microwave apparatus and method of extracting essential oils, essence, and pigments with gas flow

An extraction apparatus for obtaining essential oils, essence, and pigments from plant raw materials comprising:

• a microwave chamber comprising a plurality of pairs of top and bottom openings;
• a plurality of extraction cartridges filled with a plant raw material, each of the extraction cartridges comprising top and bottom openings secured to the top and bottom openings of the same pair of the microwave chamber respectively;
• a plurality of caps, each of the caps comprising an axial channel and a sealing O-ring affixed to an outer surface thereof, each of the caps being fastened in the top opening of the extraction cartridge;
• a gas supply for supplying gas flow into the extraction cartridges via gas lines;
• a condenser comprising an inlet connected to the bottom openings of the extraction cartridges, and an outlet;
• a plurality of gas pipes, each of the gas pipes comprising a plurality of apertures on its surface and a lower threaded section, and a plurality of supports, each of the supports disposed on a bottom of the extraction cartridge and comprising a threaded hole on its top center and a plurality of longitudinal apertures around the threaded hole wherein each of the threaded sections is secured to the threaded hole and a top end of each of the gas pipes is fastened in the axial channel of each of the caps;
• and
• at least one check valve, each of the at least one check valve adapted to adjust the pressure of the gas flowing out of the gas supply to a range between 110 KPa and 210 KPa.