Pedro C. Brito*, Magdalena Mechetti and Carlos M. Gotter

Abstract: Permittivity and conductivity values of two industrial samples of ssential lemon oil have been determined from impedance and capacitance measurements in the low frequency range (500 Hz – 1000 kHz). Measurements have been performed using the Impedance Analyzer HP 4284 A and an acrylic cylindrical cell for liquids, with plane parallel electrodes of variable separation between them, designed and constructed in our laboratory. The main proposals of this work are to give some insight about the low frequency dielectric behavior and to fill partly the bibliographical data of this industrial substance.

Tucuman province is the principal producer and exporter of lemon and its derivatives of Argentina, being one of the most important worldwide lemon producing regions. Derivatives of lemon, such as its essential oil, have a wide spectrum of industrial, medicinal, cosmetic, etc. applications, and for this reason it is of interest to characterize its physical and chemical properties. Papers on physico-chemical properties of concentrated and clarified Argentinian lemon juice as well as Argentinian lemon peel have been published by our research group (1–4) taking into account that the more usually commercialized lemon derivatives are juice, oil and pectin. In this work the low frequency electrical properties, permittivity and conductivity (5), of two lemon oil samples obtained from the peel of the Eureka cultivar are studied. Because information about these properties is absent from the literature, this work is intended to fill the gap.