AphroHerb
Innovative design of home distillation machine for medicinal plants
AphroHerb is a series of products focused on home treatments using medicinal plants. It includes modules for growing plants and an innovative machine for distilling oils. This ensures full use of plant materials, reducing waste and promoting sustainability.
Structure
The idea for this project came from my own experience with hair loss due to long hours of work. Following my doctor's advice, I started using rosemary water for hair care. However, it was difficult to control the amount of herbs and boiling time, and the quality and purity of the extract were not sufficient for treating hair loss. Commercial rosemary oils and hair care products often contain other elements that reduce the effectiveness of rosemary.
After discussing with my doctor and researching the market, I found a high demand for medicinal plant-based health care. I studied the functions of various medicinal plants and user needs, visiting several herb gardens like the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. Conversations with experts provided valuable information on growing medicinal plants.
Modular planting tools meet the conditions for growing medicinal plants indoors, offering aesthetic appeal and functionality. The porous structure and breathable, water-permeable gypsum material support plant growth indoors.
Another key part of the project is the medicinal plant distiller. Initially, I used existing home distillation equipment to heat rosemary for purification, but found it complicated and requiring professional knowledge. Commercial products are also complex, involving separate parts like a stove, distillation pot, condenser, water pipes, and collection containers, all connected by tubes and requiring constant temperature and water flow monitoring.
I thought, why not combine all these parts into one unit, making it as simple as using a coffee machine? After multiple iterations and experiments, I developed an elegant and practical home distiller for medicinal plants, allowing people to easily produce high-quality, pure essential oils at home for daily health care and treatment.
Guidebook
Take rosemary as an example
This project is based on the growth cycle of herbal medicinal plants and is divided into two parts: planting and production.
The planting part uses modular planting bricks, where people can sow seeds in porous bricks made of breathable plaster, which promotes plant growth. Research on the growth cycles of common household herbs such as mint, rosemary, and lavender shows that these plants can be harvested about ten weeks after planting from seeds. The harvested plants are then used to make and extract oils.
The modular planting bricks are 10 cm in length, width, and height, designed according to the plants' growth speed. When the plants grow taller than the brick, it indicates that the excess part is mature and ready to be used for oil production. Harvesting begins in the tenth week, and the optimal harvest period is between the tenth and fifteenth weeks. During this time, the plants can regrow, meaning people can continuously harvest new plant material as long as there is enough water and sunlight.
After harvesting, the plants are placed in a distillation machine where water is heated to extract high-purity oils. The distillation machine consists of a base, a disc, a heat-resistant container for water and plants, and an outer shell. Inside the container, grids separate the water and plants. The base is a mini constant-temperature heater with a peltier element to control the temperature, an electronic board, a switch, and a fan for heat dissipation. The peltier element keeps the heating temperature between 80°C and 90°C. Experiments show that heating to around 80°C produces the first drop of distillate; boiling water is unnecessary. The heated water vapor carries the plant's elements upward, cooling automatically on the machine's circular shell, turning into liquid, and finally flowing into a collection cup. This liquid is then separated into hydrosol and oil, and collected in small bottles for daily health and wellness use.
The vapor rises and cools on the shell to become liquid.
