Where do you obtain the Ingredients and what are they?

The plants involved in our products are planted and grown in high altitude natural gardens and fields without the use of chemicals or pesticides.  

The below products are not definitive and do not exhaust the product range of essential oils, floral waters and supercritical Co2 extracts produced by Ecomaat Ltd, for products not listed, you may send your request to our  Product Development Team. 

Which ingredients do you not use?

What is special about the technologies and processes used to obtain the oils to create the extracts?

Technologies

• Steam Distillation

The basic process for the production of essential oils is called distillation. In this, the essential oil is extracted from plant raw material with steam, and the separation of the volatile components is based on their different vapor pressures. Depending on the type of raw materials for processing, the available technological equipment at Ecomaat Distillery, enables production of essential oils and floral waters by water, water-steam and steam distillation. The principles of distillation are known since ancient times - and today they are fundamental in the production of essential oils, despite the numerous improvements to distillation equipment and processing technology of extraction. The main parameters that determine the quality of the essential oils during production are velocity and temperature of distillation since the most important factor remains the quality of raw materials processed. The proximity of our fields to Ecomaat's distillery in Mirkovo allows rapid entry of the raw material after harvest and immediately downstream processing without loss of fragrant molecules which in most cases is of crucial importance in improving the quality of the essential oils. 

Ecomaat processing and production plants as well as our laboratories are settled on an area of 4000 square meters situated in the village of Mirkovo in central Bulgaria. This small picturesque village is surrounded by the Stara Planina and Sredna Gora mountains at altitudes of 600-800 m.

• Supercritical Co2 extraction 

The extraction of active ingredients and essential oils with liquefied gases (commonly known as supercritical fluid extraction - SFE) is a high-tech technology, recognized as the technology of the future in the production of natural aromatic products. This is a process in which, through utilization of specific equipment and "know-how", under certain conditions the properties of liquefied gases (most often carbon dioxide - Co2) are used as a solvent. Under high pressure and low operating temperature, the carbon dioxide goes into supercritical phase and the natural ingredients are derived from the plant raw material - aromatic molecules, active ingredients and vitamins without changing their properties, and preserving all thermo-sensitive substances. After completion of the process, the carbon dioxide is released in gaseous state leaving the extracted product absolutely clean and free of traces of the solvent. Ecomaat Ltd. is the only one company in Bulgaria possessing this unique technology and equipment, applied in industrial scale for the production of natural extracts with unknown purity and with new aromatic features and active properties.

• Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)

The extraction from natural sources using supercritical fluids is a relatively new technology applied for production of aromatic products.

Principles: When pressurised to a sufficiently high pressure a gas changes its state becoming a liquid (were the same gas to be heated over a specific temperature, there is no amount of compression will make it to become a liquid.) This temperature is called "critical temperature" and the corresponding vapour pressure is also called "critical pressure" defining a critical point of the gas. The state of this gas is called "Supercritical" when both parameters - pressure and temperature simultaneously exceed their critical values. At this point the substance owns the properties of a gas and a liquid at the same time. In a supercritical state, these substances are very attractive for the processing of plant sources as they offer remarkable properties to act as solvents in extraction process and to dissolve valuable natural ingredients.

The most popular solvent for such extraction technology is Co2 as it is safe, easily available (no supplementary Co2 is generated during production process) and it has a low cost. It is also suitable for utilisation as it is odourless and tasteless, so it does not influence the final product. When it is at atmospheric conditions the Co2 is in a gaseous state and totally disappears from the product - i.e. no residue of the solvent can be detected when compared to the extraction methods involving utilisation of organic solvents. Also its near ambient critical temperature (app. 30 deg. Celsius) makes it perfectly suitable for thermoliable ingredients when compared to steam distillation process where the temperature of the steam is 120-140 degrees Celsius and some ingredients and chemical compounds of the extracts are converted or totally destroyed by the heat.

By using SCF extraction with Co2, absolutely natural essential oils are produced with all the qualities of the absolute obtained by extraction with organic solvents, in addition to the special attributes of the supercritical Co2 extracts.

Nowadays, by using this ultra modern technology, combining state of the art equipment, historic knowledge and highly skilled traditions in essential oil production, Ecomaat Bulgaria is proud to be the only company capable to offer supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCo2) extracts from Bulgarian Rosa damascena and Rosa alba on a commercial scale.

Production

• Distillery

In our distillery we combine in excess of 300 years of tradition in the production of essential oils and Bulgarian product knowledge combined with new technologies and modern equipment. The automation of the process and its focus in even the smallest of details enables numerous ways to optimise improvement of the energy efficiency and reducing production costs. The production cycle is completely wasteless - after processing, the utilised plant materials are reused as material for compost and fertilisation of the company's arable land or they are dried and used as ecological solid fuel for production of steam instead diesel. The remaining waters from distillation are also gathered and after fermentation are reused at our fields.

• Extraction

The Ecomaat Distillery in Mirkovo features the latest plant for supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of oil-bearing raw materials, herbs and medicinal plants. Processed through the use of modern technology with the application of state-of-the-art equipment, all year-round we derive new active ingredients and fragrances from fresh and dry herbage. The exclusive equipment and technology, as well as the incredible variety of Bulgarian nature with regard to raw material resources allows us to produce globally unique natural extracts, suitable for development of new products and innovations in various fields of perfumery, cosmetics and skin care, food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries.

How is your quality control managed?

As a family operation, all production is overseen by our select team of experts who control every aspect of the process from start to finish (field to final product).

Is all your packaging recyclable?

All glass used in the storage of oils and extracts is UV pharmaceutical grade quality, the boxes for presentation and transport are made from fully recyclable materials.

What makes Rose oil?

The Rosacae family includes more than 1000 species but only few of them are suitable for extracting of rose oil. For production of essential oil different varieties are selected based on the Rosa damascena Mill. and Rosa Gallica species.

The oil bearing rose was introduced and adopted by Bulgaria from the Near East during the 17th century, Iran is considered to be the motherland of the rose. From Iran, through Turkey the rose was transferred into Bulgaria for cultivation more than 350 years ago. Here it found the perfect soil and climatic conditions for growing, development and the synthesis of high quality rose essential oil.

In Bulgaria the cultivated oil yielding rose is botanically established as a new specie - Rosa kazanlika V. Top and it is the main variety used for present day rose oil production. Rose essential oil is also distilled from a variety called Rosa Alba (White oil bearing rose).

The oil bearing rose represents a perennial bush cultivated for more than 20 years which determines its strict exigence towards the soil and climatic conditions such as; soil fertility,  irrigation, air humidity - it requires a mild winter, prolonged spring and fresh summer...

Oil yielding roses in Bulgaria flower once per year - from mid May up to mid June for 20-22 days. The higher humidity during flowering period contributes to the preservation of the oil and for a better yield during processing. Picking of fresh rose flowers/blossom starts early in the morning usually at 4.30 a.m. and concludes before noon, when the sun is too intensive. Picking of rose flower is done manually and it requires 10 skillful field workers for harvesting of 1 ha daily.

The optimal yield and quality results for rose essential oil are guaranteed when processing of the rose flowers is performed immediately after the rose blossom is harvested from the field.

Rose essential oil is often called Rose otto or Rose attar. The real and only true rose oil is non diluted and non adulterated that is easily recognized by professionals, admirers of Rose oil can be easily mislead. Considered to be the queen of the aroma world and because it is one of the most expensive essential oils, Rose oil is frequently falsified, imitated or diluted by unscrupulous traders.

Typical composition of Bulgarian Rose oil has more than 350 identified compounds, parts of this considered to be most important are described in quality certificates. The chemical composition of Rose oil is defined in Bulgarian National Standard БДС ISO 9842:2006 where the limits of the main ingredients, chemical and physical properties are listed. The Quality certificate or Certificate of Analysis (CoA) are prepared and issued by accredited laboratories. GC/MS (Gas Chromatographic/Mass Spectrometric) equipment is used for determination of the characteristics of the Rose oil. In Bulgaria one of the most reliable and acknowledged laboratories is The State Laboratory Bulgarska Rosa Ltd.

Here are our recommendations when purchasing Rose oil and some ways to distinguish the original from imitation:

1. Always ask for copy of the CoA (Certificate of Analysis).

2. Genuine Rose oil (100% natural/pure) appears as a pale yellow to yellow coloured liquid.

3. True Rose oil "freezes" at room temperature - below 22 degrees Celsius (app. 295 kelvin or app. 71 deg. Fahrenheit) beautiful crystals appear and it changes state from liquid to a jelly like mass. To liquefy, it is sufficient to warm it between the palms or if it is in bulk quantity, liquefaction should be done very gently by water-bath.

4. Like most valuable essential oils, Rose oil should be kept in glass, non transparent bottles, when it is not under transportation.

5. If there is a doubt about the quality or the authenticity of the rose oil, we recommend that you consult a trained professional for advice.

What makes your products unique?

We only use organic materials and ethical environmentally friendly production techniques, we cultivate the raw ingredients, this way we can guarentee purity.