Editing Steam distillation (section)

== History ==
[[File:Alambic bussard.jpg|thumb|Steam distillation apparatus]]
Steam distillation is used in many of the recipes given in the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Taraffuq fī al-ʿiṭr}} ('Book of Gentleness on Perfume'), also known as the {{transliteration|ar|Kitāb Kīmiyāʾ al-ʿiṭr wa-l-taṣʿīdāt}} ('Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations'), attributed to the early Arabic philosopher [[al-Kindi]] ({{circa|801}}–873).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Needham|first1=Joseph|author1-link=Joseph Needham|date=1980|title=Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part IV: Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521085731|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrNDwP0pS8sC&pg=PA128}} p. 128, note h (cf. the reservations on the authenticity of the work in {{harvnb|Needham|1980|p=128, note d}}). <br>Translation of some of the recipes as quoted in the 14th-century cookbook {{transliteration|ar|Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid}}: {{cite book|last1=Nasrallah|first1=Nawal|author1-link=Nawal Nasrallah|date=2017|title=Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook. English Translation, with an Introduction and Glossary|series=Islamic History and Civilization|volume=148|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-34729-8|doi=10.1163/9789004349919|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA425}} pp. 425–430.</ref> Steam distillation was also used by the Persian philosopher and physician [[Avicenna]] (980–1037) to produce [[essential oils]] by adding water to rose petals and distilling the mixture.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shreve |first1=Randolph Norris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMtTAAAAMAAJ |title=Chemical Process Industries |last2=Brink |first2=Joseph Andrew |date=1977 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-057145-7 |language=en}}<br>{{Cite book |last1=Axe |first1=Dr Josh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kBUEAAAQBAJ&dq=avicenna+steam+distillation+essential+oil&pg=PT19 |title=The Chemistry of Essential Oils |last2=Rubin |first2=Jordan |last3=Bollinger |first3=Ty |date=2020-06-01 |publisher=Destiny Image Publishers |isbn=978-0-7684-5702-5 |language=en}}</ref> The process was also used by [[al-Dimashqi (geographer)|al-Dimashqi]] (1256–1327) to produce [[rose water]] on a large scale.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hill|first1=Donald R.|author1-link=Donald R. Hill|date=1993|title=Islamic Science and Engineering|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=9781474469135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=96UxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87}} p. 85–87.</ref>