This research presents an improvement in the efficiency of essential oils (EO) distillation using a new distillation method called recurrent water and steam distillation (RWASD) used during testing with a 500-liter prototype essential oils distillation machine (500 L PDM). The raw material used was 100 kg of limes. In each distillation cycle, the test was compared with water and steam distillation (WASD) and tested with different raw material grid configurations. It was found that the distillation using the RWASD method increased the amount of EO from limes by 53.69% or 43.21 ml compared to WASD. The results of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of bioactive compounds from the distilled EO found that the important compounds were still present in amounts close to the standards obtained from many research studies, namely β-Myrcene (2.72%), Limonene (20.72%), α-Phellandrene (1.27%), and Terpinen-4-ol (3.04%). In addition, it was found that the temperature, state of saturated steam, and heat distribution during the distillation were quite constant in both state and properties. Results showed the heat loss value including the design and construction error value of 500 L PDM were 8.41% and 4.66% respectively, leading to the use of the percentage of useful heat energy that stabilized at 29,880 kJ/s and 22.47% respectively. Additionally, the shape of the grid containing the raw material affects the heat temperature distribution and the amount of EO distilled at 10.14% and 8.07% for the value used with the normal grid (NS), resulting in the efficiency of exergy at 49.97% and the highest values found from exergy in, exergy out, and exergy loss at 294.29, 144.76, and 150.22 kJ/s respectively. The results from this test can be further developed and expanded to application in the SMEs industry, including serving as basic information for the development related to the EO distillation industry.
