A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering of the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1977

The purpose of this study is to analyze the mint oil industry which is a relatively new agro-industry in Thailand. An attempt was first made to determine the potential of this industry by studying the major mint producing countries in the world and t he demand in Thailand. Then Nan Province which is the largest mint and mint .oil producing area in Thailand is analyzed in details. Because mint industry is an agroindustry which depends largely on raw material, the economic pre- feasibility of farming mint is examined. The distillation process in then studied. Four alternatives, namely (1) water and steam distillation with bare still (existing production method), (2) water and steam distillation with insulated still, (3) steam distillation with bare still and (4) steam distillation with insulated still. These alternatives are analyzed and compared using the 1976 data obtained from a factory in Nan Province. The results show that alternative 4 appears to be the best one when the annual production is greater than 3238 kg. oil, otherwise alternative 3 is better. And alternative 2 is better than alternative 1. A sensitivity analysis on important parameters is carried out. It appears that mint oil price, yield of oil and mint herb price are the three most sensitive parameters. The effect of these three parameter are also graphically illustrated.