Characterization of ethyl cellulose (EC) microcapsules for lime oil encapsulation

We report on the preparation of microcapsules using ethyl cellulose as a shell and lime oil (Citrus aurantifolia oil) as the core. In this work the lime oil was extracted from lime syrup production residue by hydrodestilation method. Microencapsulation is prepared using a simple coaservation method. The size distribution of the microcapsules is observed using the Particle Size Analyzer (PSA). The effectiveness of the encapsulation process was determined by evaluating the images captured by the optical microscope. Whereas, the morphology of the produced microcapsules was identified using the scanning electron microscopy. Our result shows the size distribution ranged from 39 to 104 µm, with oil containment up to 14%. This size distribution is suitable for functional textile products application.