Extracting essencial oils (howtodo?)

[MaNoMaNoM]

Greetiings! wonder does anyone know a way to separate oils from plant material ?

So i've collected a pint of magnolia seeds,
mostly because they smell so good, and i want
to extract the oil before the seeds start going bad.

My best idea so far is somehow making a pot distiller...
You know,
a pot with the crushed seeds in water,
and a cup placed in the middle,
and an inverted lid...

\_ ice _/
| \___/ |
| |___| | < collection cup in the middle
|:;:;:;:;.| < water crushed plant material
^HEAT^

So idk if this will work at all and was wondering if there is a more efficient method.
Can the oil be extracted better with a solvent like acetone ? Any help appreciated!

 

[benzyme]

acetone is too volatile, it will evaporate off without carrying the oils. water has a high enough vapor pressure to carry the oils with it, yet readily condense with said oils.

keep in mind, some oils are somewhat miscible with water, and will form hydrosols. add chloroform or methylene chloride to the cloudy solution (the hydrosol) in a sep funnel, pour out the bottom layer, and let evaporate. what's left is the essential oil.