Oil Burners and Fragrance Lamps Fragrance lamp are known as Oil Burners in the UK but this can be confused with heating devices for the home or with car engines which burn diesel oil.
In our case we are talking about essential oil burners which burn or release by heating an essential oil fragrance in to the air, most often into a room for enjoyment.
Historically when homes or rooms or buildings were less clean and sanitation poorer, it was popular to mask bad odours with natural scents such as lavender, rosemary and other plant or flower derived fragrant oils.
A fragrance lamp is a diffusing lamp that purifies the air while imparting a pleasant fragrance. Originally developed in the early 1800s for use in hospitals and mortuaries research has shown that it can effectively eliminate up to 85% of bacteria in a room for up to 30 hours after initial operation has stopped.
Modern innovation has found a new application for the lamps in homes and offices. Using a neutral lamp fuel a catalytic diffusion lamp eliminates bacteria and various odours (pets, food, tobacco). With fragrance added to the isopropyl alcohol based lamp fuel the catalytic burner lamp becomes a fragrance lamp, diffusing aroma into the air while it purifies. Some perfumes are based on essential oils, giving the oil burners an aromatherapy application as well.
Lighting the stone burner seated at the mouth of the lamp which is often a tea light candle warms the oil to release its fragrance. Eventually the flame can be extinguished but the heated burner remains active as the catalytic combustion process burns the fuel.
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