Executive Summary
A herbal ingredient manufacturer required a high-capacity, GMP-oriented extraction facility to produce premium Boswellia Serrata Extract standardised to 30%, 65%, and 85% Boswellic Acids, including AKBA-rich extracts for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.
The customer needed a complete turnkey solution capable of maximising resin recovery, reducing solvent consumption, improving process consistency, and meeting stringent international quality requirements.
Mechotech successfully engineered, manufactured, supplied, installed, and commissioned a Boswellia Serrata Extraction Plant incorporating advanced solvent extraction, resin purification, vacuum concentration, solvent recovery, precision filtration, drying, and PLC-SCADA automation.
Customer Challenges
Prior to implementing the new plant, the customer encountered several manufacturing challenges:
- Low extraction efficiency due to conventional processing methods
- High solvent losses and rising operational costs
- Difficulty achieving consistent Boswellic Acid concentrations
- Resin impurities affecting final product quality
- Long extraction cycles reducing productivity
- High steam and utility consumption
- Labour-intensive batch operations
- Inconsistent export-quality batches
- Need for GMP-oriented manufacturing
Project Objectives
The project was designed to:
- Process 5 Tons of Boswellia Serrata Resin per day
- Produce standardised extracts containing 30%, 65%, and 85% Boswellic Acids
- Maximise AKBA recovery
- Closed-loop solvent recovery
- Reduce production costs
- Ensure batch-to-batch consistency
- Meet international GMP requirements
- Support future production expansion
Raw Material
- Botanical Name
- Boswellia serrata
- Common Name
- Indian Frankincense
- Plant Part Used
- Natural Resin (Gum Resin)
- Incoming Moisture
- 3–8%
- Raw Material Preparation
- Cleaning, grading, and controlled size reduction
- Daily Capacity
- 5,000 kg/day
Process Flow
Process Description
Raw Material Preparation
Natural Boswellia resin is cleaned to remove bark particles, sand, dust, and other foreign materials. The resin is then crushed into controlled particle sizes to improve solvent penetration and extraction efficiency.
Solvent Extraction
Prepared resin is transferred into stainless steel extraction vessels where food-grade solvents are circulated under precisely controlled temperature and agitation conditions.
The extraction process is optimised to:
- Maximise Boswellic Acid recovery
- Preserve AKBA content
- Minimise degradation
- Reduce extraction time
- Improve batch consistency
Primary Filtration
The extract is passed through high-efficiency filtration systems to remove suspended impurities while preserving valuable active compounds.
Vacuum Concentration
Clarified extract is concentrated under vacuum conditions to gently remove solvents without exposing sensitive Boswellic compounds to excessive temperatures.
Benefits include:
- Higher product stability
- Lower steam consumption
- Improved concentration efficiency
- Reduced oxidation
Purification
The concentrated extract undergoes a specialised purification process designed to enrich Boswellic Acids and reduce unwanted resinous components.
This stage significantly enhances:
- Product purity
- Colour consistency
- Pharmaceutical quality
- Export compliance
Solvent Recovery
The plant incorporates a closed-loop solvent recovery system capable of recovering process solvent.
Recovered solvent is:
- Condensed
- Purified
- Recycled
- Reused in subsequent extraction cycles
This reduces solvent consumption.
Vacuum Drying
Purified extract is dried under controlled vacuum conditions to obtain a stable free-flowing powder with excellent shelf life.
The dried extract demonstrates:
- Low moisture content
- High Boswellic Acid concentration
Standardisation
Final blending and quality adjustment ensure customer-specific specifications such as:
- 30% Boswellic Acids
- 65% Boswellic Acids
- 85% Boswellic Acids
- AKBA-enriched extracts
Major Equipment Supplied
- Raw Material Cleaning System
- Resin Crusher
- Stainless Steel Extraction Vessels
- Solvent Storage Tanks
- Transfer Pumps
- Pressure Leaf Filters
- Cartridge Filtration System
- Vacuum Evaporator
- Purification System
- Solvent Recovery Unit
- Condensers
- Vacuum Pumps
- Vacuum Tray Dryer
- Pulveriser
- Ribbon Blender
- CIP System
- PLC-Based Automation Panel
- Electrical MCC
- Instrumentation Package
Automation Features
The facility is equipped with intelligent PLC-SCADA automation providing:
- Recipe management
- Automated batch sequencing
- Temperature control
- Vacuum monitoring
- Solvent level monitoring
- Alarm management
- Historical data recording
- Production reporting
- Utility consumption monitoring
- Remote maintenance support
GMP & Safety Features
The plant is designed with hygienic, GMP-oriented practice in view; the standards that apply to the client's facility and product are scoped per project. Key features include:
- SS 316L product contact surfaces
- Hygienic sanitary piping
- CIP-compatible equipment
- Closed solvent handling system
- Flameproof motors and instruments
- Nitrogen blanketing
- Explosion-proof electrical systems
- Pressure relief protection
- Emergency shutdown interlocks
- Earthing and bonding systems
Plant Utilities
- Steam Boiler
- Cooling Tower
- Chilled Water System
- Vacuum System
- Air Compressor
- Electrical Power
- Soft Water
- Nitrogen Supply
Customer Benefits
Following successful commissioning, the customer achieved:
- Increased Boswellic Acid recovery
- High-purity AKBA-rich extracts
- Significant reduction in solvent consumption
- Lower production costs
- Improved batch consistency
- Faster processing cycles
- Reduced manpower requirements
- Enhanced operator safety
- Reliable continuous production
- Strong international market acceptance
Plants Used In This Project
Why Mechotech?
Mechotech is a manufacturer of advanced extraction and processing plants for the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, herbal, food, and specialty chemical industries. Our expertise spans solvent extraction, purification, solvent recovery, process automation, and GMP-oriented engineering, enabling customers worldwide to manufacture premium botanical extracts.
Conclusion
The Boswellia Serrata Extraction Plant designed by Mechotech exemplifies advanced extraction engineering for producing high-quality Boswellic Acid extracts. By integrating efficient solvent extraction, precision purification, advanced solvent recovery, hygienic GMP design, and intelligent automation, the plant combines these process stages in a single turnkey solution.
Key Technical Highlights
- Raw Material
- Boswellia Serrata Resin
- Standardised Extract
- 30%, 65%, 85% Boswellic Acids
- Solvent Recovery
- Established during process development
- Automation
- PLC-SCADA
- Construction Material
- SS 304 / SS 316L
- Compliance
- Hygienic, GMP-oriented design with documentation to support the client's qualification; applicable standards are scoped per project
- Applications
- Nutraceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Herbal Supplements, Functional Foods, Cosmetics
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