Brown Colour
Brown Colour
Mechotech designs and manufactures turnkey natural colour extraction plants for Brown Colour. We supply the complete machinery to process the brown colour raw material into a colour extract configured to the client’s target specification. The catalogue lists brown colour extraction from coffee grounds, dandelion roots, ivy woody stems, oak and birch bark, walnut hulls and yellow dock roots.
Mechotech’s Brown Colour plant is configured around the raw material and the target colour extract. It is built in SS 316L with integrated solvent recovery, automation and full documentation, and is delivered as a commissioned turnkey system. The raw material is confirmed with the client and final parameters are established during process development. Because the catalogue lists six different brown raw materials, the plant is configured around the chosen one: spent coffee grounds and dandelion roots are leached mainly with hot water, tannin-rich bark and woody stems respond to mordants, and walnut hulls rely on juglone, so the extraction conditions and the shade control differ by feedstock.
Technical Specifications
| Product | Brown Colour Natural Colour Extraction Plant |
|---|---|
| Raw Material | Catalogue raw materials: coffee grounds, dandelion roots, ivy woody stems, oak / birch bark, walnut hulls, yellow dock roots |
| Plant Part / Feed Form | Spent grounds; roots; woody stems; bark; hulls — per the raw-material pages linked in the FAQ; exact raw material confirmed with the client |
| Colour-forming Components | Per the linked Mechotech articles — coffee grounds: melanoidins, tannins and chlorogenic-acid derivatives; dandelion roots: tannins and roasted phenolics; ivy woody stems: tannins and wood phenolics; oak / birch bark: tannins (oak: ellagitannins and gallotannins); walnut hulls: juglone and tannins; yellow dock roots: anthraquinones (emodin, chrysophanol) and tannins |
| Extraction Method | Closed jacketed SS 316L extraction with food-grade solvent (alcohol / aqueous) |
| Product-contact Material | SS 316L |
| Filtration System | Plate-and-frame filter press with cartridge polish filters |
| Concentration System | Falling-film / vacuum evaporator with solvent recovery |
| Drying System | Spray or vacuum dryer |
| Plant Capacity | Configured to requirement |
| Final Product Form | Natural colour extract |
Plant Capacities
| Plant Scale | Raw Material Throughput | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Configured to your feedstock and trial plan | Product development, parameter validation |
| Semi-Commercial | Configured between pilot and commercial scale | Scale-up trials, contract manufacturing |
| Commercial | Configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume | Commercial production |
Capacity is configured to raw-material supply, confirmed buyer volume and investment timeline; a pilot plant is recommended to validate parameters before scaling.
Manufacturing Process
Raw Material Preparation
Brown Colour raw material is authenticated, tested for moisture, and milled to a uniform particle size to maximise solvent contact before extraction.
Extraction
Milled Brown Colour is extracted with food-grade solvent (alcohol / aqueous) in closed jacketed SS 316L extractors under controlled temperature and multiple cycles to maximise recovery of the target actives.
Filtration
The extract (miscella) is clarified through a plate-and-frame filter press followed by cartridge polish filters.
Concentration & Solvent Recovery
The miscella is concentrated in a falling-film / vacuum evaporator, with solvent recovered through the condenser return system.
Standardisation
The concentrate is assayed and adjusted to the declared target specification before the final finishing step.
Drying & Quality Control
The standardised Brown Colour extract is spray- or vacuum-dried, then released after assay, residual-solvent, heavy-metal, microbial, and moisture testing.
Major Plant Equipment
- Raw material cleaning and size-reduction system
- Closed jacketed SS 316L extraction vessels
- Solvent storage tanks
- Plate-and-frame filter press
- Cartridge polish filtration
- Falling-film / vacuum evaporator
- Solvent recovery unit and condensers
- Standardisation / blending vessel
- Spray or vacuum dryer
- CIP system
- Automation and instrumentation
Plant Output
Applications
- Natural brown colourant and dye ingredient supply
- Food and beverage colour applications (subject to approval of the specific colour in each market)
- Natural dyeing of textiles, wool and leather (traditional uses described in the linked articles)
- Mordant-modified shades (iron and alum) from tannin-rich extracts, as described in the linked articles
Key Features
SS 316L Construction
Electropolished SS 316L product-contact surfaces with CIP operation between batches.
Closed-Loop Solvent Recovery
Integrated condenser-return recovery reuses solvent between batches and reduces solvent loss.
Standardised to Specification
In-process and batch-release assay are used to check the finished colour extract against the agreed target specification, such as shade and colour strength.
Integrated Drying
A matched spray/vacuum dryer produces a dry extract powder; drying parameters are set during process development.
Scalable Batch Capacity
Plants are configured to requirement from pilot scale upward, with modular expansion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Mechotech supply the complete machinery for Brown Colour?
What specification can the Brown Colour plant achieve?
What production capacities are available for the Brown Colour plant?
Which industries use the Brown Colour plant?
Which raw materials can brown colour be extracted from?
How does the Brown Colour extraction process work?
What gives each brown raw material its colour, and how stable is it?
How is brown colour extracted from the different raw materials?
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