Spices Oleoresin Extraction Plants

Cinnamon Extraction Plant

Mechotech designs and manufactures turnkey plants for processing cinnamon, engineered and built at our Hyderabad, India works. Cinnamon is not one route. The catalogue separates cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon leaf oil by distillation, a cassia bark oleoresin by solvent extraction, a non-volatile polyphenol bark extract, and CO2 extracts of bark oil. This page is for manufacturers choosing between those routes, and for buyers who need to be clear about cinnamon (Ceylon) versus cassia before a plant is specified.

Scope of supply depends on the route. Distillation plants are built around an SS 316L still, a multi-tube condenser with chilled-water circulation, a stainless-steel Florentine flask, polish filtration and an oil drying unit, with size reduction for dense bark. Oleoresin and polyphenol-extract plants add closed jacketed extractors, a plate-and-frame filter press, a falling-film / vacuum evaporator, solvent recovery and, for powders, a spray or vacuum dryer. CO2 plants use high-pressure SS 316L vessels with CO2 recovery and recirculation. The design is GMP-oriented and hygienic, with documentation to support the customer's own qualification. Final configuration depends on raw material, process requirement, capacity and engineering review.

Technical Specifications

Plant Type	Cinnamon processing plant: distillation, solvent extraction or CO2 extraction, by route
Raw Material	Cinnamon bark or leaf, and cassia bark; species (Cinnamomum verum / zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia), part and form confirmed with the client
Bark Oil by Distillation	Steam, hydro, vacuum or pressure distillation; cinnamaldehyde is the marker compound (typically 65-80% in bark oil, per the product page)
Leaf Oil by Distillation	Same distillation modes; eugenol is the marker compound (typically 70-90% in leaf oil, per the product page)
Cassia Oleoresin	Solvent percolation extraction of Cinnamomum cassia bark; cinnamaldehyde assayed by GC with natural coumarin monitored by HPLC; supplied as a viscous liquid, not a powder
Cinnamon Bark Polyphenol Extract	Aqueous / hydro-alcoholic extraction; standardised dry extract listed at 20% Polyphenols by UV on the product page
CO2 Oil Routes	Supercritical CO2 extraction listed for cinnamon bark oil and for cinnamon cassia bark oil
Oil Separation & Finishing	Stainless-steel Florentine flask; polish filtration; drying over anhydrous sodium sulphate or by vacuum
Product-contact Material	SS 316L, CIP-cleanable
Automation	PLC-based; PLC-SCADA with recipe management on the extraction routes
Plant Capacity	Configured to requirement

Manufacturing Process

Raw Material Preparation

Cinnamon bark is cleaned and ground or crushed to rupture the oil-bearing cells and open channels for steam, since intact bark distils slowly and incompletely. Leaf is cleaned, sorted and comminuted where required. For solvent routes, bark is milled to a uniform particle size. Particle size is set during process development.

Distillation: Charging & Steam Distillation

The prepared charge is loaded into the SS 316L still and distilled by steam, hydro, vacuum or pressure distillation, selected for the volatility and heat-sensitivity of the target oil.

Distillation: Condensation & Oil-Water Separation

Vapours pass through a multi-tube condenser with chilled-water circulation. In the Florentine flask, cinnamaldehyde-rich bark oil settles below the hydrosol, so the separation stage is configured accordingly; the hydrosol can be recovered as a co-product.

Distillation: Polishing, Drying & Quality Control

The crude oil is polish-filtered and dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate or by vacuum. Each batch is checked by GC-MS and physical parameters against the agreed specification before release.

Solvent Extraction (Oleoresin and Polyphenol Routes)

Milled bark is extracted in closed jacketed SS 316L extractors: solvent percolation for cassia oleoresin, or aqueous / hydro-alcoholic extraction at moderate temperature for the polyphenol extract.

Filtration, Concentration & Solvent Recovery

The miscella is clarified through a plate-and-frame filter press and cartridge polish filters, then concentrated in a falling-film / vacuum evaporator, with solvent recovered through a closed-loop system.

Standardisation & Finishing

Cassia oleoresin is assayed for cinnamaldehyde with coumarin monitored. The polyphenol extract is assayed by UV and then spray- or vacuum-dried to a free-flowing powder.

Supercritical CO2 Extraction (CO2 Oil Routes)

Prepared bark is charged to a high-pressure SS 316L vessel where supercritical CO2 draws out the oil; pressure is reduced in a separator and the CO2 is recompressed and recirculated.

Major Plant Equipment

Raw material cleaning and sorting system
Bark crusher / size-reduction unit
SS 316L distillation still (steam, hydro, vacuum or pressure)
Multi-tube condenser with chilled-water circulation
Stainless-steel Florentine flask (oil-water separator)
Polish filtration and oil drying unit (sodium sulphate or vacuum)
Jacketed SS 316L extraction vessels (oleoresin and polyphenol routes)
Plate-and-frame filter press and cartridge polish filters
Falling-film / vacuum evaporator with closed-loop solvent recovery
Spray dryer or vacuum tray dryer (polyphenol extract powder)
Supercritical CO2 extraction vessel, separator and CO2 recovery system (CO2 routes)
CIP (clean-in-place) system
PLC-based automation, electrical MCC and instrumentation

Plant Output

Cinnamon bark essential oil, with aromatic hydrosol as co-productCinnamon leaf essential oil (eugenol-rich)Cassia bark oleoresin (viscous liquid, cinnamaldehyde-standardised)Cinnamon bark polyphenol extract powderCinnamon bark oil or cassia oil as a CO2 extract

Case Study

Cinnamon Essential Oil Distillation Plant

See how this plant was engineered and delivered for a real project.

Applications

Fragrance, flavour and aromatherapy oils
Food, flavour and beverage applications
Bakery, confectionery and warm-spice flavour compounding (cassia oleoresin)
Eugenol feedstock for isolation and downstream aroma-chemical synthesis (leaf oil)
Nutraceutical and functional-food formulations (polyphenol extract)
Pharmaceutical standardised ingredient supply
Cosmetic and personal care active ingredients

Key Features

Species and Part Kept Distinct
Bark oil is cinnamaldehyde-led and leaf oil is eugenol-led. Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) is a different raw material from true Ceylon cinnamon, and the catalogue pages say so rather than blending them.
Oil Separation Set for Denser Bark Oil
Cinnamaldehyde-rich bark oil is denser than water and settles below the hydrosol, so the Florentine flask stage is configured accordingly.
Coumarin Monitoring for Cassia
The cassia oleoresin route lists natural coumarin as a monitored release parameter alongside the cinnamaldehyde assay.
Polyphenol Fraction Protected
The non-volatile polyphenol extract is made at controlled, moderate temperature with vacuum concentration, a different target and process from the oil distillation lines.
SS 316L and CIP
SS 316L product-contact surfaces with CIP capability between batches, designed for hygienic operation with documentation to support the customer's qualification.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do your cinnamon pages cover Ceylon cinnamon or cassia?

Both, on separate pages, and they are not interchangeable. The cassia oleoresin plant covers Cinnamomum cassia and states that true Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is not covered there, partly because cassia carries higher natural coumarin. The cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon leaf oil pages name Cinnamomum zeylanicum / verum and cassia as listed. The species of your raw material is confirmed with you before a plant is configured.

Should I make cinnamon oil, oleoresin or a polyphenol extract?

It depends on the product. Steam or hydro distillation gives the volatile, cinnamaldehyde-rich oil. Solvent extraction of cassia bark gives a viscous cinnamaldehyde-standardised oleoresin for flavour use. Aqueous or hydro-alcoholic extraction of bark gives the non-volatile polyphenol fraction, described on the cinnamon bark extract page. These are different plants with different equipment, so confirm your target product first.

How is cinnamon bark oil different from leaf oil?

Bark oil is dominated by cinnamaldehyde, the sweet-spicy marker used in flavour and fragrance, and the bark is dense and rolled, so the line is built around size reduction so that steam reaches the oil-bearing tissue. Leaf oil is dominated by eugenol, with a clove-like, medicinal character. Each has its own catalogue page. The Cinnamon Essential Oil Distillation Plant case study describes a plant handling bark and leaf.

Can cinnamon oil be extracted with CO2 instead of distillation?

The catalogue lists a supercritical CO2 route for cinnamon bark oil and a screening-stage CO2 route for cinnamon cassia bark oil. CO2 extraction runs in a closed, pressurised system rather than with steam, and the oil is released in a separator while CO2 is recompressed and recirculated. Pressure, temperature and the target fraction are established during process development and pilot validation.

What raw-material details do you need for a cinnamon plant?

We need the species (cinnamon or cassia), the part (bark quills, chips, trimmings or leaf), moisture, available volume and the marker you want to target: cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, polyphenols or coumarin control. For cassia aimed at markets with coumarin limits, say so early. Feasibility on your own material can be explored through the Process Development Centre before the plant is configured.

Does Mechotech supply cinnamon bark peeling or quill-making lines?

No. Bark peeling, quill-making and drying are not listed in our catalog. The plants on this page start at cleaning, sorting and size reduction of cinnamon that is already harvested and prepared, and then extract or distil it. If your project includes upstream raw-material handling, raise it at enquiry stage so engineering review can scope what is and is not covered.

What does turnkey scope include for a cinnamon plant?

The proposal sets out engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning, with the plant engineered and built at our Hyderabad, India works in SS 316L. Utilities are project-specific, and capacity is configured to requirement rather than taken from a fixed catalogue size. Compliance of your facility and finished product remains your responsibility, and requirements are scoped with you per project.

What should I send to request a cinnamon plant proposal?

Send the species and plant part, form and moisture of the raw material, the product you want (bark oil, leaf oil, cassia oleoresin, polyphenol extract or CO2 oil), the marker or specification you need, expected volume, automation preference and site utilities. Engineering review then confirms the plant type and configuration. You can request a proposal with these details.

Project Enquiry Pages

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Cinnamon Extraction Plant