Foliage - Indigo
Foliage - Indigo
Mechotech designs and manufactures turnkey natural colour extraction plants for indigo foliage. In the Mechotech catalogue, Foliage - Indigo is listed in the Blue to Bluish Purple Colour group alongside Fruit - Dogwood /Mulberries / Elderberries /Blueberries, Flower - Hyacinth / Cornflower, Inner Bark - Red Maple Tree and Leaves - Woad. Mechotech’s legacy catalogue describes Indigofera tinctoria leaves as traditionally used for their natural dye properties and antioxidant benefits, and the extract as relevant to nutraceutical, herbal-supplement and natural-colouring applications. The route is harvesting, cleaning, drying and powdering of the leaves, followed by solvent extraction.
Mechotech’s Indigo 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. Colour consistency of the extract is checked against the agreed specification during process development. Final parameters are established during process development and pilot validation.
Technical Specifications
| Product | Foliage - Indigo Natural Colour Extraction Plant |
|---|---|
| Botanical Name | Indigofera tinctoria |
| Raw Material | indigo foliage |
| Plant Part / Feed Form | Leaves / foliage (harvested, cleaned and dried) |
| Colour Group | Blue to Bluish Purple Colour |
| Extract Type | Natural colour extract (liquid concentrate or dried powder, per specification) |
| Extraction Method | Closed jacketed SS 316L extraction with food-grade solvent (alcohol / aqueous), multiple cycles at controlled temperature |
| 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 |
| Automation | PLC-based |
| Plant Capacity | Configured to requirement |
| Utility Requirements | Steam, chilled/cooling water, compressed air and power (project-specific) |
| Compliance | GMP hygienic design; full documentation for qualification |
| Final Product Form | Natural colour extract (blue to bluish purple colour group) |
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
Indigo leaves are harvested, cleaned and dried, then powdered to a uniform particle size to maximise solvent contact before extraction.
Extraction
The prepared indigo foliage is extracted with food-grade solvent (alcohol / aqueous) in closed jacketed SS 316L extractors at controlled temperature and over multiple cycles to recover the target colour compounds.
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 so that heat exposure of the pigment stays low.
Standardisation
The concentrate is assayed for colour strength and adjusted to the declared target specification before the final finishing step.
Drying & Quality Control
The standardised Foliage - Indigo extract is spray- or vacuum-dried where a powder is required, then released after the agreed assay, residual-solvent, heavy-metal, microbial and moisture tests.
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 colour and dye ingredient supply
- Food and beverage colour applications (subject to approval of the specific colour in each market)
- Cosmetic and personal-care colour applications
- Nutraceutical and Ayurvedic / herbal formulations
- Pharmaceutical standardised ingredient supply
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 extract against its declared target specification.
Gentle Concentration
Vacuum concentration keeps heat exposure low for temperature-sensitive colour compounds.
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 Foliage - Indigo?
What specification can the Foliage - Indigo plant achieve?
What production capacities are available for the Foliage - Indigo plant?
Which raw material is processed in the Foliage - Indigo plant?
How does the Foliage - Indigo extraction process work?
How does this page differ from Mechotech’s other indigo and blue-colour pages?
Which related colour pages does Mechotech list with Foliage - Indigo?
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