Herbal Extraction Plants

Stevia rebaudiana — Stevioside 90% and Rebaudioside 60%

Purity Levels

Stevioside 90% and Rebaudioside 60%

Mechotech designs and manufactures turnkey herbal extraction plants for Stevia rebaudiana, converting dried Stevia leaf into high-purity natural sweetener standardised to Stevioside 90% and Rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) 60%+. As a stevia extraction plant manufacturer, we supply the complete hot-water extraction, membrane filtration, ion-exchange purification, crystallization and spray-drying line for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries.

Mechotech's Stevia rebaudiana plant is engineered around the real chemistry of stevia leaf: stevioside and Rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) are the two major, commercially significant steviol glycosides accumulated in the leaf, and both are recovered by food-grade hot-water extraction rather than an organic solvent — the correct route for a food-grade sweetener, since it leaves no solvent-residue concern for regulated food and beverage buyers. Ion-exchange resin purification then removes the bitter, colouring non-glycoside impurities that would otherwise carry into the finished sweetener, and controlled crystallization isolates the sweet glycoside fraction to specification. Built in SS 316L with membrane filtration, crystallization/spray-drying and PLC-SCADA automation, each plant is delivered as a commissioned, performance-verified turnkey system that reliably meets the Stevioside 90% and Rebaudioside-A 60%+ specification, to GMP, WHO-GMP, HACCP and FSSAI standards.

Technical Specifications

Product	Stevia Rebaudiana Extraction & Purification Plant
Botanical Name	Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni
Raw Material	Dried Stevia leaves (6–8% moisture), harvested at optimum maturity
Plant Part	Leaf
Extract Type	Steviol glycoside extract / Rebaudioside-A powder
Standardization	Stevioside 90%; Rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) 60%+, up to 98–99% for premium grade
Extraction Method	Food-grade hot-water extraction (no organic solvent)
Product-contact Material	SS 304 / SS 316L, hygienic, CIP/SIP-cleanable
Filtration System	Pressure leaf filtration + cross-flow membrane filtration
Purification System	Food-grade ion-exchange resin columns + activated-carbon decolorization
Concentration System	Multi-effect low-temperature vacuum evaporator
Crystallization & Drying	Controlled crystallization with centrifugation, and/or spray drying
Automation	Configurable — manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic PLC-SCADA (recipe-based)
Plant Capacity	Configured to requirement — pilot to 20,000+ kg dried leaves/day
Utility Requirements	Steam, chilled/cooling water, compressed air, soft & RO water, power (project-specific)
Compliance	GMP, WHO-GMP, HACCP, FSSAI; USFDA-ready hygienic design
Final Product Form	Free-flowing crystalline or spray-dried steviol glycoside powder

Plant Capacities

Plant Scale	Leaf Throughput	Typical Use
Pilot	100 kg/batch	Product development, glycoside-yield and taste-profile validation
Semi-Commercial	500–1,000 kg/batch	Contract manufacturing, scale-up trials
Commercial	2,000+ kg/batch	Export-grade continuous production for food and beverage buyers

Capacity is configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume; we recommend a pilot plant to validate glycoside recovery and purification parameters before scaling.

Manufacturing Process

Raw Material Cleaning & Milling

Dried Stevia leaves are cleaned, inspected, and milled to an optimum particle size to maximise extraction efficiency while maintaining product quality. Glycoside content is genuinely known to vary with leaf maturity at harvest and with post-harvest drying practice — leaves harvested at the right growth stage and dried promptly under controlled conditions retain a higher, more consistent steviol glycoside content than over-mature or slow-dried material, so incoming raw material is assessed for moisture and visual quality before it is accepted into the line.

Hot Water Extraction

Milled leaves are extracted using purified hot water under carefully controlled temperature and residence time — a food-grade process that avoids organic solvent residue entirely and maximises recovery of stevioside and Rebaudioside-A.

Primary & Membrane Filtration

The extract passes through pressure filtration to remove suspended plant solids, then cross-flow membrane filtration removes fine particles and colloids while retaining dissolved glycosides.

Ion Exchange Purification

The clarified extract passes through selected food-grade ion-exchange resins that remove the non-glycoside impurities responsible for bitterness and off-notes, sharply improving sweetness profile and purity.

Decolorization

Activated carbon and adsorption systems further improve product appearance and remove residual colour bodies ahead of concentration.

Vacuum Concentration

Clarified extract is concentrated using multi-effect vacuum evaporators operating at low temperature to preserve sweetness and minimise thermal degradation.

Crystallization & Centrifugation

Carefully controlled crystallization separates and concentrates the Rebaudioside-A fraction from the mother liquor, which retains a higher proportion of stevioside; high-speed centrifuges recover the crystals.

Spray Drying & Standardisation

Depending on the target grade, the purified extract is spray-dried into a fine, free-flowing powder and blended to achieve the customer-specified Stevioside/Reb-A concentration before packing.

Major Plant Equipment

Leaf cleaning system
Hammer mill
Stainless-steel hot-water extraction vessels
Plate heat exchangers
Pressure leaf filters
Membrane filtration unit
Ion exchange columns
Activated carbon system
Multi-effect vacuum evaporator
Crystallizers
Industrial centrifuges
Spray dryer
Ribbon blender
Storage tanks
CIP system
PLC-SCADA automation panel
Electrical MCC & instrumentation package

Plant Output

Stevia Extract 80%Stevia Extract 95%Stevioside 90%Rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) 60%Rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) 98%/99% (premium grade)Customised steviol glycoside blends

Case Study

Stevia Extraction Plant — Steviol Glycosides & Rebaudioside-A Turnkey Project

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

Applications

Carbonated and functional beverages
Dairy products and dairy alternatives
Confectionery and bakery products
Tabletop natural sweeteners
Pharmaceutical syrups and formulations
Nutraceutical and functional food products
Export to regulated-market food ingredient buyers

Key Features

Solvent-Free Hot-Water Extraction
Food-grade hot-water extraction recovers stevioside and Rebaudioside-A without organic solvent residue, simplifying regulatory compliance for food and beverage buyers.
Ion-Exchange Bitterness Reduction
Dedicated ion-exchange purification removes the non-glycoside impurities responsible for stevia's characteristic bitterness and aftertaste, delivering a cleaner sweetness profile — particularly important for the higher-value Reb-A fraction.
High-Purity Reb-A Capability
Membrane filtration, decolorization and crystallization stages are configured to reach premium Rebaudioside-A grades (98–99%) alongside standard Stevioside 90% output.
GMP-Compliant SS 316L Construction
Electropolished SS 316L product-contact surfaces meet WHO-GMP and FSSAI requirements, with CIP/SIP operation between batches.
Flexible Crystallization or Spray-Dried Output
The plant is configured for crystalline Reb-A, spray-dried steviol glycoside powder, or both, matching the customer's target product mix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mechotech supply the complete machinery for Stevia rebaudiana?

Yes. Mechotech supplies the complete turnkey plant for Stevia rebaudiana — engineered, fabricated at our Hyderabad facility, installed, and commissioned as a single performance-verified system that produces specification-grade output from day one of handover.

What specification can the Stevia rebaudiana plant achieve?

The plant is engineered to reliably reach Stevioside 90% and Rebaudioside-A (Reb-A) 60%, with premium configurations reaching 98–99% Reb-A, confirmed by batch-release testing with full certificate-of-analysis documentation.

Why does the process use hot-water extraction instead of solvent extraction?

Stevioside and Rebaudioside-A are food-grade sweeteners, so Mechotech's plant uses food-grade hot-water extraction rather than an organic-solvent (hydro-alcoholic) route used for many other botanicals. This avoids solvent-residue concerns entirely for food and beverage buyers, while still efficiently recovering both major steviol glycosides from the leaf.

Why does Rebaudioside-A command a premium over Stevioside?

Both are genuine, well-documented steviol glycosides from Stevia leaf, but Rebaudioside-A has a cleaner taste profile with less bitter, licorice-like aftertaste than stevioside, which is why Reb-A commands a commercial premium in the natural-sweetener market. The two molecules differ in the number and arrangement of glucose units attached to the shared steviol backbone, and that structural difference is what gives Reb-A its comparatively cleaner sweetness curve — buyers formulating beverages and other taste-sensitive products generally prefer a higher Reb-A ratio for this reason. Mechotech's ion-exchange purification and crystallization stages are configured to concentrate and isolate the Reb-A fraction to premium grades (98–99%) when that is the target product.

Are newer steviol glycosides like Reb-M or Reb-D relevant to this plant?

Rebaudioside-M (Reb-M) and Rebaudioside-D (Reb-D) are newer-generation steviol glycosides that have become increasingly important in the global sweetener market because they offer an even cleaner taste profile than Reb-A, with minimal bitter or liquorice notes. They occur in Stevia leaf only in trace amounts, so commercial Reb-M/Reb-D supply is typically produced via bioconversion from more abundant glycosides such as stevioside or Reb-A rather than direct leaf extraction. Mechotech's core plant is built around the food-grade hot-water extraction and purification of stevioside and Reb-A from leaf; buyers targeting Reb-M/Reb-D-based products should discuss their specific process requirement with us so the extraction and purification train can be evaluated for that use case.

What plant part of Stevia is used, and why?

Dried Stevia leaf is used, since stevioside and Rebaudioside-A — the two major, commercially significant steviol glycosides — accumulate in the leaf tissue rather than the stem or root.

What production capacities are available for the Stevia rebaudiana plant?

Mechotech builds Stevia extraction plants from pilot systems for product development to commercial plants processing 20,000+ kg of dried leaves per day. Capacity is selected from raw-material supply, confirmed buyer volume, and investment timeline; we recommend a pilot plant to validate parameters before scaling.

Which industries use the Stevia rebaudiana plant?

Food and beverage manufacturers, dairy processors, confectionery and bakery producers, pharmaceutical companies, and nutraceutical brands across India and export markets use Mechotech plants for consistent, compliant natural-sweetener production.

What does it cost to set up a Stevia extraction plant, and how is pricing determined?

Project cost depends on target capacity, purification depth (standard Stevioside 90% versus premium 98–99% Reb-A), automation level, and utility infrastructure. Mechotech provides a detailed techno-commercial proposal after reviewing your raw-material supply, target market and compliance requirements — contact us for a capacity-specific quotation.

Does leaf harvest timing affect the glycoside yield the plant can recover?

Yes. Steviol glycoside content in Stevia leaf is affected by harvest timing and post-harvest handling — leaf harvested at optimum maturity and dried promptly under controlled conditions carries a higher, more consistent glycoside load than over-mature or poorly-dried leaf, which directly affects the extraction yield and purification load on the plant. Mechotech's process design accounts for reasonable variation in incoming leaf quality, but buyers sourcing their own leaf should work with agronomically informed suppliers and dry leaf promptly after harvest to protect glycoside content ahead of extraction.

Do steviol glycosides have specific regulatory purity requirements buyers should know about?

Yes. Steviol glycosides sold as food ingredients are subject to purity and compositional specifications in major regulated markets — for example, JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) and equivalent US and EU food-additive specifications define minimum total steviol-glycoside purity and limit non-glycoside impurities. These specifications can vary by market and are periodically updated, so buyers should confirm the current specification applicable to their target market and align the plant's purification depth (Stevioside 90%, Reb-A 60%, or premium 98–99% Reb-A) accordingly before finalising a project.

Ready to discuss your project?

Get a free quote and technical consultation from our engineering team.

Get A Free Quote

Stevia rebaudiana — Stevioside 90% and Rebaudioside 60%