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Cinnamon Extraction Plant
Essential Oils, Spices & Oleoresins

Cinnamon Extraction Plant

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Cinnamon Extraction Plant

This page is for spice and essential-oil processors who handle cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaf or cassia bark and want to turn it into oil, oleoresin or extract. Cinnamon is not a single raw material: true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, also called zeylanicum) and cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) are different species, and trade names overlap, so confirm exactly what your supply is. Settle five things before a plant is sized: the species, the plant part (bark quills, chips, trimmings or leaf), moisture and particle size, the product you will sell, and the marker your buyer specifies, whether cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, polyphenols or coumarin control. Five routes are covered: bark oil and leaf oil by distillation, cassia oleoresin by solvent extraction, a non-volatile polyphenol bark extract, and CO2 extracts of bark oil.

Equipment depends on the route. Distillation lines centre on 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 because the bark is dense. Oleoresin and polyphenol lines add sealed jacketed extractors, a plate-and-frame filter press, a falling-film / vacuum evaporator, solvent recovery and, for a powder, a spray or vacuum dryer. CO2 lines use high-pressure SS 316L vessels that recover and recirculate the CO2. Final configuration follows the species, the product target and the capacity.

Indicative Capacity Range

  • 100–5,000 kg feed/day

Key Specification Inputs

Extraction solvent/water, extraction stages, batch time, filtration and recovery.

Technical Specifications

Plant typeCinnamon plant built by route: distillation, solvent extraction or CO2 extraction
Raw materialCinnamon bark or leaf, and cassia bark; species (Cinnamomum verum / zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia), part and form are confirmed with the buyer
Bark oilSteam, hydro, vacuum or pressure distillation; cinnamaldehyde is the marker, typically 65-80% in bark oil
Leaf oilThe same distillation modes; eugenol is the marker, typically 70-90% in leaf oil
Cassia oleoresinSolvent percolation of Cinnamomum cassia bark, with cinnamaldehyde assayed by GC and natural coumarin followed by HPLC; a viscous liquid, not a powder
Bark polyphenol extractAqueous or hydro-alcoholic extraction; a standardised dry extract at 20% polyphenols by UV is the listed target
CO2 oilsSupercritical CO2 extraction suits cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon cassia bark oil
Oil finishingStainless Florentine flask for separation, polish filtration, then drying over anhydrous sodium sulphate or under vacuum
Contact surfacesSS 316L and cleaned in place
ControlsPLC-based; PLC-SCADA with recipe management on the extraction routes
Plant capacitySet per project from raw-material supply and the product route

Typical Process Route

1

Preparation of Bark or Leaf

Bark is cleaned and ground or crushed to open the oil-bearing cells and give steam a way in. Leaf is cleaned, sorted and cut where needed. For solvent routes the bark is milled to an even size. Particle size is fixed during process development.

2

Distillation: Charging and Steam

The prepared charge goes into the SS 316L still and is distilled by steam, hydro, vacuum or pressure mode, whichever suits the volatility and heat sensitivity of the oil being made.

3

Distillation: Condensing and Separating

Vapour is condensed in a multi-tube condenser with chilled-water circulation. In the Florentine flask the oil is separated from the hydrosol, with the separator arranged for the oil being made, and the hydrosol can be kept as a co-product.

4

Distillation: Polishing and Release

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

5

Solvent Extraction (Oleoresin and Polyphenol Routes)

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

6

Clarification, Concentration and Solvent Return

The miscella is cleared through a plate-and-frame press and cartridge polish filters, concentrated in a falling-film / vacuum evaporator and the solvent is returned through a closed recovery loop.

7

Standardisation and Finishing

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

8

Supercritical CO2 Route

Prepared bark is loaded into a high-pressure SS 316L vessel where supercritical CO2 draws out the oil. Pressure is dropped in a separator, and the CO2 is recompressed and recirculated.

Major Plant Equipment

  • Cleaning and sorting line for bark and leaf
  • Bark crusher or size-reduction unit
  • SS 316L distillation still for steam, hydro, vacuum or pressure modes
  • Multi-tube condenser with chilled-water circulation
  • Stainless 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 solvent recovery loop
  • Spray dryer or vacuum tray dryer (polyphenol powder)
  • Supercritical CO2 vessel, separator and CO2 recovery system (CO2 routes)
  • Clean-in-place (CIP) skid
  • PLC-based controls, electrical MCC and instruments

Plant Output

Cinnamon bark essential oil, with aromatic hydrosol as a co-productCinnamon leaf essential oil, rich in eugenolCassia bark oleoresin, a viscous liquid standardised on cinnamaldehydeCinnamon bark polyphenol extract powderCinnamon bark oil or cassia oil as a CO2 extract

Applications

  • Fragrance, flavour and aromatherapy oils
  • Flavour use in food and drinks
  • Warm-spice flavour compounding for bakery and confectionery (cassia oleoresin)
  • Eugenol-rich leaf oil for flavour and fragrance use
  • Nutraceutical and functional-food formulations (polyphenol extract)
  • Standardised ingredient for pharmaceutical manufacturers
  • Active ingredient for cosmetic and personal care formulators

Key Features

  • Species and Part Kept Apart

    Bark oil is led by cinnamaldehyde and leaf oil by eugenol. Cassia is a different raw material from true cinnamon, and the routes treat them separately instead of blending them.

  • Separation Set for the Oil Being Made

    The Florentine flask separates oil from hydrosol and is arranged to suit bark oil or leaf oil, which differ in composition.

  • Coumarin Watched on Cassia

    On the cassia oleoresin route natural coumarin is a monitored release parameter beside the cinnamaldehyde assay.

  • Gentle Polyphenol Route

    The non-volatile polyphenol fraction is extracted at moderate temperature and concentrated under vacuum, a different aim and process from the oil distillation lines.

  • Stainless and CIP

    SS 316L contact surfaces with CIP between batches, so a bark-oil run is not contaminated by eugenol-rich leaf oil, or the reverse.

Related Products

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the raw material true cinnamon or cassia, and does it matter?
It matters a great deal, and the two are not interchangeable. The cassia oleoresin route covers Cinnamomum cassia and states that true Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is not covered there, partly because cassia carries higher natural coumarin. The bark oil and leaf oil pages name Cinnamomum zeylanicum / verum and cassia as listed. Confirm the species of your supply, ideally by botanical identification and not trade name alone, before a plant is configured.
Should I make cinnamon oil, oleoresin or a polyphenol extract?
Decide by what your customer buys. Steam or hydro distillation gives the volatile, cinnamaldehyde-rich oil for flavour and fragrance. Solvent extraction of cassia bark gives a viscous, cinnamaldehyde-standardised oleoresin for flavour compounding. Aqueous or hydro-alcoholic extraction of bark gives the non-volatile polyphenol fraction. These are different plants with different equipment, so fix the product first. The aromatic oil distillation plant page covers the distillation side in more depth.
How does bark oil differ from leaf oil?
Bark oil is dominated by cinnamaldehyde, and the bark is dense and rolled, so the line is built around size reduction that lets steam reach the oil-bearing tissue. Leaf oil is dominated by eugenol. Each has its own marker range and buyer.
How should bark and leaf be prepared and stored in humid climates?
Bark should arrive dry, clean and free of mould, and stay in covered, ventilated storage off the ground, because damp material spoils. Quills and chips are hard, so the crusher needs to be matched to them, and uniform size gives more even distillation. Leaf should be clean and free of twigs and soil. Write moisture, part, species and foreign-matter limits into your supply specification.
Distillation, solvent or CO2: how do I choose, and what drives energy use?
Distillation suits the volatile oil and uses steam and chilled water. Solvent extraction is chosen for oleoresin or polyphenols, and its energy and solvent demand follow the solvent-to-feed ratio, evaporation duty and recovery performance. Supercritical CO2 is an option for cinnamon bark oil and cassia bark oil, run in a closed pressurised system with CO2 recompressed and recirculated. Pressure, temperature and target fraction are established in process development and pilot trials.
What test work should I prepare for cinnamon?
Prepare a representative sample with species, part and moisture, and the specification your buyer sets: cinnamaldehyde or eugenol range, a GC-MS profile for oils, coumarin limits for cassia, residual solvent and heavy metals where relevant. Coumarin is limited in some markets, so for cassia aimed at those markets, say so early. Ask in your enquiry whether trials are possible.
Are bark peeling or quill-making lines included?
No. Bark peeling, quill-making and drying are not part of these plants. They start at cleaning, sorting and size reduction of cinnamon that has already been harvested and prepared, and then extract or distil it. If your project includes upstream raw-material handling, raise it in the enquiry so it can be scoped separately.
What drives the cost of a cinnamon plant?
Cost follows the route. A distillation line is the simplest train, a solvent line adds a filter press, evaporator and solvent recovery, and a CO2 line needs high-pressure vessels and CO2 recovery. The bark crusher, throughput, whether bark and leaf oil share one still, and the level of automation also move the price. Related spice routes are grouped under essential oils, spices and oleoresins.
What should I send to request a cinnamon plant proposal?
Send the species and plant part, the 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. The plant type and configuration follow from these. You can request a proposal with these details.

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