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Natural Colour Extraction Plants
Specialty African Botanical & Natural Ingredients

Natural Colour Extraction Plants

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Insulated stainless-steel extraction vessels with open manways, columns and pipework in an installed plant

Natural Colour Extraction Plants

Natural colours are made from plant material such as roots, flowers, fruits, skins, seeds, leaves and bark, and each source behaves differently. A processor planning a colour plant therefore starts with the source and the colour wanted: beetroot and hibiscus for reds, turmeric and annatto for yellows and oranges, leafy material for greens, or other plant material for browns and greys. Next come the form to be sold (liquid concentrate, paste or powder) and the colour strength the customer will measure. A colour plant is a complete train from extractor to dryer, with SS 316L on every product-contact surface.

This page covers the shared route for natural colour and pigment extraction. The pages below are grouped by colour family and list the individual plant sources. A plant is engineered for the source or sources chosen, because the extraction medium, temperature and handling vary from pigment to pigment. Product-contact surfaces are SS 316L and controls are PLC-based, so extraction and concentration conditions repeat from batch to batch.

Indicative Capacity Range

  • 100–5,000 kg feed/day

Key Specification Inputs

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

Typical Process Route

1

Inspection of the raw material

Roots, flowers, fruits, skins, seeds or leaves are checked for identity, moisture and visible quality. Material that is spoiled or mixed with other plants is removed, since it affects both colour and clarity.

2

Cleaning and size reduction

The source is washed or dry-cleaned and then sliced, pulped or milled according to its form. Fine, even particles expose the pigment, while the size must still allow the later separation to work.

3

Controlled extraction

Pigment is taken into water, alcohol or a mixture of the two in a closed, jacketed extractor at a controlled temperature. Many natural colours are sensitive to heat, pH, light or oxygen, so conditions are set gently.

4

Separating solids and liquid

Spent plant material is removed by filtration so that a clear, coloured liquid is obtained.

5

Concentration

A vacuum evaporator removes solvent or water at a reduced temperature to give a concentrated colour. Where a solvent is used, it is recovered through the condenser and reused.

6

Purification where needed

If the specification requires it, the concentrate is purified to remove co-extracted material that dilutes the colour or affects taste.

7

Drying and packing

The colour is sold as a concentrate or dried to a powder, then packed in containers that protect it from light, air and moisture.

Major Plant Equipment

  • Raw material cleaning and washing line
  • Cutter, pulper or mill
  • Jacketed SS 316L extractors
  • Filter press or decanter for solid-liquid separation
  • Vacuum evaporator
  • Condenser and solvent recovery unit (solvent routes)
  • Purification unit, where the specification needs it
  • Spray dryer or vacuum dryer (powder route)
  • Packing station for light- and air-barrier containers
  • PLC panel, electrical MCC and instruments

Plant Output

Liquid colour concentrateColour pasteColour powderRecovered solvent, reused in extractionSpent plant residue

Applications

  • Food and beverage colouring for drinks, confectionery, dairy and bakery products
  • Cosmetic and personal-care colours
  • Colour for nutraceutical tablets, capsules and syrups
  • Pharmaceutical product colouring
  • Concentrates and powders sold to ingredient blenders

Key Features

  • Stainless-steel contact parts

    Product-contact surfaces are SS 316L, which copes with the acidic extracts that anthocyanin sources produce.

  • Automated controls

    PLC-based automation holds extraction and concentration conditions steady from batch to batch.

  • Gentle concentration

    Vacuum evaporation at reduced temperature helps protect heat-sensitive pigments, and solvent is recovered where one is used.

  • Drying and packing for the product form

    A concentrate, paste or powder route is chosen for the colour and the customer's application.

  • Safe solvent route

    Where alcohol is used, closed vessels, solvent recovery and ventilated, explosion-protected areas belong in the design.

Related Products

Frequently Asked Questions

How are the colour plants on this page organised?
The child pages below are arranged by colour family, such as reds, yellows, oranges, browns, blues, greens and greys to blacks. Each lists plant sources such as beetroot, hibiscus, turmeric, annatto, red cabbage or purple sweet potato. Choose the page nearest to your raw material and treat it as a starting point, because the final design depends on your own source and specification.
What should I settle before sizing a natural colour plant?
Settle the source plant and plant part, its moisture and seasonal supply, the colour and strength your customer expects, the form you sell (concentrate, paste or powder), the extraction route and the volume per day or batch. With those points defined, the extractor, evaporator and dryer can be sized sensibly.
Why does each colour source need different handling?
Pigments belong to different chemical families. Anthocyanins, from sources such as hibiscus, red cabbage or purple sweet potato, are water-soluble and very sensitive to pH: strongly acidic solution keeps them red and stable, while neutral to alkaline conditions fade them, and heat, light and oxygen also degrade them. Betalains in beetroot are water-soluble and tolerate a wider pH range than anthocyanins, but high temperature, light and pH outside roughly 3 to 7 still affect them. Carotenoids, such as those in marigold and annatto, are generally fat-soluble, so their solvent route differs from that of anthocyanins and betalains. Curcumin from turmeric does not dissolve in water and has low light stability. Chlorophyll in leafy material is unstable to light, heating and oxygen. These are general tendencies, and test work on your own material should set the actual conditions.
Should the extraction use water or alcohol?
Water-soluble pigments such as anthocyanins and betalains can be extracted into water or a water-alcohol mix, while fat-soluble pigments such as carotenoids, and curcumin, need alcohol, oil or another suitable solvent. A solvent route needs recovery equipment, safe storage and ventilation. A water-only route is simpler to site but gives a more dilute liquid to evaporate. Bench trials on the actual source give the most reliable answer.
Can any natural colour be sold in any market?
Not necessarily. A pigment accepted as a food colour in one country may not be accepted in another, and limits and labelling rules differ too. Check that your target colour is permitted in the markets you want to sell into before you choose the source and the plant.
Can the same plant make a concentrate and a powder?
Yes, as long as the plant has a drying stage. Concentration is done in a vacuum evaporation plant, and powder is made by drying the concentrate, for example in a spray dryer. Which form to choose depends on the customer: a liquid concentrate carries more water and is bulkier to ship, while a powder needs the extra drying stage.
How do turmeric colour and curcumin differ?
Turmeric colour is generally sold for its yellow shade in food or cosmetics, while curcumin is the purified curcuminoid fraction sold on assay for supplements and pharma-type uses. Curcumin does not dissolve in water and has low light stability, which matters for the application. If curcumin is the target, see the curcumin extraction plant. For hibiscus, the hibiscus extraction plant page is a related route.
What test work should I prepare for a technical proposal?
Bring a sample of the raw material, its moisture and form, and the colour specification with the test method, usually a colour strength measured by the method your customer specifies. A small stability trial in the customer's product, covering light, heat and pH, is also helpful. Include the volume, the seasons of supply, site utilities and the destination market. Wider process scope is described under turnkey extraction plant solutions.
Can one plant handle several colour sources?
It can, if the plant is designed for it. Colour sources are often seasonal, so a multi-source line makes better use of equipment, but each changeover needs thorough cleaning, otherwise one colour can contaminate the next. Tell the supplier all the sources you intend to run, not only the first.

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