Jacketed Piping and Fittings - A Versatile Method of Temperature Control
Over thirty years the requirements of the processing industries with regard to process equipment have been critically important to A&B Process Systems. The company has developed expertise in many areas of design, fabrication, installation and automation and is renowned for its' capabilities with stainless steels. One area of expertise is in the design, fabrication and installation of jacketed piping (tubing) and fittings, often needed by the food, dairy and confectionery industries. This type of stainless steel process piping may be installed into existing process systems, being attached to floors, walls and ceilings at the site. A&B can also design, fabricate and install new systems incorporating jacketed piping and these may be modular or skid-mounted systems if required.
What is a jacketed system and when is it used?
The major components of a process system are stainless steel tanks, vessels, pumps and valves and these components are usually interconnected by stainless steel piping. In the food, dairy and confectionery industries changes in temperature in the product stream, as it flows through the system, can lead to either thermal damage or rapid increases in viscosity, partial crystallization and possibly solidification. To avoid or minimize these problems and maintain the required temperature in the stainless steel piping, a "jacket" can be attached. The result is a concentric tube-in-tube arrangement, allowing a fluid to flow across the outer surface of the process piping and transfer heat to (or from) the product stream.The confectionery and breakfast cereal business sectors are the most common hygienic applications of "jacketed pipe and fittings" for processing that primarily involves sugar slurries in a wide range of concentrations as well as chocolate tempering. Concentrated sugar slurries used to produce " hard candy" often require steam jacketing to insure against formation of sugar crystals that complicate the process itself and adversely affect seal performance in the pumps and valves.