A conventional jacketed vessel is a cylindrical process tank surrounded by a full-annular outer jacket circulating heating or cooling media (steam, hot water, chilled water, or thermal oil) to control batch temperature between −20°C and 200°C. Processing 1 to 2,000,000 cP across 50–50,000 L, it delivers overall heat-transfer coefficients of 200–1,200 W/m²·K — the universal configuration for pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, and chemical temperature-controlled processing.
Process fluid is charged into the inner vessel; heating or cooling media enters the jacket through a bottom inlet and exits at the top outlet. The temperature differential drives conductive and convective heat transfer through the vessel wall. An internal agitator (anchor, PBT, or helical) continuously renews the fluid boundary layer at the wall — directly improving U. Steam jackets operate at 1–6 bar; hot-water and thermal-oil circuits provide precise ±1°C temperature control.
Challenges
Uneven Temperature Distribution
Poor agitation creates thermal gradients, causing localized hot/cold spots.
Limited Heat Transfer at High Viscosity
Stagnant wall-layer film in viscous systems sharply reduces effective U.
Jacket Pressure Limitation
Standard annular jacket rated to 6 bar limits maximum steam temperature.
Scale-Up Heat-Transfer Non-Linearity
Surface-area-to-volume ratio decreases with scale, reducing thermal response rate.
CIP Dead Zones in Jacket
Annular jacket geometry can trap media and compromise sterilisation validation.
Solutions
- Anchor or Helical Wall-Sweep Agitator: Continuously renews thermal boundary layer; increases U by 2–4× vs. static wall.
- Dimple or Half-Pipe Upgrade Option: Higher pressure-rated inner surfaces (up to 15 bar) enable high-temperature operation.
- PLC Temperature Control (±1°C): Closed-loop valve modulation of media flow maintains precise setpoint temperature.
- Geometric Similarity Scale-Up with Jacket Area Ratio: Additional internal coils compensate for falling A/V ratio at large vessel scale.
- Full-Drain CIP-Compatible Jacket Inlet/Outlet: Self-draining jacket ports validated for complete media purge between products.
Applications
- Pharmaceutical: API synthesis, granulation base preparation, cream/ointment temperature-controlled processing.
- Food & Beverage: Sauce cooking, syrup preparation, pasteurisation, chocolate tempering, beverage blending.
- Cosmetics: Emulsification, cream/lotion phase heating and cooling, gel base preparation.
- Chemical: Polymerisation, resin synthesis, exothermic reaction temperature control, solvent recovery.
- Dairy: Pasteurisation, yogurt incubation, cheese production, butter processing.
- Nutraceuticals: Heat-sensitive extract concentration, supplement syrup preparation, viscous blending.
Models & Capacities
2A — Conventional Jacketed Vessel (JV-C) — 50 L to 50,000 L — −20 to 200°C — Up to 6 bar — U 200–1,200 W/m²·K — Steam / HW / CW / Oil | ||||||||||
Model | Capacity [L] | Jacket Vol [L] | Motor [kW] | Agitator Speed [RPM] | Op. Temp [°C] | Jacket Pressure [bar] | U [W/m²·K] | Vessel H × Ø [mm] | Overall H [mm] | Weight [kg] |
JV-C-050 | 50 | 8 | 0.37 – 0.75 | 20–80 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 200 – 900 | Ø400 × 500 | 1,500 | 80 |
JV-C-100 | 100 | 15 | 0.55 – 1.1 | 20–80 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 250 – 1,000 | Ø500 × 600 | 1,800 | 130 |
JV-C-300 | 300 | 35 | 1.1 – 2.2 | 15–60 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 250 – 1,100 | Ø700 × 900 | 2,400 | 280 |
JV-C-500 | 500 | 55 | 2.2 – 4.0 | 15–60 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 300 – 1,100 | Ø850 × 1,050 | 2,900 | 420 |
JV-C-1000 | 1,000 | 100 | 4.0 – 7.5 | 15–60 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 300 – 1,200 | Ø1,100 × 1,200 | 3,500 | 720 |
JV-C-3000 | 3,000 | 250 | 7.5 – 15 | 10–50 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 300 – 1,200 | Ø1,500 × 1,700 | 4,500 | 1,800 |
JV-C-10000 | 10,000 | 700 | 15 – 37 | 10–40 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 250 – 1,100 | Ø2,400 × 2,500 | 6,500 | 5,200 |
JV-C-50000 | 50,000 | 3,000 | 37 – 90 | 5–30 VFD | −20 to 200 | 1 – 6 | 200 – 1,000 | Ø4,500 × 4,800 | 10,000 | 18,000 |