Jacketed Kettles

Steam jacketed kettles are used to cook or concentrate products. Steam enters a jacket that surrounds the bowl-shaped processing chamber, and heat is transferred through the walls of the jacket. "Cooking" kettles are found in many industries, including meat packing, rendering, paper making, sugar processing, and food preparation and processing.

Two types of kettles are in common use. In gravity drained kettles, product must be lifted out of the processing chamber. Syphon drained kettles use rotary joints that allow product to be poured from the kettle. While syphon drainage presents special concerns about low differential pressure and flash steam formation, the temperature stability needed by processes that use kettles requires quick, thorough removal of both non-condensables and condensate, regardless of the drainage method used.