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Specialty Vacuum & Utility Equipment
For process conditions that call for more than a conventional vacuum package, specialty vacuum and utility equipment brings jet-based engineering to steam conditioning, vapor recovery, liquid transfer, fume control, process mixing, direct-contact heating, and industrial chilling applications.
Overview
Specialty Vacuum & Utility Equipment, Engineered to Your Process.
Reliable plant operation depends on well-conditioned process and utility streams – and on the equipment that handles them. When that equipment underperforms, it can have a direct impact on uptime, efficiency, and downstream performance. Most specialty vacuum and utility devices share one working principle: a high-pressure motive stream transfers its momentum to a lower-pressure process stream, with no rotating internal components. That simplicity is what makes them dependable in demanding service.
Built on the proven legacy of JET-VAC® Technologies and Unique Systems®, Artisan’s specialty vacuum and utility equipment portfolio includes thermocompressors, thermo-syphons, process mixing eductors, desuperheaters, steam jet chillers, and fume scrubbers. Each application is engineered around its actual operating conditions – pressure, temperature, vapor load, and available utilities – and the role the system must play in the larger process.
Applications
Steam boosting · Vapor compression · Steam conditioning · Desuperheating · Liquid recirculation · Tank-to-tank transfer · Sump draining · Process mixing · Blending · Dilution · Gas dispersion · Direct-contact heating · Process chilling · Fume removal · Acid gas neutralization · Odor control · Utility optimization
Industries Served
Chemical · Petrochemical · Refining · Power & Energy · Food & Beverage · Pharmaceutical · Nutraceutical · Edible Oils · Waste Reduction · Flavor & Fragrance
Vacuum Heritage
Artisan’s specialty vacuum and utility equipment capabilities are rooted in decades of JET-VAC® and Unique Systems® experience across steam jet, Venturi, ejector, eductor, and process vacuum technologies. Today, that heritage is integrated into Artisan’s engineering and manufacturing resources in Stoughton, MA.
Thermocompressors
Vapor Jet Compressors use high-pressure motive vapor to entrain a lower-pressure gas or vapor, mix the two streams, and discharge the combined flow at an intermediate pressure. When both the motive and entrained streams are steam, the device is referred to as a thermocompressor – useful in applications where low-pressure steam can be recovered, boosted, or reused rather than vented or wasted.
In operation, motive steam passes through a nozzle that converts pressure into velocity. That high-velocity stream creates suction, draws in the lower-pressure vapor, and mixes the two flows inside the body. The diffuser then converts velocity energy back into pressure to reach the required discharge condition.
Artisan thermocompressors are used in process, paper, petroleum, power, gas, and evaporation applications where steam efficiency, vapor recompression, or process mixing is central to the system design. Typical duties include low-pressure steam recovery, steam-pressure boosting, vapor circulation, and compression of compatible process gases.
Thermocompressor Advantages
- Entrains and compresses lower-pressure gas or vapor with high-pressure motive media
- Commonly applied in multi-effect evaporators and steam recovery systems
- Simple construction with no moving parts
- Intrinsically safe for potentially explosive environments (excluding instrument transmitters)
- Suitable for steam, air, propane, and other vapor-phase materials
- Available in multiple materials, including cast iron, stainless steel, Hastelloyâ„¢, and other alloys
- Critical and non-critical designs available based on pressure ratio and performance requirements
- Recovers otherwise underutilized vapor energy where motive conditions are suitable
Our engineering team can evaluate your motive steam conditions and required discharge pressure to identify the right thermocompressor design.
Thermo-Syphons
Thermo-syphons offer a compact way to pump, circulate, heat, or transfer liquids using steam or another high-pressure condensable vapor as the motive source. With no moving parts, seals, packing, or lubrication requirements, they can be a practical choice where conventional pumps add leak points, maintenance demands, or electrical limitations.
Compact enough to fit directly into a pipeline, JET-VAC® thermo-syphons can also be welded in place to reduce flanges and joints. They are well suited for in-line heating, batch tank recirculation, sump draining, and tank-to-tank transfer, including difficult services involving toxic, corrosive, or hazardous liquids.
For aggressive or sensitive fluid-handling applications, Artisan can supply thermo-syphons in standard or corrosion-resistant materials with flanged or welded configurations.
Thermo-Syphon Advantages
- Pumps or recirculates liquids using steam or high-pressure condensable vapor
- No seals, packing, lubrication, or electrical power required
- Can be welded in line to reduce external joints and potential leak points
- Useful for tank recirculation, sump draining, tank transfer, and in-line heating
- Combines liquid movement with direct-contact heat transfer
- Available in standard and corrosion-resistant materials
- Well suited for toxic, corrosive, or difficult liquid-handling environments
Our engineers can review your liquid properties and available motive vapor to determine whether a thermo-syphon is the right fit.
Desuperheaters
Venturi desuperheaters reduce the temperature of superheated vapors flowing through a pipeline by injecting liquid into the vapor stream at the Venturi. The high vapor velocity atomizes the liquid into fine droplets, allowing heat transfer through evaporation as the vapor and droplets move downstream.
In steam service, condensate is injected slightly downstream of the Venturi throat at a pressure above the steam line pressure. This creates the relative velocity needed for fine droplet formation and efficient cooling. In many applications, superheated steam can be reduced to a practical range of 5° to 10°F above saturation. The injected condensate must be sufficiently clean to avoid dissolved-solids deposition in downstream piping.
Hydrocarbon vapors require a different desuperheating approach because their latent heat is lower than that of water. JET-VAC® Venturi Desuperheaters introduce the required liquid through a series of nozzles that parallel the vapor flow, supporting effective cooling without relying on counterflow atomization.
Desuperheater Advantages
- Reduces superheated vapor temperature through direct liquid injection and evaporation
- Helps protect downstream equipment from heat distortion
- Can reduce deterioration caused by superheated vapor exposure
- May reduce the need for heavy steam line insulation or expensive heat-resistant alloys
- Applicable to steam and hydrocarbon vapor service
- Designed and fabricated to ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII, Division 1, and other applicable international codes
- Approaches saturation temperature without introducing a conventional heat-transfer surface
Our engineering team can evaluate your vapor flow and temperature reduction targets to size the right desuperheater.
Steam Jet Chillers
Steam jet chillers use ejector-based vacuum technology to chill water and other liquids, solids, and heat-sensitive process materials without chemical refrigerants or mechanically complex refrigeration equipment. By creating vacuum conditions, the system enables evaporative cooling and can deliver chilled water from ambient temperatures down to just above freezing.
JET-VAC® steam jet chillers are often used where low-pressure steam, waste steam, or low-cost steam is available as the motive source. With no moving parts and few spare parts, they provide a durable approach for facilities that need reliable chilling capacity during high cooling loads, seasonal temperature shifts, or demanding process operations.
These systems chill water from conventional cooling towers or other available sources and serve industrial applications where simplicity, reliability, and low maintenance are important design priorities. They may also supplement cooling-tower capacity when seasonal inlet-water temperatures are too high for the required process duty.
Steam Jet Chiller Advantages
- Ejector-based vacuum chilling for liquids, solids, and heat-sensitive materials
- Can produce chilled water from ambient to near-freezing temperatures
- Uses low-pressure, waste, or low-cost steam as the motive source
- No moving parts and no chemical refrigerants
- Low maintenance, especially when paired with a barometric condenser
- Quiet operation with few spare parts required
- Offers additional cooling capacity without a conventional mechanical refrigerant compressor
Our engineering team can evaluate your cooling duty and available steam to confirm whether ejector-based chilling is the right fit.
Fume Scrubbers
Fume scrubbers remove and neutralize process fumes, acid gases, odors, particulates, dust, noxious laboratory gases, and condensable contaminants by contacting the contaminated gas stream with a selected scrubbing liquid. The scrubber fluid is matched to the gas composition so contaminants can be absorbed, neutralized, condensed, or captured in the liquid phase.
JET-VAC® scrubbers draw contaminated fumes and gases into the flow of a wash fluid, such as dilute sodium hydroxide. The air or gas stream and liquid are intimately mixed for rapid contact, then separated in a tank so the cleaned air/gas mixture can be discharged and the wash fluid can be recycled and reused.
Because they are not dependent on filter media, fume scrubbers can be especially useful where corrosive fumes, condensable vapors, or reactive gases would challenge traditional filtration systems.
Fume Scrubber Advantages
- Removes acid fumes, noxious gases, odors, particulates, dust, and condensable contaminants
- More effective than filters for many gas and condensable vapor removal applications
- Scrubbing liquid can be selected for neutralization, absorption, reaction, or condensation
- Simple design with low maintenance requirements
- Suitable for laboratories, production facilities, and process environments
- Can support corrosive or chemically aggressive fume-handling requirements
Our engineers can match the scrubbing liquid and configuration to the contaminant profile of your application.
Process Mixing Eductors
Process mixing eductors use the energy of a pressurized liquid stream to entrain and combine a secondary process fluid. As the motive fluid accelerates through the nozzle, pressure is converted into velocity, creating a low-pressure region that draws in the secondary fluid and establishes a controlled mixing action between the streams.
Typical duties include blending, dilution, dispersion, and chemical addition across a range of industrial processes. Designs can be tailored for liquid-liquid or gas-liquid service, allowing process streams to be combined, diluted, or conditioned before entering the next stage of a process. Final geometry is developed around motive-liquid pressure, process-fluid properties, required mixing rate, operating temperature, and materials compatibility.
With no rotating equipment or internal moving components, process mixing eductors offer a mechanically simple, low-maintenance alternative to conventional mixing equipment in suitable applications. Construction materials may also be selected for corrosive, abrasive, or chemically demanding service.
Process Mixing Eductor Advantages
- Uses pressurized liquid rather than rotating mechanical equipment
- Promotes blending, dilution, and fluid conditioning of process streams
- Suitable for chemical addition, reagent blending, and gas dispersion
- No rotating components, shaft penetrations, or internal seals
- Available in materials selected for corrosive or chemically aggressive liquids
- Can use a compatible process liquid as the motive stream
Our engineering team can develop a mixing-eductor arrangement around your process duty and operating conditions.
Other Vacuum Products
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Complete vacuum system configurations sized to the vacuum level and process load required.
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Intercondensers, aftercondensers, and surface condensers for multi-stage vacuum ejector systems.
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Have a Specialty Vacuum or Utility Equipment Application to Discuss?
Bring Artisan’s engineering team your steam conditioning, vapor compression, liquid movement, fume scrubbing, or process chilling challenge, and we’ll help define the right specialty vacuum or utility equipment approach for your operating conditions.
- (781) 893-6800
- 44 Campanelli Pkwy, Stoughton, MA 02072