Flavors & Fragrances Industry
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Clayton Industries Supports the Flavors & Fragrances Industry
Flavors and fragrances are added to so many of the things we use and eat every day. Fragrances are added to food, soaps, detergents, candles, oils, candies and many other items. Similarly, flavors are added to many foods, drinks, candies, medicines and countless other items that we encounter daily.
There are two general categories of flavors and fragrances, natural and artificial, and both can make use of steam in their creation process. When natural flavors and fragrances are extracted from the source and concentrated, steam is often used to distill a flavor or fragrance, whereby the source material is heated to its vaporization point, before being condensed to capture the concentration, a process that is very similar to distilling. Other natural flavors and fragrances can be heated in steam jacketed kettles or stream heated vessels to boil off the liquids and create the concentrated product.
Artificial flavors and fragrances are specific formulas of ingredients that when combined and heated, form a compound that can add flavor or an attractive smell to various other products, with steam being the industry standard heat source. If you are enjoying the smell of lavender from a burning candle, the fragrance was probably distilled from lavender flower using steam. If you remember the cherry taste of cough syrup, that was created from artificial ingredients in a steam heated vessel.
Clayton Steam Generators are ideally suited to handle the process needs of the flavors and fragrance industry. These products are often produced in batches which requires large surges in steam demand. The Clayton boiler was designed to handle big load swings while keeping pressure and temperature stable.
Key Benefits
Rapid Response
When your batches require a surge in your steam demands, Clayton’s Steam Generators are up to the task, able to respond to changing conditions without compromising steam quality.
Quick Start
Clayton’s Steam Boilers are able to reach full steam output from a cold start in under ten minutes, eliminating the need for keeping a boiler on a hot standby.
Industry Leading Efficiency
Clayton’s coil tube design and counterflow heat exchanger can bring efficiency and optimization to your facility, cutting your fuel bill and speeding productions time.
Featured Case Study
Top 10 Reasons To Buy a Clayton Steam Generator
1. FUEL EFFICIENT:
The Clayton design produces higher fuel-to-steam efficiency, even when operated lower than the full firing rate.
2. COMPACT SIZE:
Clayton Steam Generators require only 1/3 the floor space of traditional boilers.
3. FAST START-UP:
The Clayton Steam Generator can go from cold to full steam in less than 10 minutes.
4. QUALITY STEAM:
The fixed-vane steam separator yields the driest saturated steam available in the industry today — typically less then
0.5% at all loads.
Frequently Asked Question's
Steam boilers provide heat for extracting natural aromatic compounds, distillation, concentration, and heating formulated ingredients. They can supply steam directly to extraction equipment or indirectly to jacketed kettles and other heated vessels, depending on the process.
Steam passes through aromatic plant material and carries volatile compounds to a condenser. Cooling turns the vapor into a liquid mixture, from which the essential oil is separated. The amount and characteristics of the recovered oil depend on the botanical material and extraction conditions.
Yes. Natural ingredients may use steam for extraction or concentration, while synthetic flavor and fragrance processes may require heat for formulated ingredients in processing vessels. The steam system should match the heating requirements of the specific process rather than assume all products use the same production method.
In direct steam distillation, steam contacts the botanical material and carries volatile compounds toward the condenser. In jacketed heating, steam transfers heat through the vessel wall without intentionally mixing with its contents. This distinction affects equipment selection, steam-purity requirements, and how condensate is handled.
Specify both steam dryness and purity. Excess moisture can affect heat delivery, while contaminants are a separate concern when steam contacts ingredients. Food-flavor applications require particular attention to direct-contact steam suitability; a high dryness percentage alone does not establish that steam meets the process’s purity requirements.
Boiler capacity should match the steam flow required by the extraction equipment, including the highest realistic demand from vessels operating together. Consider startup loads, batch duration, distribution losses, and planned expansion. Size the system around the process requirements rather than the extraction vessel’s volume alone.
There is no single pressure suitable for every extraction or heating process. Use the equipment manufacturer’s required inlet pressure, steam flow, and operating conditions. Boiler outlet pressure must account for distribution losses, while controls at the equipment provide the conditions needed for each production stage.
Starting a new batch can create a sudden increase in steam demand. A system that responds effectively helps maintain the required supply conditions as vessels start, run, and finish. Clayton identifies changing-load response as a key feature for flavor and fragrance manufacturing.
Yes, where the production schedule allows shutdown between runs. Clayton lists startup to full steam output in under ten minutes for this application. Confirm the selected configuration’s performance and allow separately for warming the extraction vessels and piping before production begins.
Repair leaks, maintain steam traps, insulate distribution piping, and keep the boiler properly tuned. Recover suitable condensate from indirect heating systems where practical. Reviewing these losses alongside batch schedules helps identify opportunities to reduce fuel and water use without disrupting production.
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