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» Materials enter at the inlet (A)
» Flows past the steam diffuser (B)
» Discharged at the outlet (C)
» Steam enters at inlet (D)
» Travels up through the stem plug (E)

Steam is discharged into the material where the windows in the stem plug are aligned with any number of hundreds of small holes in the diffuser. To control the amount of steam discharged, an actuator rotates the stem plug to expose the windows to fewer or more diffuser holes, as desired. Each hole exposed to a stem plug window discharges steam at very high, often sonic velocity. The turbulent nature of this high velocity discharge enables steam to instantaneously penetrate, disperse, and efficiently mix with the materials to effect uniform heating. Temperature is measured downstream and the steam flow is modulated accordingly to achieve a target temperature. Note: Within the unit, steam pressure and velocity remain constant throughout the range of operation regardless of the amount of steam being discharged. The high velocity of the steam discharge prevents the multitude of steam ports from plugging.

U.S. Patents 6,361,025; 6,082,712. Other worldwide patents pending.