The Clayton Group is a world leader in the use of fluidised technology and, by way of diversification, is investigating processes to manufacture materials that are not traditionally associated with fluidised beds.
Group companies Beta Heat Treatment Ltd and Clayton Thermal Processes Ltd are jointly developing the processes and the equipment to carry out those processes under the banner of Clayton Nanotechnology Ltd, effectively the Group Research and Development Company. 

Several products are currently being developed: 

• A refractory material, which has superior thermal insulation properties that has a direct synergy with the heat treatment processing and equipment activities within the Group.
• Carbon nano particulate, which can be used in the paint and plastics industry to improve material strength, reduce weight and improve electrical conductivity.
• Aluminium nitride compounds, used extensively within the electronics industry as heat sinks and for the transmission of heat away from critical, sensitive components.
• Surface coatings on tool steels, which impart extreme hardness for use in the oil, security and defence sector.

Refractory

The materials developed have shown extraordinary insulating
properties. In one of the many trials undertaken, a 12/15mm thick
sample of the material was subjected to a temperature of 1200 ºC
on the one face for a number of hours, at the same time the back
face temperature remained well below 300 ºC.

This graph shows the hot and cold face temperature plots over a number of hours 

Tests were carried out to measure the performance of the Clayton refractory compared to traditional refractory materials. Fig 2 below shows the back face temperatures of Clayton refractory, conventional high temperature firebrick and insulating fibreboard when they were all subjected to a hot face temperature of about 1200c. All samples were 30 mms thick. It can be seen that the back face temperature, when stabilised was much lower for the Clayton refractory.