Your Guide to Buying a Centrifuge

 

There are multiple types of centrifuge which can be classified by intended use or design. This guide focuses on the application of Industrial Centrifugal Separators. 

An industrial centrifugal separator is a machine that rotates at a high speed to separate solids from liquids. There are two main types of industrial centrifuges:

  1. Sedimentation
  2. Filtration

Sedimentation centrifuges rely on the centrifugal force to separate the solids from the liquids. They can also be used to separate two liquids with different specific gravity values. Sedimentation centrifuges are designed to be either:

  • Disc bowl centrifuges
  • Solid bowl basket centrifuges
  • Tubular centrifuges
  • Decanter centrifuges

Alfa centrifuge

Alfa Laval Disc Stack Centrifuge

Source: Alfa Laval MRPX 318

 

Filtration centrifuges use a screen or filter to capture the solids as the liquid passes through. The same principle applies of spinning the liquid at a high speed centrifugal force. Filtration centrifuges are designed to be either:

  • Peeler centrifuges
  • Vertical basket centrifuges
  • Pusher centrifuges
  • Scroll / screen centrifuges
  • Conical basket centrifuges
  • Screen bowl centrifuges
  • Inverting filter centrifuges

 

A variety of applications

Industrial centrifuges are used across a wide range of process industries, some of which we have highlighted below:

  • Food Processing. Most of the centrifuges that Proquip supply are from this industry. The food processing industry encompasses dairy (milk, cheese, butter), refining of vegetable oils, fruit and vegetable juice, beer, wine and liquor, as well as fish processing.
  • Pharmaceutical which manufacture medicines, drugs, vaccines, algae, enzymatic waste, and E-coli bacteria etc.
  • Chemical processing for producing oil refinery by-products, polymers, salts, acids, etc.
  • Fuel and Biofuel industry for bio-diesel, synthetic fuels, lube oil purification etc.
  • Wastewater processing for separating municipal, drilling mud, trap grease, and environmental wastewater sludge's.

 

milk separation process

Milk separation using the disc stack method  

Source: www.milkyday.com

 

Choosing the best industrial centrifuge for your application

We're sure by now you're wondering which type of industrial centrifuge would suit your application. There are a number of considerations to ensure that you receive the highest return on your capital investment.

  1. Revolutions per minute (RPM). A centrifuge rotates to separate the product, therefore the RPM is a measure of the amount of full rotations that the centrifuge makes per minute. Whether you require a low RPM or a high RPM centrifuge, depends on how your product reacts at various speeds (
  2. Relative Centrifugal Force (RCF) is the amount of accelerative force applied to a product in a centrifuge. It is often mistaken with the RPM and can cause disasters if the RPM setting is used instead.
  3. Footprint and space available. Industrial centrifuges are typically installed in a process line. Ensure you have the space available to handle the system. 
  4. Electrical requirements. Check your requirements before selecting a centrifuge. The majority of centrifuges run on 110v/115v/120v (50 - 60 Hz).

 

things to consider when buying a centrifuge2.jpg

 

Talk to our experts

We know finding the right industrial centrifuge for your application can be daunting. Which is why we have multiple engineers available to assist you in the process.

Check out our range of centrifuges here 

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Speak with one of our experts today