CENTRIFUGATION

Centrifuges are equipment that use centrifugal field forces instead of a gravitational field
to separate the compounds from liquid-liquid or solid-liquid systems. Centrifugation can
be classified as a unit operation of sedimentation or filtration, it depends on if the principle
is the difference of the density of substances are going to remove or a filter medium is
employed to the separation, which is called centrifugation sedimentation or centrifugation
filtration respectively. On other hand, there are industrial centrifuges and laboratory
centrifuges. Industry applications include wastewater treatments, coal and, polymer
manufacturing, so evaluation of suspensions and emulsions in pharmacy and medicine,
laboratory scale involves as an instrumental techniques in biochemistry and molecular
and cellular biology.
Laboratory centrifuges

The most basic laboratory centrifuge

is a test-tube centrifuge. Test tubes
are placed in a holder, the lid is
closed and the tubes are spun. The
resulting centrifugal force causes the
denser components to move to the
bottom of the tube, with the less
dense components above them.
Industrial centrifuges
Tubular-bowl centrifuge: can be used
to handle liquid-liquid and solid-liquid
mixtures, this centrifuge turns to high
velocities, developing centrifugal forces
until 13000 times the gravity force. It has
a low capacity of 50 to 1200 gal/h. A
typical application is the purification of
lubricating industrial oils containing 1%
or less of sedimentable solids.

Tubular-bowl centrifuges also see much

use in the food, biochemical, and
pharmaceutical industries. It does not
have an automatic system of solids
elimination, then they are removed
mechanically after stopping the unit.
Continuous decanter centrifuges bowls:
these equipments can be cylindrical, conical or
both. A helical screw conveyor inner for solids
inside of the bowl. These parts turn together, but
the helical screw conveyor turns to a velocity of
1 to 2 rpm lower than the spin velocity of the
bowl.

The bowl diameter can be between 4 to 54 in,

for the machine of 54 in handles up 50 ton/h
with a force up 3000 times the gravity force and
velocities of 6000 rpm.

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Self-opening centrifuges are able to open during operation to discharge solids.
Feed enters the bowl from the bottom, is exposed to centrifugal force, and
separates into its components. When the desired amount of solids has
accumulated, a sleeve inside the bowl opens and the solids are discharged
radially outward.

The sleeve in self-opening centrifuges is kept closed by static pressure induced

by hydraulic fluid. When the pressure decreases, the sleeve is allowed to open,
exposing an anular, ring-like, area through which solids are discharged. An
elastomeric seal around the top of the bowl ensures that there is no leakage
while the sleeve is closed. Self-opening centrifuges can typically handle up to
220 gal/min of feed.
The feed is introduced to the rotating centrifuge bowl from
the top (1), and is accelerated in a distributor with disc inlet
(2) before entering the disc stack (3). It is between the discs
that the separation takes place. The liquid phase moves
towards the centre of the bowl, from where it is pumped out
under pressure by means of a built-in pump disc (4). The
heavier solids phase (concentrate) is collected at the bowl
periphery, and from there it flows through channels (5) and
internal vortex nozzles (6) into the paring tube chamber,
where the concentrate is skimmed off by the paring tube (7)
and discharged under pressure. The bowl can be opened
intermittently during production and/or the CIP cleaning
cycle for ejection of solids while the machine continues to
run at full speed. During normal production operating water
keeps the sliding bowl bottom (8) closed against the bowl
hood. During discharge the sliding bowl bottom is forced to
drop down, thus opening the solids ports (9) at the bowl
periphery. The bowl is mounted on a vertical spindle (10)
driven by a horizontally mounted motor, via a worm gear.

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Disk centrifuge bowl: these machines have been used in diverse applications and can
be said that are the most popular. For example, in the cream separation, catalyser
separation, dehydration of lubricating oils and fish oil raffinate.

Feed is introduced into a disk centrifuge from the center of the bowl near its bottom. The
feed then rises through a stack of disks. Each disk has numerous holes, which form flow
channels when the disks are stacked.

The liquid portion of the feed flows through these channels, while the solids collect on the
disks' surface. Centrifugal force causes the solids to move outward from the center of the
disk toward the wall of the bowl, where they collect.

A typical disk centrifuge stack contains 100 or more disks. The disks reduce the distance
that a solid particle must travel before it is separated from the feed. Disk centrifuges range
in diameter from 102-762 mm, and are capable of creating forces up to 14,000 times that
of gravity. The operation velocity can be up 10000 rpm and capacity of 30000 gal/h.
 Centrifugation calculations
ρ 2 ρ∗C D∗A p∗v 2 ∂ ⃗v
( 1− ρ ∗r∗w −
) =
p 2∗m ∂t
ρ −ρ 18∗μ∗v R ∂ ⃗v
(
r∗w 2∗ pρ
p )−
ρ ∗D
p
2
p
=
∂t
2 2
r∗w ∗(ρ p − ρ )∗D p
v R=
18∗μ
v R : teminal velocity of the spherical particle with diameter D p in a radius r
inside a centrifugal field turning to a velocity w
∂r
=v R
∂t
2 2
r∗w ∗( ρ p −ρ )∗D p
∂ r= ∗∂ t
18∗μ
Integrating
2 2
r 2 w ∗( ρ p −ρ )∗D p
( )
ln
r1
=
18∗μ
∗t

V
Residence time t = where V : matter volume retained in the centrifuge q : volumetric flow rate
q
 2 2
r w ∗( ρ p −ρ )∗D p V
( )
ln 2 =
r1 18∗μ
∗
q ( )
r 1 and r 2 are fall radius for the residence time available
∂r
v R=
∂t
2 2
r∗w ∗( ρ p −ρ )∗D p
v R∗t =x= ∗t
18∗μ
2 2
r∗w ∗( ρ p −ρ )∗D p V
x=
18∗μ
∗
q ( )
x : radial distance traveled by a particle of diameter D p in the residence time available .
(r2 −r 1 )
Taking x= as the half of liquid layer .Then , the half of the particles will settling
2
to wall and other half will be in the liquid when they leave the centrifuge to a critical
diameter D ' p
9∗μ∗q
D ' p=
√( 2
( ρ p − ρ )∗w ∗V
∗
)
(r 2 −r 1 )
r
 When the liquid layer is enough large
r 2−r 1 r
( )
r ef
2
=2∗ln 2
r1
2
w ∗( ρ p−ρ )∗D p∗V
18∗μ
q=
r
ln 2
r1
w 2∗( ρ p −ρ )∗g∗D ' 2p∗V ∗r
q=
9∗μ∗g∗(r 2−r 1 )
(ρ p −ρ )∗g∗D ' 2p
The terminal velocity of sedimentation v t =
18∗μ
2
2∗v t∗V ∗w ∗r
q=
g∗(r 2 −r 1 )
Establishing A ap : transversal area of a thickener that will separate particles up a lower diameter ,
such as a centrifuge would separate them when its volumetric flow rate of feed was the same as
the centrifuge .
V ∗w 2∗r
A ap =
g∗(r 2−r 1 )
q=2∗v t∗A ap
 If two centrifuges are going to have the same function:
q1 q2
=
A ap 1 A ap 2
For tubular centrifuges bowl :
π∗w 2∗L∗(r 22−r 21 )
A ap =
r 22
g∗ln 2
r1
L :length of the bowl
For disk centrifuge bowl Amber
2∗n∗π∗(r 32−r 31 )∗w 2
A ap=
3∗g∗tan Ω
n : number of disks
Ω : half of a conical angle
Example 1
5 lb/h of a liquid detergent of 100 cps of
viscosity and 0.8 g/cm3 of density is going to be
clarified to fine crystals (Na2SO4 ρ=1.46 g/cm3)
by centrifugation at 23000 rpm. The length of
the inner bowl is 7 ¾ in with r2=7/8 in and (r2-
r1)=19/32 in. Determine the critical diameter of
the particle.