PANX Decanter Series

Palm Oil Decanter

PANX 600 ECB decanter

Alfa Laval has a wide range of palm oil decanters conical end. Here the solids are lifted clear of the
suitable for every size of mill. They are mainly used liquid and centrifugally dewatered before being
for separating sludge water from the under-flow of discharged into the collecting vessel.
the settling tank. The 3-phase decanter separates The clarified liquids overflow into the casing through
the sludge into oil, water and cake solids. Another openings in the cylindrical end of the bowl. Both
application, though less commonly applied, is the phases leave the collecting compartments in the
direct treatment of crude oil. hood by gravity flow through outlets under the
machine.
Working principle
The sludge is fed into the decanter after passing
through the Alfa Laval desanding cyclone.
Separation of the palm oil sludge takes place in a
horizontal conocylindrical bowl equipped with a
screw conveyor. The sludge is fed into the bowl and
accelerated by a special two-port inlet distributor.
Centrifugal force causes instant sedimentation of the
solids on the wall of the bowl, and the heavy (water)
and light (oil) liquids separate in layers. The
conveyor, rotating in the same direction as the bowl,
but at a different speed, conveys the solids to the
 ➝ Feed

➝
Solids/
Cake
➝
➝

Heavy Light
Phase Phase

Fig. 1: Cross section view of the PANX Decanter

CIP system
The PANX models 500 and 600 come as standard • PANX ECB Decanters are equipped with an
with a CIP system. It is set-up for automatic flushing Eddy Current Brake that is connected with the
at the starting and stopping of the decanter. This Variable Speed (VS) controller. The VS is
makes the installation less dependent on operator included in the standard control panel and
intervention. Alfa Laval’s CIP system is available as allows easy adjustment of the differential speed
an option on all other models in the PANX series. while the decanter is in operation. If feed
conditions change, the operator can thus alter
Drive system the differential speed accordingly.
In order to ensure the necessary conveying
movement within the decanter, the bowl and the Construction
conveyor rotate at different speeds – the differential The rotating assembly is held at both ends by
speed. bearings mounted on a welded box beam frame. It
This speed difference is controlled in different ways, is enclosed in a casing comprising a semi
depending on decanter type. cylindrical hood and a bottom section welded to the
• PANX CS Decanters feature a countershaft frame. The bottom section incorporates the solids
transmission, where pulleys can change the discharge funnel and the liquid outlet.
differential speed.

Fig. 2: A typical layout of an oil room with 3-phase Alfa laval decanters Fig. 3: PANX 600 ECB installation in Malaysia
Wear protection • Less maintenance &
Tungsten Carbide welded Tiles
Wear is a fact of life for decanter downtime
centrifuges used in palm oil mills. As a result of these new
The rotating parts are exposed to features, the maintenance
abrasion by hard particles in the costs and downtime will be
slurry, especially at the inlets and reduced. Furthermore, the
outlets and most of all on the decanter will be running under
leading flanks and the tips of the optimal conditions for a longer
conveyor. With over fifty years of time. Should there still be wear
decanter manufacturing on the feed zone, due to the
experience and extensive specific composition of the No protection Low grade High grade Tungsten
hardfacing hardfacing carbide tiles
laboratory facilities, Alfa Laval feed in certain locations, Alfa
Fig. 4: Relative protection with different material
can accurately assess what kind Laval have made all parts in
of protection the conveyor the new two-port feed zone
needs. exchangeable.

Sintered tungsten carbide tiles Key parts in the new feed zone
For palm oil applications, Alfa design are the feed bushings.
Laval tips the flights of your These have been made in
conveyor with sintered tungsten sintered tungsten carbide. Field
carbide tiles. These can prolong experience has shown that there
the lifetime of the conveyor with a is hardly any wear on these
factor of five compared to other parts, even after thousands of
industrial grade hard facing hours of operation. The proven
systems. The tiles also reduce reduction in maintenance costs
downtime and costs for conveyor makes it worthwhile to consider
Fig. 5: Close-up of the tungsten carbide tiles
maintenance, as individual upgrading the existing decanters welded on the flight of the conveyor
damaged tiles can be replaced to the two-port design.
on site. To underline our
confidence in the performance of Solids discharge bushings
the tiles, Alfa Laval offers a Alfa Laval protect the solids
guarantee on their lifetime. discharge ports by fitting
(fig. 4, 5) replaceable sintered tungsten
carbide bushings. Abrasion is
Two-port conveyor inlet heaviest on the trailing edge, so
During 1999, Alfa Laval they last even longer if rotated 60
introduced a new conveyor degrees at suitable intervals.
design in our palm oil decanter (fig. 7)
range, in order to give our
customers even more conveyor Longitudinal strips
mileage. Alfa Laval refers to it as Alfa Laval protect the bowl wall Fig. 6: Close-up of the two-port conveyors feed
zone showings the replaceable tungsten
the two-port conveyor and it with longitudinal strips of carbide feed bushings
comes standard on all new PANX stainless steel. The strips trap a
decanters. The advantages of thin stationary layer of cake that
the new design are: (fig. 6) shields the bare steel wall from
impact and abrasion by particles
• Smooth introduction of suspended in the slurry.
sludge
One of the critical wear areas Solids collecting cover
in a decanter is the inlet zone. Replaceable wear liners protect
This is the area in the conveyor, the casing from the impact of
where the sludge exits the feed ejected solids, and at the same
pipe and enters into the bowl. time help to muffle machine
The new two-port conveyor has noise.
an inlet zone that is designed
for optimal introduction of the Fig. 7: These solids discharge bushings protect
sludge, so that wear is the solids discharge ports against wear.

minimized.
 Models Capacity
PANX 200 CS up to 20 ton FFB/h
PANX 934 CS up to 35 ton FFB/h
PANX 500 CS up to 50 ton FFB/h
PANX 500 ECB up to 50 ton FFB/h
PANX 600 CS up to 60 ton FFB/h
PANX 600 ECB up to 60 ton FFB/h

Motor
A PANX 200 30 kW
All other PANX 55 kW
Running-up time 3 min.
Stopping time 20 min.
B Materials
Bowl AISI 316
Process media parts AISI 316
Frame mild steel
Bowl
C
Diameter NX 200/934, 500, 600 353 mm/450mm

Backdrive
PANX CS countershaft transmission
Model A B C
(mm) (mm) (mm) PANX ECB ECB (Eddy Current Brake)
PANX 200 3272 1330 845
Control
PANX 934 4275 1271 1110 PANX CS star-delta
PANX 500 ECB 4599 1271 1110 PANX ECB star-delta and Variable Speed backdrive
PANX 500 CS 4450 1271 1110
Weights (200/934/500/600)
PANX 600 ECB 5049 1271 1110
Nett weight 1,925/3,400/3,600/4,200 kg
PANX 600 CS 4900 1271 1110 Gross weight 2,165/3,800/4,000/4,700 kg
Volume 6.6/11.2/11.7/12.3m3

PFT00001EN Alfa Laval reserves the right to change specifications without prior notification

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