An industrial centrifuge is a machine used for fluid/particle separation. Centrifuges rely on the use of centrifugal force, generating several hundreds or thousands of times earth’s gravity. The law of physics governing centrifugal separation is known as Stokes Law (see Wikipedia reference “Stokes Law” for more information). Industrial centrifuges are used for separating solids from liquids, liquid-liquid separation, and liquid-liquid-solid separation.
Industrial centrifuges can be classified into two main types: sedimentation and filtering centrifuges. Sedimentation centrifuges use centrifugal force to separate solids from liquids, as well as two liquids with different specific gravities. Sedimentation centrifuges include decanter, disk-stack, solid-bowl basket and tubular bowl centrifuges. Filtering centrifuges use centrifugal force to pass a liquid through a filtration media, such as a screen or cloth while solids are captured by the filtering media. Filtering centrifuges primarily deal with perforate basket, pusher and peeler centrifuges.
