Centrifuge Applications

Batch Centrifuges

Vertical basket (batch) centrifuges resemble washing machines in ‘spin cycle’ operation. A perforated drum spun at high speed separates solids from the liquid slurry. The drum is decelerated and the solid substrate is scraped or pushed off the basket.

SSD regenerative AC drives rapidly decelerate the high inertia basket for removal of the solids, and provide smooth acceleration for the next cycle.

Sugar Centrifuges

Syrup is separated from the raw sugar crystals in centrifuges that contain perforated baskets, which spin at high speeds. The dark brown syrup surrounding the crystals is “thrown off” and passes through the perforations. The spun-off syrup is boiled again and more raw sugar crystals are recovered. Molasses is the black syrup left over from the final centrifuging.

Energy-recycling SSD drives increase the number of cycles-per-hour throughput. Typically, a
3 cycle-per-hour increase will raise the total sugar yield by 20%.

Decanter Centrifuges

In water treatment applications, a horizontal centrifuge bowl is driven at a high speed, and an auger conveyor is driven at a reduced speed in the same direction. One drive can be used if the auger is geared from the bowl drive, or bowl and auger can be separately driven to optimize speed differential for optimum throughput.