
A wastewater centrifuge is a separation machine that utilizes a centrifugal force of 3,100 Gs to separate the wastewater from sludge. The sludge accumulates on the bowl periphery, which the internal auger scrapes towards the sludge discharge ports. The water flows out through the bowl's liquid outlet at the opposite end.
Full Answer
Can centrifuges be used in wastewater treatment?
Centrifuges have been used in wastewater treatment since the 1930s. The biosolids technology fact sheet for centrifuge thickening and dewatering provides: A description of centrifuge thickening and dewatering Applicability to wastewater treatment plants Advantages and disadvantages of centrifuge thickening and dewatering
What is a sludge dewatering centrifuge?
A sludge dewatering or sludge thickening centrifuge is a decanter-type horizontal de-sludger that can remove water from slurries to thicken the sludge. In other words, a heavy-duty industrial centrifuge dewaters and concentrates (thickens) the sludge is also known as a sludge thickening machine.
What are the advantages of centrifuges in mechanical separation?
Mechanical separation using a centrifuge has many advantages for the continuous processing of large quantities of wastewater. As with all technologies, centrifuges also have some drawbacks that we have highlighted below.
What is centrifugation?
Centrifugation is a separation process that uses the effect of centrifugal force causing accelerated settling of particles in a solid-liquid mixture. Two separate phases occur in the centrifugation chamber: a centrifugation base (called sediment ).

How does a wastewater centrifuge work?
A sludge dewatering centrifuge uses a fast rotation of a “cylindrical bowl” to separate wastewater liquid from solids. The wastewater centrifuge dewatering process removes more water than other methods and leaves solid material that is known as cake. Dewatering means less tank space is needed to store waste products.
What is centrifugation used to separate in wastewater treatment?
Centrifugal thickening and dewatering of sewage sludge is a high speed process that uses the force from rapid rotation of a cylindrical bowl to separate wastewater solids from liquid to produce a non-liquid material referred to as “cake.” Dewatering wastewater solids reduces the volume of residuals, improves operation, ...
How is centrifugation done?
Centrifugation is a technique used for the separation of particles from a solution according to their size, shape, density, viscosity of the medium and rotor speed. The particles are suspended in a liquid medium and placed in a centrifuge tube. The tube is then placed in a rotor and spun at a define speed.
How does a bowl centrifuge work?
The solid bowl centrifuge (SBC) consists of a horizontal centrifuge rotor with a scroll conveyor inside it which together is referred to as the rotating assembly. The assembly rotates spins around its own axis at high speed thereby generating high centrifugal force that enables separation of solids from the liquid.
What is a centrifuge tube?
Centrifuge tubes are used to contain liquids during centrifugation, which separates the sample into its components by rapidly rotating it around a fixed axis. Most centrifuge tubes have conical bottoms, which help collect any solid or heavier parts of the sample being centrifuged.
What is the advantage of centrifuge?
The advantages of centrifuging are its enclosed operation and therefore its clean appearance, fast start-up and shutdown; quick adjustment of operating variables; continuous operation if necessary, ready automation and therefore suitability for unmanned operation; low capital cost-to-capacity ratio; and high installed ...
What is a centrifuge and how does it work?
A centrifuge is a device, generally driven by an electric motor, that puts an object, e.g., a rotor, in a rotational movement around a fixed axis. A centrifuge works by using the principle of sedimentation: Under the influence of gravitational force (g-force), substances separate according to their density.
What is a centrifuge and what is it used for?
What Does A Centrifuge Do? Centrifuges separate heterogeneous mixtures into their various components – liquids in liquids, solids in liquids, and liquids in gases, based on the different densities of the components. One of the most common uses is to separate red blood cells and other blood components from whole blood.
What substances can be separated by centrifugation?
Centrifugation separates the components of heterogeneous mixtures. These include liquids in liquids, solids in liquids, and solids and liquids in gases. Centrifugation uses centrifugal force to move dense components to the outside of the container.
Why does a centrifuge need to be balanced?
Running a high-speed centrifuge with an unevenly loaded rotor is the most common cause of centrifuges breaking down. Out of balance loading causes the moving parts to shake uncontrollably. At best, this means the motor and bearings wear out more quickly.
What are the two basic types of centrifugal bowls?
Solid bowl centrifuge designs are divided into three different types based on the solid bowl shapes, which are conical, cylindrical, and cylindrical-conical.
How does a 3 phase centrifuge work?
The three-phase decanter centrifuge operation is based on the principle of sedimentation, that is, solid particles with specific liquid weight precipitate in a predetermined time. This principle can also be applied to two immiscible liquids with different specific gravity.
When were centrifuges used?
Centrifuges have been used in wastewater treatment since the 1930s. The biosolids technology fact sheet for centrifuge thickening and dewatering provides: A description of centrifuge thickening and dewatering. Applicability to wastewater treatment plants.
What is the process of dewatering and thickening of sewage sludge?
Centrifugal thickening and dewatering of sewage sludge is a high speed process that uses the force from rapid rotation of a cylindrical bowl to separate wastewater solids from liquid to produce a non-liquid material referred to as “cake.” Dewatering wastewater solids reduces the volume of residuals, improves operation, and reduces costs for subsequent storage, processing, transfer, end use, or disposal among other benefits. Centrifuges have been used in wastewater treatment since the 1930s.
separating oily suspensions with low suspended solids content
In this case, the industrial machines used are called disc centrifuges (figure 44).
separating sludge-laden suspensions that have a high oil content
When the amount of sediment becomes too great (6-15% by volume), we can use 3-phase, horizontal shaft, cylindrical-conical continuous clarifiers: solid/water/oil.
cycloning used to separate out high granulometry, heavy particles
Cycloning also uses the centrifugal effect induced as the liquid arrives at a tangent into a fixed cylindrical-conical chamber. Acceleration levels are low but enough for separating out dense, granular particles (see section hydrocyclone ).
What is a centrifuge?
Centrifuges are designed to separate solids from sludge mixtures with continuous and space-saving dewatering systems combined with high efficiency.
How are centrifuges driven?
The revolving parts of the centrifuge, the drum and scroll, are driven by electric motors that are controlled by two inverters and managed by means of software, running on a PLC.

Types of Wastewater
Separation Technologies
- Filtration is not an option for this application, given the type and volume of wastewater that needs to be purified. Other separation technologies such as belt and filter presses have limited uses in wastewater separation duties. Again, these technologies have their drawbacks, including labor and equipment reliability issues that limit their widespread use in wastewater treatment plants. …
Operation
- A wastewater centrifuge is a separation machine that utilizes a centrifugal force of 3,100 Gs to separate the wastewater from sludge. The sludge accumulates on the bowl periphery, which the internal auger scrapes towards the sludge discharge ports. The water flows out through the bowl's liquid outlet at the opposite end.
Types
- Three types of centrifuges apply to wastewater depending on the type and amount of sludge. The following section describes these broad categories.
Benefits
- Centrifuge offers many benefits compared to other dewatering and separation technologies. A brief description of some of the advantages follows.
Specifications and Sizing
- Centrifuge specifications and sizing are highly dependent on the manufacturer and the customer’s capacity throughput requirements. Listed below are some specific technical details and sizes of the commonly used dewatering separators from Alfa Laval.
Applications
- Dolphin Centrifuge has supplied industrial decanter and disc-stack clarifiers for a wide range of wastewater applications. Some of these applications are listed below. 1. A bakery in Texas was producing over 20,000 gallons of wash-water from bread mold washing every day. The water was contaminated with flour, bread-crust, and other organic residues. Dolphin Centrifuge pilot tested …
Wastewater Centrifuge Models For Sale
- Dolphin Centrifuge carries a range of Alfa Laval wastewater centrifuges in stock. The following are the various models available for the three types of wastewater centrifuges with additional options.