Al-muthanaa university

Collage of engineering
Chemical engineering department

Centrifuge

Name:Mustafa abed alkhuder kazem

Prof.Dr.Raid AI-kateeb
Centrifuge

A centrifuge is a piece of equipment that puts an object in rotation

around a fixed axis (spins it in a circle), applying a force
perpendicular to the axis of spin (outward) that can be very
strong. The centrifuge works using the sedimentation principle,
where the centrifugal acceleration causes denser substances and
particles to move outward in the radial direction. At the same
time, objects that are less dense are displaced and move to the
center. In a laboratory centrifuge that uses sample tubes, the radial
acceleration causes denser particles to settle to the bottom of the
tube, while low-density substances rise to the top.

Principle of Centrifugation:

• In a solution, particles whose density is higher than that of the

solvent sink (sediment), and particles that are lighter than it floats to
the top.
 • The greater the difference in density, the faster they move. If there
is no difference in density (isopycnic conditions), the particles stay
steady.
• To take advantage of even tiny differences in density to separate
various particles in a solution, gravity can be replaced with the much
more powerful “centrifugal force” provided by a centrifuge.
• A centrifuge is a piece of equipment that puts an object in rotation
around a fixed axis (spins it in a circle), applying a potentially strong
force perpendicular to the axis of spin (outward).
• The centrifuge works using the sedimentation principle, where the
centripetal acceleration causes denser substances and particles to
move outward in the radial direction.
• At the same time, objects that are less dense are displaced and move
to the center.

There are three types of centrifuge designed for different

applications:
v Industrial scale centrifuges are commonly used in
manufacturing and waste processing to sediment suspended
solids, or to separate immiscible liquids. An example is the
cream separator found in dairies. Very high speed
centrifuges and ultracentrifuges able to provide very high
accelerations can separate fine particles down to the nano-
scale, and molecules of different masses.
v Large centrifuges are used to simulate high gravity or
acceleration environments (for example, high-G training for
test pilots). Medium-sized centrifuges are used in washing
 machines and at some swimming pools to draw water out of
fabrics.
v Gas centrifuges are used for isotope separation, such as to
enrich nuclear fuel for fissile isotopes.

Type of centrifuge
A centrifuge machine can be described as a machine with a
rapidly rotating container that applies centrifugal force to its
contents. There are multiple types of centrifuge, which can be
classified by intended use or by rotor design:
v Types by rotor design:
1. Fixed-angle centrifuges are designed to hold the sample
containers at a constant angle relative to the central axis.
2. Swinging head (or swinging bucket) centrifuges, in contrast
to fixed-angle centrifuges, have a hinge where the sample
containers are attached to the central rotor. This allows all
of the samples to swing outwards as the centrifuge is spun.
3. Continuous tubular centrifuges do not have individual
sample vessels and are used for high volume applications.
Types by intended use:
A laboratory centrifuge : is a piece of laboratory equipment, driven
by a motor, which spins liquid samples at high speed. There are
various types of centrifuges, depending on the size and the sample
capacity: These include clinical centrifuges, superspeed centrifuges
and preparative ultracentrifuges.

Like all other centrifuges, laboratory centrifuges work by the

sedimentation principle, where the centripetal acceleration is used
to separate substances of greater and lesser density.

Analytical ultracentrifuges: are designed to perform sedimentation

analysis of macromolecules using the principles devised by Theodor
Svedberg.
A gas centrifuge is a device that performs isotope separation of
gases. A centrifuge relies on the principles of centripetal force
accelerating molecules so that particles of different masses are
physically separated in a gradient along the radius of a rotating
container. A prominent use of gas centrifuges is for the separation
of uranium-235 from uranium-238. The gas centrifuge was
developed to replace the gaseous diffusion method of uranium-235
extraction. High degrees of separation of these isotopes relies on
using many individual centrifuges arranged in cascade, that
achieve successively higher concentrations. This process yields
higher concentrations of uranium-235 while using significantly less
energy compared to the gaseous diffusion process.
Generally, there are two types of centrifuges: the filtration and
sedimentation centrifuges. For the filtration or the so-called screen
centrifuge the drum is perforated and is inserted with a filter, for example
a filter cloth, wire mesh or lot screen. The suspension flows through the
filter and the drum with the perforated wall from the inside to the outside.
In this way the solid material is restrained and can be removed. The kind
of removing depends on the type of centrifuge, for example manually or
periodically. Common types are:

1. Screen scoll centrifuges, where the centrifugal acceleration allows

the liquid to pass through a screen of some sort, through which the
solids cannot go (due to granulometry larger than the screen gap or
due to agglomeration).

The use of screen scroll centrifuge has been seen in numerous process
engineering industries. One of the most noticeable applications is within
coal preparation industry. In addition to that, this centrifuge is also
employed in the dewatering of potash, gilsonite, in salt processes and in
dewatering various sands.Moreover, it is also designed for use in the food
processing industry, for instant, dairy production, and cocoa butter
equivalents and other confectionery fats.
The two most common types of screen/scroll centrifuge used in many
industrial applications are vertical screen/scroll centrifuge and horizontal
screen/scroll centrifuge.

typical structure of a vertical screen scroll centrifuge

Horizontal Centrifuge figure

2. The peeler centrifuge is a device that performs by rotating

filtration basket in an axis. A centrifuge follows on the principle of
centrifugal force to separate solids from liquids by density
difference. High rotation speed provides high centrifugal force that
allows the suspended solid in feed to settle on the inner surface of
basket. There are three kinds of centrifuge, horizontal, vertical
peeler centrifuge and siphon peeler centrifuge. These classes of
instrument apply to various areas such as fertilisers,
 pharmaceutical, plastics and food including artificial sweetener and
modified starch.

3. A pusher centrifuge is a type of filtration technique that offers

continuous operation to de-water and wash materials such as
relatively in-compressible feed solids, free-draining crystalline,
polymers and fibrous substances. It consists of a constant speed
rotor and is fixed to one of several baskets. This assembly is
applied with centrifugal force that is generated mechanically for
smaller units and hydraulically for larger units to enable separation.

Pusher centrifuges can be used for a variety of applications. They were

typically used in inorganic industries and later, extensively in chemical
industries such as organic intermediates, plastics, food processing and
rocket fuels.
4. Inverting filter centrifuges

5. Sliding discharge centrifuges

6. Pendulum centrifuges

7. Sedimentation centrifuges
Applications of Centrifugation

• To separate two miscible substances

• To analyze the hydrodynamic properties of macromolecules

• Purification of mammalian cells
• Fractionation of subcellular organelles (including
membranes/membrane fractions) Fractionation of membrane
vesicles
• Separating chalk powder from water
• Removing fat from milk to produce skimmed milk
• Separating particles from an air-flow using cyclonic separation
• The clarification and stabilization of wine
• Separation of urine components and blood components in
forensic and research laboratories
• Aids in the separation of proteins using purification techniques
such as salting out, e.g. ammonium sulfate precipitation.
Reference
https://microbenotes.com/centrifugation-
principle-types-and-applications/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifuge