MK KETEKNIKAN PENGOLAHAN 3

Centrifugation

Ahmad Zaki Mubarok, PhD

Department of Food Science and Biotechnology
Brawijaya University
Introduction
Centrifugation is a processes for the separation of heterogeneous mixtures of
phases that differ from each other in their density.

Examples in food industry:

▪ clarification (removal of solid impurities from milk)
▪ skimming (separation of cream from skim milk)
▪ pulp control in fruit juice.
Types of Centrifuges
1. Tubular Centrifuge
▪ The tubular centrifuge consists of a vertical tubular
rotor with an inlet for feed and outlets for the light
and heavy phases, enclosed in a stationary housing.
▪ The two liquid phases are discharged continuously
while small amounts of solid impurities (sludge) are
retained in the bowl and removed when the
machine is stopped for cleaning.
▪ Tubular centrifuges rotate at high speed (typically
15000 rpm) developing centrifugal accelerations in
excess of 10000 g.
▪ They can, therefore, separate liquids of slightly
different densities and retain very fine solid
particles.
2. Disc-bowl Centrifuges

▪ Centrifugal separation can be improved by

distributing the flow to a number of parallel
narrow channels between conical dishes.
▪ The accumulated solids are removed manually
when the machine is stopped and the bowl is
taken apart for cleaning.
▪ Such machines are therefore suitable mainly as
separators (e.g. for separating cream from skim
milk) but cannot handle suspensions with a
significant concentration of solids.
3. Nozzle Centrifuges

▪ Nozzle centrifuges are equipped with

nozzles for the continuous discharge of
solids while the machine is turning.
▪ The solids accumulate at the zone of
maximum diameter where the centrifugal
force is the highest.
▪ Interchangeable nozzles with different hole
diameters serve to adjust the centrifuge
Nozzle centrifuges
according to the solids content of the feed.
4. Decanter Centrifuges

▪ Decanter centrifuges have a variety of uses. They are primarily clarifiers, suitable
for treating suspensions with very high content of solids (40–60%)
▪ Basically, decanter centrifuges consist of a solid-wall horizontal bowl with a
cylindrical zone and a conical zone
▪ The solids move to the wall and the clear liquid to the center
▪ A screw conveyor or scroll scrapes the solids off the wall and moves them
mechanically towards the solid outlet.
5. Basket Centrifuges

▪ The main part of a basket centrifuge consists of a cylindrical chamber spinning rapidly
about a vertical, horizontal or inclined axis.
▪ If the cylinder has a perforated wall, the centrifuge acts as a filter, with the centrifugal
force pushing the liquor through the perforations.
6. Cyclones

▪ Cyclones are useful devices for the separation of

solid particles from gases. They are extensively
used for the separation of solids from air in
pneumatic conveying, for recovering the powder
product at the exit from spray dryers and in many
situation where freeing an air stream from fine
dust is required.
▪ Essentially, cyclones are centrifugal separators
without mechanical moving parts.
Basic Principles
Continuous settling tank
Centrifugation is a process of ‘accelerated decantation’. It is therefore advantageous
to analyze first the process of ‘natural’ decantation in the field of earth’s gravity.

▪ A suspension of solid particles is continuously fed at one end of the tank

▪ The density of the particles being higher than that of the liquid medium, the particles
sink to the bottom of the tank
▪ The clear liquid flows out of the tank over a weir
▪ What are the conditions for the particle to be separated (i.e. to be retained in the tank
and not to flow out over the weir with the liquid)?
 v
Active volume h
u

✓ Being heavier than the liquid, the particle sinks at a velocity u (m.s-1), while at the same
time traveling with the bulk of the liquid towards the outlet at a velocity v (m. s-1).
✓ If the distance between the liquid surface and the tip of the weir is h (m), the particle
will be kept in the tank if its residence time (t) in the liquid above the weir satisfies the
condition set in Eq. 1.

(1)
 Cross-sectional area

Let V (m3) be the volume of the liquid mass above the weir, A (m2) its horizontal
cross-sectional area and Q (m3.s-1) the volumetric flow rate of the suspension.
Then:
(2)

It follows that the maximum flow rate that can satisfy the condition in Eq.1 is:

(3)
Assuming that the particles are spherical and that Stokes’ law applies,
the terminal sinking velocity (u) is given by:

(4)

Substitution in Eq.3 gives:

(5)

dp = particle diameter, m
ρl = density of the fluid, kg.m-3
ρs = density of the solid, kg.m-3
μ = viscosity of the fluid, Pa.s
g = acceleration due to gravity, m.s-2
Example:

The ‘tabling process’ is a traditional rural method for the separation of starch
from its suspensions in water. The slurry is fed to a long horizontal settling
tank (a table). Starch granules settle to the bottom and the clear supernatant
flows out over a weir at the opposite end of the table.
If the table is 1.6 m wide and starch granules are assumed to be spheres with
a diameter of 30 μm and a density of 1220 kg.m-3, what is the minimal length
of a table required for treating 4300 liters of slurry per hour?
Solution:

The average settling velocity of the starch is:

The minimal cross-section area of the table is:

The minimal length is then:

From the settling tank to the tubular centrifuge

Imagine that the settling tank is rotated

around a horizontal axis.

The driving force for sedimentation is now

the centrifugal force.
 ✓ Consider a particle at distance r1 from the rotation
axis at time t = 0.
✓ The tip of the weir is at a distance r2.
r2 ✓ The suspension flows in vertical direction upwards.
✓ The particle will be separated (kept in the centrifuge)
if it can travel in the radial direction a distance at least
equal to the distance from r1 to r2, during its vertical
travel with the fluid.
✓ What is the maximum flow rate for such separation to
r1
occur?
The relations developed for the settling tank are valid with the following changes:

1. The gravity acceleration g is replaced by the centrifugal acceleration ω2r (ω being

the angular velocity of rotation)
2. Since the axial acceleration is not constant, the velocity of radial displacement
varies with the distance r from the axis of rotation

(6)

u (i.e. the velocity of centrifugal sedimentation) is also not constant but increases with
the distance r from the axis of rotation.
The minimum residence time for retention t is obtained by
integration of Eq. 6:

(7)

The particle is retained if its residence time in the centrifuge is at least

equal to t.
Denoting by V the volume of the liquid mass between r1 and r2 (active
volume), the maximum flow rate for the separation to occur can be
calculated from Eq. (9.7)

(8)

L = length (height) of the active volume, m

Example 2:

In a tubular centrifuge, the feed is introduced at a distance of 0.03 m from the

rotation axis. The centrifuge is used to clarify a very dilute suspension of solid
particles in water. The particles are assumed to behave as spheres with a diameter
of 5 μm and a density of 1125 kg.m-3. To be retained totally, the particles must
travel a radial distance of 0.035 m. The effective length of the tubular bowl is 0.3
m. The speed of rotation is 15 000 rpm.
What is the maximum capacity of the machine for total clarification?
What happens if the centrifuge is fed at a rate higher than the maximum capacity?
Jawab:
15000 rpm

Equation 8 is re-written as follows:

If the feed rate is increased above Qmax, the supernatant will not be clear.
Question….?