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II.

Preparative centrifuge
Preparative centrifuges can handle significantly larger liquid volumes than laboratory
centrifuges, typically ranging from 1 litre to several thousand litres. Preparative
centrifuges come in a range of designs, the common feature in these being a tubular
rotating chamber.
1. Tubular Bowl Centrifuge
The suspension to be centrifuged is fed into such a device from one end while the
supernatant and precipitate are collected from the other end of the device in a continuous
or semi-continuous manner. A simple diagram of the most common type of preparative
centrifuge (the tubular bowl centrifuge) is shown in Fig. 6.4. Typical rotating speeds for
preparative centrifuges range from 500 - 2000 rpm.
The motion of a particle at any point within a tubular centrifuge in the radial direction is
governed by the following force balance equation:
The force exerted on a particle = frictional force suffered by the particle
The particle would continue to settle due to centrifugal acceleration till the two forces are
balanced.

Where d = diameter of the particle (m)


s = density of the particle (kg/m3)
L = density of the liquid (kg/m3)
r = distance of the particle from the axis of rotation (m)
= angular velocity (radians/s)
= viscosity of the liquid (kg/m s)
v = velocity of the particle (m/s)

Tubular bowl centrifuge or tubular centrifuge is typically vertically oriented. It has a


rotating tubular bowl with length L and bowl diameter D. The aspect ratio LID is large
anywhere from 5 to 7.3 with the traditional tubular design. Feed slurry is brought in the

centrifuge either from the top (top feed) or from the bottom (bottom feed). A schematic
diagram of the bottom-feed tubular is shown in the figure below:

The G value for the centrifuge is given by the relation:


G = 1.12*10-3 r (RPM)2
Where, r is the radius in m
A thin annular pool is maintained between the bowl wall and the inner air core when the
centrifuge is operating at full speed. The tubular centrifuge is top mounted (or top
suspended) and top driven. Industrial-scale tubular centrifuges have bowls 102 to 127 mm
in diameter and 762 mm long. It is capable of delivering 18,000-20,000 g. The smallest
tubular, 44 mm diameter by 229 mm long, is a laboratory model capable of developing up
to 62,500 g. It is also used for separating difficult biological solids, cells, and viruses.
In the equation above we assume the particle to be moving at constant velocity in the
radial direction. Rearranging:

The velocity in the radial direction can be replaced by (dr/dt). Hence:

Integrating equation (6.6), putting in appropriate limits we get:

Therefore:

Equation (6.7) describes the motion of a particle in the radial direction within a centrifuge
from radial location r1 to r2. In a preparative centrifuge, like the tubular bowl centrifuge,
the motion of a particle takes place in two directions: radial (due to centrifugation) and
axial (due to flow of feed). The flow of the feed within the tubular centrifuge is annular in
nature, i.e. there is an empty cylindrical shell near the axis of rotation. This is due to the
fact that the liquid within the centrifuge is forced towards the wall of the tubular bowl due
to centrifugal force. The flow of feed within a tubular bowl centrifuge is shown in Fig
6.5: the diameter of the tubular bowl is r, while the diameter of the annular space is ra.
The flow of feed within the centrifuge is in the axial direction (along z-axis).

The velocity of a particle along the z axis is given by:

Where Q = feed flow rate (m3/s)


Dividing previous equations and integrating we get:

Therefore:

Rearranging, we get:

Therefore the feed flow rate into the tubular centrifuge can be expressed in terms of the
properties of the material being handled and those of the equipment.
2. Disk Stack Centrifuge
A disc stack centrifuge is a special type of preparative centrifuge which is compact in design
and gives better solid-liquid separation than the standard tubular bowl centrifuge. Fig. 6.6
shows the working principle of a disc stack centrifuge. The feed enters from the top of the
device and is distributed at the bottom of the disk bowl through a hollow drive shaft. The
particles are thrown outward and these come into contact with the angled disc stack. Once this
happens they slide down the disc, are collected at the periphery of the bowl and discharged
from the device in the form of a slurry. The liquid flows up the device along the central
regions and is discharged from the top.

3. Chamber Bowl
The chamber bowl with intermittent discharge has no disk stack. The chamber bowl is similar
to a tubular centrifuge but with small L/D (< 1) ratio. It is suitable for running viscous feed or
feed with more concentrated solids. As stated, the clarification capacity is less than that with
the disk-stack centrifuge due to a reduced settling area. However, the chamber bowl can take
higher feed solids compared to disk-stack centrifuge. The feed rate usually is smaller for a
chamber bowl compared to that of disk-stack centrifuge for the same bowl size.

4. Ultracentrifuge
An ultracentrifuge is a special type of centrifuge in which the rotor rotates at a much higher
speed than a standard centrifuge. Typical rotation speeds in ultracentrifuges range from 30000
rpm - 50000 rpm. An ultracentrifuge is usually used for separating macromolecules from
solvents or for fractionating mixtures of macromolecules. Ultracentrifuges are used for
analytical as well as for preparative applications. An analytical ultracentrifuge (AUC) is
mainly used for studying the properties of macromolecules as well as for analyzing complex
mixtures of macromolecules. Preparative ultracentrifuges are used to purify macromolecules
such as proteins and nucleic acids based on their physical properties such as size, molecular
weight, density and mobility. The high rotating speeds used in ultracentrifuges can generate
considerable amount of heat. Therefore cooling arrangements are required in these devices.
An ultracentrifuge is also an angled spintube, and with a titanium rotor that provides
mechanical integrity, i.e. for high shear and yield strengths. It can go up to 500,000-1,000,000
g for separating very small particles, particles and liquid with a small density difference,
and/or separation in a viscous liquid phase. Theodore Svedberg invented the analytical
ultracentrifuge in 1923, and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1926 for his research on
colloids and proteins using the ultracentrifuge.
5. Decanter Centrifuge
The figure below shows the countercurrent flow decanter, or solid-bowl centrifuge. After
accelerating in the rotating feed compartment or accelerator, feed slurry is introduced to the
annular pool. Under high centrifugal force, the heavier solids migrate radially outwards
towards the bowl, displacing the lighter liquid to the pool surface at a smaller radius. Solids
are compacted against the bowl wall to form cake by the centrifugal force. The cake is
subsequently conveyed to the small-diameter solid-discharge end of the conical beach by the
screw conveyor rotating at differential speed relative to the bowl. The cake is lifted above the
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annular pool in the 'dry beach' and liquid from the cake further drains back to the pool under
G-force, resulting in discharge of dry cake. The gear unit and/or conveyor-drive control the
differential speed between the bowl and the conveyor, changing the solids retention time in
the machine as necessary. The clarified liquid overflows the weirs located at the opposite end
(large diameter end) of the machine. The by the discharge diameter of the weirs. The
performance of the centrifuge depends on various operating variables, such as the feed rate,
pool depth, rotation speed or G-force, and differential speed, and they should be optimized for
a given process. Also, stationary centripetal pumps can be installed to skim the clarified
liquid, converting the kinetic energy of the liquid to pressure. This eliminates foaming when
discharging liquid with soluble protein.

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