Centrifugal separation in tube and disc geometries: experiments and theoretical models

The centrifugal separation of particles or droplets in dispersions is important in a variety of applications, e.g. mineral processing, water and waste water treatment, multistep processing of nanomaterials and biotechnology. Despite numerous studies in the past, separation processes of concentrated dispersions driven by gravity or centrifugal forces are not yet completely understood. Centrifuges can be subdivided into two categories: (1) centrifuges operating with tubes of constant cross section and (2) centrifuges operating with disc or cylinder rotors whose cross-sectional area changes with distance along the axis of rotation. This paper investigates the sedimentation process in centrifuges of these two categories experimentally and theoretically. Based on models for the separation of polydisperse dispersions in centrifugal field numerical calculations were carried out including the conversion of the time dependent concentrations profiles into light transmission profiles. The changes in the dispersion concentration profiles during the sedimentation process were monitored in situ by space- and time-resolved NIR light extinction profiles (STEP-Technology) obtained by multisample analytical centrifugation. Cells having constant and increasing cross sections were used. Results show that the velocity of the boundary between supernatant and dispersion as well as the alteration of the concentration measured radially in the centre of the cells do not depend on the geometry of the cells within the experimental errors. The sediment height in cells with increasing cross section is smaller compared to cells with constant cross section. The simulated sedimentation process is in good agreement with measured data for diluted and concentrated silica suspensions. Based on these results the sedimentation processes in disc or cylinder process centrifuges can be predicted from laboratory tests using analytical centrifugation.