GB1356696A - Centrifuges - Google Patents

Abstract

1356696 Centrifugal separator SULZER BROS Ltd 19 Nov 1971 [23 Dec 19701 53901/71 Heading B2P A centrifuge, e.g. for separating oil (or liquid fuel) and heavier impurities from cooling water for an i.c. engine, comprises a hollow rotor 14 forming a separating chamber 21 having an inlet for liquid to be cleaned and an exit aperture 28 for cleaned liquid, and a drive chamber 20 having a liquid outlet 27 arranged to produce a jet the reaction of which imparts a rotary force on the rotor,- there being no communication between the separating chamber and the drive chamber. Cooling water to be cleaned is introduced through ducts 25, 24 into the separating chamber 21 and, after being cleaned, passes out via exit apertures 28 (which preferably extend tangentially to act also as drive nozzles) into an annular discharge chamber 30 formed between the rotor 14 and a stationary housing 11, 12. A baffle plate 32 ensures that the cleaned water flows down along the inner wall of the housing. Oil or fuel removed from the cooling water discharges through a duct 33 to an exit duct 34 in the rotor spindle 13. Operating medium, in this case cooling water, is pumped through ducts 23, 22 into the drive chamber 20 which is separated from the separating chamber 21 by a partition 18 and from which the operating medium is discharged through outlets 27, which are in the form of tangential drive nozzles, into the chamber 30. Heavier particles contained in the cooling water are deposited on the wall of the rotor. The centrifuge 10 may form part of a cleaning installation for the cooling water of a marine diesel engine as shown in Fig. 2. Polluted cooling water is fed to a tank 41 through a pipe 43. A top layer having a high oil concentration forms in the tank 41 and cooling water to be cleaned is drawn from this layer through a suction line 52', 52 by means of a float 53 bearing an intake cup 54. Clean cooling water flows through a pipe 42 to another tank 40 from which it is fed to the engine by a pump 45 and a pipe 46. The pump 45 also delivers water via a pipe 47 to drive the centrifuge 10 and via a branch pipe 50 which contains an ejector 51 which draws the cooling water to be cleaned through the reaction line 52', 52 and feeds it to the centrifuge. The pipe 50 is provided with a spill valve 55 to control pressure in the line 52', 52. Separated oil is discharged from the centrifuge through a pipe 57 to a reservoir 58. The tanks 40, 41 have a common venting pipe 44.