Air seal centrifuge screen basket

In apparatus for centrifugally separating material, the combination with a centrifuge machine having a housing, a wall internally dividing said housing into front and rear compartments, and a machine seal ring inwardly bounding said opening in and mounted on said wall for limited relative movement in any direction parallel thereto for centering said ring on a basket in said opening, of a centrifuge screen basket removably inserted in said machine through said machine ring and mounted in said machine for rotation about a horizontal axis, a basket ring encircling an outer end portion of said basket and surrounded by and substantially coplanar with said machine seal ring, and a plurality of airfoil blades on and radially outstanding from said basket ring and interposed therebetween and said machine ring, said blades being uniformly tilted in the direction of rotation of said basket for generating a force of air opposing and sealing against leakage of material between said rings.