Continuous centrifuge
AssigneeWDT (Engineers) Pty. Ltd.
InventorGordon Francis Eastaughffe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A continuous centrifuge (10) has a basket (30) with upper and lower basket portions (43, 44) separated by an intermediate slip portion (45). The lower basket portion (43) has an included angle of 40–50°, to separate “green” molasses from the sugar crystals, while the upper basket portion (44) has an included angle of 50–60°, to separate washed molasses from the sugar crystals. The inner faces of the walls of the basket portions (43, 44) have radial drainage grooves (46), closed at their lower ends and opens at their upper ends, to discharge the molasses.
Claims12
A continuous centrifuge, including:
- a centrifuge housing;
- a centrifuge basket rotatably mounted in the housing and driven by drive means;
- a massecuite inlet to feed massecuites to the centrifuge basket;
- at least one molasses outlet;
- and
- a sugar outlet;
- wherein:
- the centrifuge basket has a first portion operate to separate green molasses from sugar crystals in the massecuite and a second portion operable for separation of washed sugar crystals from remaining molasses and waste water, and the centrifuge basket has screen means overlying substantially radially extending drainage grooves in a side wall of the basket, the drainage grooves being closed at lower ends and open to an upper end of the side wall, the develop low pressure zones to enable the molasses to be more readily expelled from the sugar crystals via a generated centrifugal force.
A centrifuge basket for a continuous centrifuge including at least one side wall having a plurality of substantially radially extending drainage grooves on an inner face of the side wall, the drainage grooves being closed at lower ends and extending upwardly to a discharge portion at or adjacent to the top of the side wall;
- a screen overlying the drainage grooves, having holes or slots therethrough to enable molasses to be separated from sugar crystals in the massecuite;
- and means spacing and supporting the screen above the drainage grooves to enable the molasses to pass through the holes or slots in the screen and enter the drainage grooves;
- so arranged that the drainage grooves develop low pressure zones to enable the molasses to be more readily expelled from the sugar crystals via centrifugal force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.