I. Core Structural Principles
- Tubular centrifuge (tubular separator)
The high-speed, slender tubular drum allows liquid to enter from the bottom and flow upwards along the tube wall. Relying on the ultra-high rotation speed to generate strong centrifugal force, the heavy phase solid/high-density liquid is thrown to the cylinder wall, while the light phase flows out from the top.
The drum is a hollow elongated tube without a stacked plate structure.
- Disc centrifuge (disc separator)
The drum contains dozens to hundreds of conical discs. Material enters the gaps between the discs, with solids/heavy liquids adhering to the inner wall of the discs, while lighter liquids collect and are discharged along the inner side of the discs. The large settling area of the discs increases the throughput.
Core structure: multi-layered conical disk stack.
II. Key Parameter Comparison Table
sheet
| Comparison items | tubular centrifuge | Disc centrifuge |
| Rotation speed & centrifugal force | Extremely high rotational speed: 12,000–30,000 rpm, with a separation factor of 15,000–60,000. | Medium to high speed: 4000～10000rpm, separation factor 3000～10000, far lower than that of tubular type. |
| Processing volume | Small flow rate: 0.1～5m³/h, suitable for micro-volume, high-precision separation. | High flow rate: 5～100+ m³/h, continuous large-volume material processing |
| Solid phase processing capability | The solid phase storage space is extremely small, making it suitable only for very low solid content (solid content <1%); excessive solid content easily clogs the pipes, requiring frequent disassembly and manual cleaning. | The rotary drum has a large slag storage chamber and can be equipped with an automatic slag discharge structure (nozzle slag discharge, ring valve slag discharge), which can withstand a solid content of 1% to 10% and can continuously and automatically discharge slag. |
| Separation accuracy | Top-level precision: capable of separating ultrafine particles, colloids, and emulsions (water in oil, fine bacterial fragments, protein colloids, and vaccine stock solutions). | Medium precision: Suitable for crude cell separation, fermentation broth clarification, vegetable oil refining, and coarse oil-water separation; it is difficult to completely separate fine colloids. |
| Material Applicable | Emulsion demulsification, serum/biosolution purification, nanoscale suspended solids, precious trace materials, and difficult-to-separate two-phase systems. | Fermentation broth cell removal, beverage clarification, oil degumming and dehydration, industrial wastewater slag removal, and large-scale liquid pretreatment. |
| Maintenance method | Without automatic slag discharge, it operates intermittently, requiring the drum to be disassembled and the filter cake cleaned from the tube wall, making maintenance cumbersome. | The automatic slag discharge model can operate continuously for a long time with low daily maintenance workload. |
| Footprint & Volume | The machine has a slender body and a small single-unit processing capacity; multiple units can be connected in parallel for the same production capacity. | The equipment is robust, with a large single-unit processing capacity, and saves floor space for large-scale operations. |
| Procurement & Operating Costs | The unit itself isn’t expensive, but manual cleaning is costly; it also consumes a lot of electricity (due to its ultra-high speed). | The equipment itself is more expensive, and automated models are more costly to manufacture, but the overall operating cost for continuous production is lower. |
III. Their respective advantages and disadvantages
tubular centrifuge
✅Advantages : Maximum separation precision, simple structure and easy sterilization (friendly for aseptic pharmaceutical environments), suitable for high-value-added fine materials, and capable of liquid-liquid and liquid-liquid-solid three-phase separation.
❌Disadvantages : Low throughput, cannot continuously discharge slag, high labor intensity, unsuitable for high solids content slurries
Disc centrifuge
✅Advantages : High-throughput continuous production, automatic slag discharge adaptable to industrial production lines, high cost-effectiveness in processing fermentation broth/industrial feed liquid, and stable operation over long periods.
❌Disadvantages : Weak separation effect of ultrafine colloids, easy accumulation of dirt in the gaps between discs, and high cost of sterile cleanroom design.
- How to choose a pharmaceutical/culture medium industry
- Tubular centrifuges: used for vaccine stock solution, serum separation, cell lysate purification, trace amounts of precious biological products, and fine oil-water emulsion system refining and purification.
- Disc centrifuge: Used for removing mycelium from large-volume fermentation broth, pre-treatment and clarification of culture media, coarse filtration of raw material liquid, and solid-liquid separation at the front end of large-scale production.