Baker Hughes Corporation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bird Machine Company

Ascher H Shapiro

Woon F Leung

Woon-Fong Leung

Wallace Woon-Fong Leung

Robert S Yarnell

A decanter centrifuge comprises a bowl rotatable about a longitudinal axis, the bowl being provided with a cake discharge opening at one end and a liquid phase discharge opening. The bowl has a cylindrical portion and a beach portion disposed between the cylindrical portion and the cake discharge opening. A beach area is provided on an inner surface of the bowl at the beach portion of the bowl, the beach area including a first section and a second section with the second section located between the first section and the cake discharge opening. The second section of the beach area has a less steep or smaller slope than the first section. A conveyor is at least partially disposed inside the bowl for rotation about the longitudinal axis at an angular speed different from an angular rotational speed of the bowl. The conveyor includes a helical screw disposed inside the bowl for scrolling a deposited solids cake layer along the inner surface of the bowl towards the cake discharge opening. A feed element extends into the bowl and the conveyor for delivering a feed slurry into a pool inside the bowl. A flow control structure is provided in the bowl proximate to the second section of the beach area for impeding a flow of cake along the bowl towards the cake discharge opening.

Decanter centrifuge for producing cake with reduced moisture content and

A feed accelerator system for use in a centrifuge, the system comprising a conveyor hub rotatably mounted within a rotating bowl, the hub including an inside surface and an outside surface. At least one feed slurry passageway is disposed between the inside surface of conveyor hub and the outside surface of the conveyor hub, and at least one helical blade having a plurality of turns is mounted to the outside surface of the conveyor hub. A vane apparatus is associated with the passageway and is disposed between two adjacent turns of the helical blade. The vane apparatus may include an inwardly extending baffle and/or an outwardly extending accelerator vane. Alternatively, a U-shaped channel may be associated with the passageway, the U-shaped channel including a plurality partitions attached to the discharge end of such channel so as to form a plurality of discharge channels and a flow directing and overspeeding vane disposed within each channel, each vane having a different forward discharge angle.

Feed accelerator system including accelerating vane apparatus

Decanter centrifuge and associated method for producing cake with

A decanter centrifuge comprises a bowl and a worm or screw type conveyor. The bowl is rotatable about a longitudinal axis and has a cake discharge opening at one end and a liquid phase discharge opening. The conveyor includes a conveyor hub having at least a portion disposed inside the bowl for rotation about the longitudinal axis at an angular speed different from an angular rotational speed of the bowl. The conveyor further includes a helical screw or worm attached to the conveyor hub and disposed inside the bowl for scrolling a cake layer along an inner surface of the bowl towards the cake discharge opening. An adjustable component on the hub forms a gap between the hub and the inner surface of the bowl so that the gap has a size adjustable independently of hub rotation speed. The adjustable gap enables an optimization of the moisture content of cake exiting the bowl at the cake discharge opening for a given solids throughput and cake rheology. The adjustable component on the hub takes the form of an annular weir or a baffle plate.

Decanter centrifuge with adjustable gate control

A feed accelerator system for use in a centrifuge, the system comprising a conveyor hub rotatably mounted substantially concentrically within a rotating bowl, and an accelerator including a cone-shaped inside surface disposed between an accelerator base and an accelerator small diameter section. The accelerator is secured proximately to its base within the conveyor hub so that the accelerator rotates with the conveyor hub. A distributor including a distributor surface having no sharp bends or junctions is secured to the small diameter section. A plurality of accelerator vanes are disposed on the cone-shaped inside surface and extend proximately from the small diameter section and terminate at a location on the cone-shaped inside surface proximate to the accelerator base so that an unvaned portion of the cone-shaped inside surface forms a smoothener section. A feed pipe having at least one discharge opening is disposed within the centrifuge so that the discharge opening is positioned proximately to the distributor surface at a stand-off distance. The stand-off distance, feed slurry flow rate, diameter of the feed pipe, location of the accelerator vanes proximate to the small diameter section, and number of vanes are selected to obtain overall maximum centrifuge efficiency.

Feed accelerator system including accelerating cone

Method for accelerating a liquid in a centrifuge

A feed accelerator system for use in a centrifuge, the system comprising an accelerator rotatably mounted substantially concentrically within the centrifuge and including a plurality of disc members concentrically and proximately spaced having a first disc and a second disc, each disc having an inside surface and an outer edge defining a disc diameter. The second disc includes a target surface having no sharp bends or junctions. The first disc includes a disc opening for receiving a discharge opening of a feed pipe. A plurality of disc vanes are disposed between the first and second discs so as to form a plurality of feed channels. The vanes generally extend from a radius equal to or larger than that of the disc opening and of the target surface, and terminate at a radius on the inside surfaces of the first and second discs at a distance from the outer edge of at least one of the first and second discs so as to form a disc smoothener on at least one of the inside surfaces of the first and second discs. A generally cone-shaped apparatus may be attached to the respective outer edges of the first and/or second discs to further smooth the feed slurry so as to produce circumferential flow uniformity of the feed slurry entering the pool of a decanter centrifuge or impinging upon the basket of a pusher centrifuge.

Feed accelerator system including accelerator disc

Feed accelerator system including accelerator cone

A power-efficient liquid-solid separating centrifuge is disclosed which has power recovery apparatus on the bowl-head of a rotary bowl including a plurality of liquid flow passageways in fluid communication with transfer ports in the bowlhead of the rotary bowl for receiving liquid separated from the slurry introduced into the rotary bowl. These passageways are configured and arranged to direct the flow pattern of the liquid exiting the liquid transfer port to discharge at a radially inward position relative to the liquid transfer port and to flow in a direction with a reduced velocity component in the direction of the rotation of the rotary bowl, thereby recovering power previously expended to accelerate the feed slurry.

Power-efficient liquid-solid separating centrifuge

A rotating bowl decanter centrifuge including a clarifier section and a beach section for separating a lighter phase from a heavier phase. The beach section includes a conveyor for conveying the heavier phase toward the exterior of the centrifuge. The centrifuge is without a conveyor in the effluent discharge end of the clarifier section. In a preferred embodiment, the clarifier section has an outward incline angle so that the clarifier wall bends away from the bowl's rotational axis. The beach section includes an inwardly inclined outer wall which bends towards the rotational axis of the bowl. It is preferred that the outward incline angle in the clarifier section be on the order of 5.degree. or less.

Growing community of inventors

Jamaica Plain, MA, United States of America

Ascher H Shapiro