Nowadays, centrifuges are widely used, not only in industries such as mineral processing and coal, but also in cutting-edge industries such as pharmaceuticals and aerospace. Therefore, although the centrifuge is small, its function is very significant. Understanding the working principle and operating methods is also helpful. Below, the editor will give you a detailed introduction, and you must take a closer look.
What is a centrifuge
Centrifuges use centrifugal force to separate each component of liquid machinery from solid particles or mixtures of liquid and liquid. Centrifuge is mainly used to separate solid particles in suspension from liquid, or separate two incompatible liquids with different densities in lotion (for example, separate cream from milk); It can also be used to remove liquids from wet solids, such as drying wet clothes with a washing machine; Special high-speed tube separators can also separate gas mixtures of different densities; By utilizing the characteristics of solid particles with different densities or particle sizes settling at different speeds in liquids, some settling centrifuges can also classify solid particles based on density or particle size.
The working principle of a centrifuge
When a suspension containing fine particles is stationary, the suspended particles gradually sink under the action of the gravity field. The heavier the particle, the faster it sinks, otherwise particles with a density less than that of a liquid will float up. The speed at which particles move in a gravitational field is related to their size, shape, and density, as well as to the strength of the gravitational field and the viscosity of the liquid. Under normal gravity, particles the size of red blood cells with a diameter of several micrometers can be observed.
In addition, when substances settle in the medium, there is a diffusion phenomenon. Diffusion is unconditional and absolute. Diffusion is inversely proportional to the mass of a substance, and the smaller the particle, the more severe the diffusion. Settlement is relative and conditional, and can only be driven by external forces. Settlement is proportional to the weight of the object, and the larger the particle, the faster it settles. For particles smaller than a few microns, such as viruses or proteins, they form a colloidal or semi colloidal state in the solution, and the sedimentation process cannot be observed solely by gravity. Because the smaller the particle, the slower the sedimentation and the more severe the diffusion phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to use a centrifuge to generate strong centrifugal force, forcing these particles to overcome diffusion and generate settling motion.
Centrifuge is the use of the powerful centrifugal force generated by the high-speed rotation of the centrifugal rotor to accelerate the settling speed of particles in the liquid and separate substances with different settling coefficients and buoyancy densities in the sample.
