In today’s food processing industry, product quality, production efficiency, safety and hygiene, and environmental protection requirements are rapidly increasing. Traditional separation and purification equipment has gradually exposed shortcomings such as low efficiency, high energy consumption, and inability to meet precision processing requirements. Food raw materials are complex and difficult to separate. For example, dairy products, plant extracts, fruit and vegetable juices, animal fats, yeast liquids, etc. contain a large number of tiny particles, proteins, fats, and colloids. If the impurities are not completely separated, it is very easy to affect the product quality and shelf life.
In order to meet the development requirements of “high purity, high efficiency, low energy consumption, and strong automation” in the modern food industry, the disc stack centrifuge has gradually become the “standard configuration” of food processing companies. It uses the powerful centrifugal force formed by high-speed rotation to efficiently separate impurities, moisture, and particles in the food stock solution, thereby improving product purity, shortening the processing cycle, and ensuring food safety and flavor stability. It is favored by dairy factories, plant protein factories, fruit and vegetable juice processing plants, oil refineries and other companies.
Structure and working principle of disc centrifuge
1. Working principle
The disc centrifuge generates strong centrifugal force through high-speed rotation, which quickly separates mixtures of different densities (such as solid-liquid, liquid-liquid, solid-liquid-liquid) into layers, thereby achieving separation. The material enters the rotating drum cavity from the feed inlet and is distributed into thin layers between the disc stacks. After high-speed rotation, the dense phase (such as water, solid impurities) is thrown outward, and the light phase (such as oil, whey) moves inward and is discharged through the liquid outlet.
This high-speed centrifugal separation process can be completed in a few seconds, replacing traditional methods such as precipitation and filtration, and is particularly suitable for liquid separation treatment where tiny particles are difficult to settle.
2. Structural composition
The disc centrifuge is mainly composed of the following parts:
Drum and disc group: core separation components, usually made of stainless steel, with corrosion resistance and high strength;
Main shaft drive system: adopts electric motor and high-speed shaft transmission system;
Inlet and outlet system: equipped with controllable material inlet and outlet flow adjustment device;
Automatic slag discharge system: used to automatically discharge separated solid impurities;
Control system: modern disc centrifuge is equipped with PLC automatic control, which can realize one-button start, intelligent diagnosis, remote monitoring and other functions.
Typical applications of disc centrifuges in the food industry
1. Dairy processing
Whey protein recovery: Separate high-purity whey protein from whey to increase product added value;
Skim milk processing: Separate milk fat and water phase to prepare skim milk or cream;
Bacteria/protein precipitation separation: Separate residues in yogurt fermentation and bacterial culture to improve product clarity.
2. Fruit and vegetable juice processing
Juice clarification: separation of pulp, pectin, seeds and other solid particles, to improve the appearance and stability of juice;
Fruit wine brewing: clarification of fermentation liquid, to improve the purity of wine;
Plant beverage production: such as coconut milk, almond milk, oat milk, etc., to remove insoluble residues, improve taste and flavor.
3. Plant protein/plant extract production
Soy milk/soy milk production: separation of bean dregs and liquid, to improve the fineness of soy milk;
Chinese medicine extract refining: removal of inactive ingredients and precipitation, to improve the purity of active concentrates;
Plant oil separation: rapid separation of plant oil and impurities from oil-water mixture.
4. Animal oil and yeast fermentation liquid treatment
Animal oil purification: removal of water and protein residues;
Yeast liquid treatment: recovery of protein and fermentation residues, to improve the utilization rate of fermentation liquid;
Soy sauce, vinegar and other fermentation liquid clarification: improve color and flavor consistency.
Technical Advantages Analysis
1. High efficiency and continuous operation
The disc centrifuge adopts a continuous feeding and discharging method to avoid stopping for material replacement, achieve 24-hour uninterrupted production, and greatly improve the factory’s production capacity.
2. High separation accuracy to ensure food purity
The internal disc forms an extremely thin flow layer to enhance the separation efficiency. It can handle solid particles and colloidal impurities with a particle size of only microns, making the product clearer and more stable.
3. High degree of automation and easy operation
The modern disc centrifuge is equipped with a PLC control system, which supports parameter preset, automatic operation, remote monitoring, and fault alarm, greatly reducing manual intervention and maintenance costs.
4. High hygiene standards, in line with food industry requirement
The equipment is made of food-grade stainless steel, with mirror polished inner surface, in line with HACCP and GMP standards, and supports CIP online cleaning to ensure clean and residue-free.
5. Strong adaptability, suitable for a variety of materials
It can adapt to food materials of different viscosities, concentrations, and temperatures, and is widely used in three-phase separation applications of liquid-solid, liquid-liquid, and liquid-solid-liquid.
With its advantages of efficient separation, precise control, continuous operation, green energy saving, etc., disc centrifuge is reshaping the separation and processing methods in the food processing industry. It not only helps enterprises solve traditional process problems, but also plays an irreplaceable role in improving product quality, realizing production modernization, and enhancing market competitiveness.
As a professional disc centrifuge manufacturer, we are committed to providing high-performance, high-reliability, and cost-effective solutions for customers in the food industry, and provide one-stop services from sample testing, selection and design to after-sales maintenance. If you are looking for efficient separation equipment for food materials such as dairy products, plant drinks, juices, fermented liquids, etc., please feel free to contact us for more information and technical support.
