CENTRIFUGE FOR THE SEPARATION OF MIXTURES OF SOLID MATTER AND FLUIDS Description
The invention concerns a centrifuge, in particular a spiral centrifuge, for the separation of mixtures of solid matter and fluids with a rotatable cylinder case that is run on bearings and with a conveying screw that can rotate within the cylinder at different revolutions per minute and with fluid drainage openings that are located in the front wall of the centrifuge cylinder and with openings for the discharge of solid matter located at the other end of the centrifuge cylinder.
The sewage sludge that is produced by sewage water treatment plants in large amounts and that contains mostly organic components must be treated before it can be used in agriculture, composted, incinerated or disposed of in other ways. In this process, an important role is played by continuously operating centrifuges, in particular by spiral centrifuges, for the thickening and dehydration of the sludge. Such centrifuges feature a central device for feeding the mixture of solids and fluid that are to be separated into the centrifuge cylinder and they also feature discharge openings for the discharge of the separated light and heavy matter. For the drainage of the fluid that has been rid of its solid components, several fluid drainage openings are located around the circumference of the front wall of the centrifuge cylinder, and the other cylinder end that is mostly tapered in a conical shape also features, distributed around its circumference, discharge openings through which the solid matter that is being transported by the spiral conveyor inside the cylinder, and that has
been mostly separated from the fluid, is spun off into the centrifuge casing and discharged by way of a solids chute.
Although normally, a catcher precedes a thickening centrifuge that is supposed to catch and separate coarse foreign matter such as stones, wood pieces, lumps of metal, etc. from the entering sludge, it happens again and again that such coarse matter gets into the spiral centrifuge, and there mostly into the solid matter that is spun off radially at high circumferential speed (up to 100 m/s). It goes without explanation that damage and operational failure can be caused if the spun-off solid matter contains coarse matter of this type, all the more so if the spiral centrifuge is a so-called lysate centrifuge in which, by means of a special device, the biologically active cells are to be cracked, in particular those of activated sludge destined for anaerobic fermentation, for the purpose of increasing the biogas yield. In addition, the spun-off thickened matter can no longer be pumped with ease if it contains such coarse matter.
The invention is based on the problem of developing a centrifuge, in particular a spiral centrifuge, for the separation of mixtures of solid and fluid matter, the operation of which will not be disrupted by coarse matter that gets into the centrifuge.
This problem is solved, according to the invention, by a centrifuge with the characteristics of Claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are indicated in the subordinate claims.
Since, in the centrifuge according to the invention, solid matter sizing devices are positioned at the solid matter discharge openings located around the circumference of the cylinder, such as comb-shaped collectors, strainers or other perforated devices, coarse matter that may be contained in the solid
matter stream can be separated in the manner of a screen overrun, i.e. the small-particle solid matter and the coarse matter are each spun off separately at the solid matter discharge openings and also collected separately, specifically, in two separate solid matter collecting chambers that are configured in the centrifuge cylinder, that is seen in the flow-direction of the heavy phase in the cylinder in a chamber for the discharge of the small-particle matter as a screen pass-through and subsequently approximately at the end of the cylinder in a chamber for the discharge of the coarse matter as a screen overflow. In this manner, the separately collected coarse matter that is discharged continuously or at intervals from its own centrifuge casing chamber no longer interferes with the operation of the centrifuge.
According to a special characteristic of the invention, the solid matter sizing devices that are located at the solid matter discharge openings can each consist of a comb-shaped collector, the teeth of which run approximately along generatrices with the comb teeth ending before reaching the rearward edge, seen in the direction of the flow of the heavy phase, of the solid matter discharge openings leaving an enlarged diameter of the opening uncovered, in order to make room for the passage of the coarse matter through the cylinder wall and for unobstructed spin-off. In this process, the longitudinal slots between the comb teeth of the comb-shaped sizing devices can advantageously widen, viewed in the direction of the flow of the heavy phase, so as to prevent coarse matter such as stones, etc., from getting stuck in the longitudinal slots.
The invention and its further characteristics are more closely described on the basis of the embodiment samples schematically shown in the figures. The figures show:
Figure 1 , a longitudinal cross sectional view of a spiral centrifuge according to the invention for the separation of mixtures of solid matter and fluids;
Figure 2, a spiral centrifuge of Figure 1 with a so-called lysate installation; and,
Figure 3, an enlarged detail of a bird's eye view of a sizing device attached to the solid matter discharge openings in the form of a comb-shaped collector in its unrolled condition.
The spiral centrifuge seen in Figure 1 features a rota table cylinder case 10 that is run on bearings. Inside it, a spiral conveyor 11 is coaxially installed that rotates in bearings within the cylinder in the same direction but with different revolutions per minute. The mixture of solid matter and fluid that is to be thickened or dehydrated, such as sewage sludge, is fed via the central feeding tube 12 into the feeding chamber 13 that is located in the element that carries the spiral conveyor and from there is conveyed via outlet openings into the centrifuge cylinder 10. During operation of the spiral centrifuge, a ring of fluid is formed within the centrifuge cylinder 10, under the effect of centrifugal force. The heavier matter is transported to the right by way of the spiral conveyor 1 1 , lifted out of the suspension fluid by the cone-shaped part of the cylinder case and transported by the helical segment 14 to the solid matter discharge openings 15 that are located around the circumference of the cylinder, while the fluid that has been rid of the solid matter (the centrifuge effluent) is drained from the centrifuge cylinder 10 via the fluid drains 16 that are located equidistant over its circumference in the cylinder front wall 17 that is attached to the left end of the cylinder.
At the solid matter discharge openings 15 solid matter screening devices are located in particular in the shape of a comb collector 18, the teeth of which extend approximately along the generatrices of the cone-shaped end of the cylinder, while these teeth 19 end before they reach the rearward rim of the solid matter discharge opening 15, viewed in the direction of the flow of the heavy phase inside the cylinder, leaving an enlarged cross section of the opening 20 uncovered. While the small particle solid matter, e.g. the thin sludge 21 , is spun off through the slots 22 between the teeth 19 of the comb collector 18, coarse matter 23 contained in the sewage sludge such as stones, wooden parts, metal lumps and similar items are collected as tailings by the sizing comb 19 and spun off separately from the thin sludge 21 at the end of the cylinder through the uncovered enlarged opening cross sections 20 of the solid matter discharge openings. Outside the solid matter discharge openings 15, two separate solid matter collecting chambers 21 and 23 for the spun off solid matter are positioned radially within the centrifuge casing 24, specifically, viewed in the direction of the flow of the heavy phase, first a chamber 25 for the discharge of the smaller particle solid matter 21 and then a chamber 26 for the discharge of coarse matter 23.
Figure 3 shows a sizing comb 18 with its teeth 19 and slots 22 in its rolled- down condition, i.e. lying flat. It can be seen that the longitudinal slots 22 have the capability to widen between the teeth 19 in the direction of the flow of the heavy phase so that coarse matter 23 such as stones that were transported via the teeth 19 cannot get stuck in the slots. Figure 1 shows that the end of the centrifuge cylinder with the solid matter discharge openings 15 and the sizing combs 18 is detachably connected with the remainder of the centrifuge cylinder
via a flange 27 permitting easy exchange of the sizing comb 18 in the event that it is worn, for example. In this manner, existing centrifuges can be relatively easily retrofitted with the invention.
In any event, the coarse matter 23 contained in the sewage sludge is, according to the invention, kept separate from the spun-off sludge 21 so that the latter can still be pumped e.g. with eccentric screw pumps. The separately collected spun-off coarse matter 23 is treated separately and, if desired, can be mixed back with the sludge product after having been treated, processed, etc.
The centrifuge in Figure 2 differs from the spiral centrifuge in Figure 1 in that the latter features a lysate installation 28 that is located in the centrifuge casing 24 within the chamber 25, which serves for the separate collection and discharge of the sludge product 21 that has been spun off the solid matter discharge openings and freed of coarse matter 23 for the purpose of cracking active cells, in particular in activated sludge destined for anaerobic fermentation with the objective of increasing the biogas yield. The operation of the lysate installation 28 is now no longer interfered with by the coarse matter 23 because of its prior separation.
Downstream from the fluid drainage opening 16, as well, a collecting device rotating in tandem with the centrifuge drum 10, e.g. a sizing comb 29, can be located that is configured similar to the sizing comb 18 at the other end of the centrifuge and that makes the coarse matter 30, contained in the centrifuge effluent, exit into one of the centrifuge casing chambers 31 , while the centrifuge effluent 32, separated from the coarse matter 30, is spun off, through the spaces between the teeth of the sizing comb, into the adjacent centrifuge casing chamber 33.
The invention can also be used advantageously in decanter centrifuges, e.g. in olive oil production in which the phases of oil, water and coarse matter are separated within the centrifugal field.