Power plates cut decanter centrifuge running costs

Alfa Laval has developed power plates that are intended to cut decanter centrifuge running costs by up to 25 per cent by reducing power consumption.

During centrifugation, a portion of the energy used is transmitted to the fluids being processed in the form of rotational velocity.

Power plates work by reclaiming some of this energy before the liquid leaves the bowl and transferring it back in the opposite direction of bowl rotation.

As a result, the total effluent discharge velocity is reduced.

As the energy content of the discharged liquid is proportionate to the square of the velocity, even a small reduction in velocity can achieve savings in energy.

Alfa Laval claims that its power plates, applied correctly, can produce energy savings of between 10 per cent and 25 per cent.

In a best-case scenario, it estimates that savings will be sufficient to pay back the cost of installation in 12 to 18 months.

In a typical installation at a water and waste treatment works, an Alfa Laval NX945 decanter ran for eight hours a day, processing 60m3/h of effluent.

After the installation of power plates, the plant's energy consumption for the decanter dropped 20 per cent from 58kWh to 46kWh.

This has resulted in financial savings, reduced its CO2 emissions and lessened the decanter's impact on the environment.

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