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Rust sediment and sludge from storage tanks contaminate diesel fuel. Condensation in tanks causes water contamination. Alfa Laval diesel centrifuges separate all the solid particles & moisture from diesel fuel. Clean diesel fuel is essential for the trouble-free operation of engines.
Contaminant-free fuel is essential for reliable engine performance. Alfa Laval diesel fuel centrifuges are designed to protect your engine room equipment by maintaining a clean diesel supply.
They have proven their efficiency and reliability and have been used worldwide for decades. These Alfa Laval diesel centrifuge modules keep the diesel fuel clean when installed between the storage tank and the day tank.
For heavy fuel and crude oils, Dolphin Centrifuge supplies a wide range of self-cleaning fuel purifiers. These are available as separate modules and include per-heaters and starter and PLC control panels.
A recent application using a diesel fuel purifier for large-scale black diesel recovery was supplied by Dolphin using Alfa Laval disc stack centrifuge (self-cleaning type).
Diesel centrifuge operation can be simply explained as follows. Under the extremely high centrifugal force inside the rotating bowl, the water & sludge are spun out towards the outer periphery of the centrifuge bowl. At the same time, the clean diesel moves inwards and is continuously discharged through a 'light phase outlet.
The water is collected and discharged through a separate passage from the bowl periphery. The separated sludge is periodically ejected by the 'self-cleaning' mechanism built into the bowl.
A centrifuge cannot separate diesel from engine oil. Disc centrifuges use centrifugal force to separate liquids from immiscible liquids. Engine oil and diesel are miscible liquids, i.e., and they dissolve in each other. The centrifugal force in a centrifuge separates liquids with different specific gravities that do not dissolve in each other.
| Centrifuge Type | Alfa Laval Self-Cleaning, Disc Stack | ||
| Centrifuge Efficiency | Solid Particles > 1 µ ; Free Water > 2 µ | ||
| Model | MOPX205 | MOPX207 | MOPX213 |
| Bowl Speed | 7,600 RPM | 6,300 RPM | 4,140 RPM |
| Rated Capacity | 20 GPM | 32 GPM | 90 GPM |
| Diesel Capacity | 14 GPM | 21 GPM | 61 GPM |
| Sludge Space | 0.38 Gal | 1.03 Gal | 3.61 Gal |
| Motor Power | 5 HP | 7.5 HP | 15 HP |
| Dimensions | 4′ x 4′ | 4′ x 5′ | 5′ x 6′ |
| Weight | 1,500 Lbs | 2,500 Lbs | 4,000 Lbs |
There are several advantages to diesel centrifuges over conventional filters. Some of the key advantages are listed below.
In addition to sludge or solid particles, disc centrifuges also remove water from diesel continuously. Simultaneous water removal is an advantage over filters that only remove solid particles.
Disc stack centrifuges separate solids particles as small as 0.5 microns from diesel. Free water particles down to 2 microns are also separated. Fine mesh filters (1-micron level) plug up fast and need constant replacement.
Centrifuges use high centrifugal force to mechanically separate water and sludge from diesel fuel. Therefore, there is no performance degradation over time irrespective of the amount of sludge in the diesel.
Filter performance degrades over time as the separated sludge particles block the filter pores.
Self-cleaning diesel centrifuges automatically discharge the separated sludge intermittently. There is no manual labor involved in operating a centrifuge.
Filters require manual replacement periodically which adds to operating cost and downtime.
Small footprint Alfa Laval diesel centrifuges are designed for fuel & engine oil purification on vessels such as tugs, barges, yachts, etc.
Typically installed on day-tanks, these centrifugal diesel purifiers remove the water and sediment contamination supplying clean fuel while keeping the lubricating oil clean.
Shown at the bottom are diesel centrifuge packages of different capacities featuring Alfa Laval centrifuges.
| Flow-Rate | 30 GPM on Diesel |
| Motor | 10 HP |
| Voltage | 230 / 460 V 3-Ph |
| Size | 5' x 6' x 8' (H) |
| Weight | 4,000 Lbs |
| Flow-Rate | 60 GPM on Diesel |
| Motor | 15 HP |
| Voltage | 230 / 460 V 3-Ph |
| Size | 6' x 6' x 8' (H) |
| Weight | 5,000 Lbs |
| Flow-Rate | 26 GPM on MDO |
| Motor | 7.5 HP |
| Voltage | 230 / 460 V 3-Ph |
| Size | 5' x 6' x 5' (H) |
| Weight | 2,000 Lbs |