Centrifugal dewatering of sludge is a high-speed process that uses the force from rapid rotation of a cylindrical bowl to separate wastewater solids from liquid to produce a non-liquid material referred to as “cake (US EPA, 2018).”
The operation of a dewatering centrifuge can be simply explained as follows. Under the high centrifugal force inside the rotating bowl, the sludge is spun out towards the periphery of the centrifuge bowl and pushed out by the auger through the solids’ discharge ports. The centrifuge discharges the water is through liquid ports on the fluid discharge end(Dewatering Centrifuge | Operation, Animation, Uses, Benefits, n.d.).
What other everyday forces do we harness in powerful ways for industrial processes in metallurgy? Let’s brainstorm some surprising applications!
Reference:
Dewatering Centrifuge | Operation, Animation, Uses, Benefits. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2025, from https://dolphincentrifuge.com/dewatering-centrifuge/
US EPA, O. (2018, November 19). Fact Sheet: Centrifuge Thickening and Dewatering [Overviews and Factsheets]. https://www.epa.gov/biosolids/fact-sheet-centrifuge-thickening-and-dewatering
