Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup Puts Spotlight on Centrifugal Multipurpose Separators/Extractors

CINC® Centrifugal Separators/Extractor

According to an Associated Press report, BP has ordered 32 oil-separating centrifuges from Ocean Therapy Solutions as a possible remedy for the massive spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. Ocean Therapy Solutions, a manufacturing company co-founded and backed by actor Kevin Costner, has reportedly worked for years on perfecting the technology. As described, the centrifuges take in thousands of gallons of water, separate the oil from the water, and capture it in a containment tank.

Applying the same technology on a much smaller scale, Cole-Parmer offers the CINC® Centrifugal Separators/Extractors. Paired with Masterflex® Pumps, these Centrifugal Separators/Extractors provide an effective method of mixing, reacting, and/or separating liquids.

The Centrifugal Separators/Extractors are typically used for petroleum applications to separate crude oil from process water but are also used in many other separation processes. They include the following applications:

• Environmental—contaminated ground water separation
• Mining—solvent recovery and extraction of minerals
• Nutraceuticals—separation and extraction
• Food processing—food oil separation and conditioning
• Pharmaceutical—antibiotics made in broths

CINC centrifugal separators/extractors are suitable for separation of liquids with specific gravity differences of 0.05 or better and can process immiscible droplet sizes that are up to 10µm. Users may interchange weirs to accommodate for liquids of varying specific gravity and viscosity. A second inlet port allows the introduction (down to 20 mL/min) of mixing additives to the liquid for extraction, reaction and washing.

The illustration below depicts how the Centrifugal Multipurpose Separators/Extractors work:

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