FAQ

What kind of machine is a centrifugal separator?

A centrifugal separator is a machine designed to separate substances of different specific gravity levels by means of centrifugal force

What are different specific gravities?

Specific gravity refers to the ratio between the density of a substance and that of a standard substance used as the reference. For liquids, water = 1.
A difference in specific gravity means different densities.
For example, a standard salad dressing will separate into its oil and water components after a period of time. This is because the oil component is lighter than the water one, which is to say, there is a difference in specific gravity.

Why is centrifugal force applied?

Substances are sedimented under a gravity of only 1 G, and solid matter with heavy specific gravity takes time to sediment. In general, liquid takes time to separate in a natural environment (gravitational acceleration = 1 G). However, by applying powerful acceleration through high-speed rotation, the liquid can be separated in a short time, even if the difference in specific gravity is slight.

What level of G can a centrifugal separator apply?

It depends on the substance to be separated, but a centrifugal separator produces a centrifugal force of 2,000 to 4,000 G in general applications, or of 10,000 G or over in the medical care field. This allows it to produce centrifugal force 2,000 to 4,000 times higher than gravity, even in general applications.
For example, if you swing a bucket of water, the water will not spill out. This is thanks to centrifugal force. A centrifugal separator produces centrifugal force more than 2000 times higher than gravity through high-speed rotation and separates substances of different specific gravity levels.

What is the history of centrifugal separators?

The first centrifugal separator was invented in Europe in the latter half of the 19th century. At first, milk separators were used to separate milk and cream, and they were manually operated. Today, centrifugal separators are large in size and motor-powered, but the basic principle remains unchanged. New applications of separation are still being developed today. You could say that centrifugal separators are both old and new machines.

What applications are centrifugal separators used for?

Tomoe Engineering’s centrifugal separators are called decanter type centrifugal separators.
They are used for a wide range of applications, such as food (surimi, juices, seasonings, extracts), chemistry (high-purity terephthalic acid, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene), environmental conservation (sewage, night soil), pharmaceuticals (antibiotics, medical fungus bodies), energy (fuel oil, dehydrated plaster), and recycling (industrial wastewater, waste plastics).

What is the market share of Tomoe Engineering’s centrifugal separators?

Because our centrifugal separators are used for a wide range of applications, we do not know the exact market share, but we believe that we have the largest market share in Japan.
The first centrifugal separator was invented in Europe, thanks to this historical background, European centrifugal separator manufacturers still dominate the world market, and we are in the 5th to 10th position in terms of market share.

What is Tomoe Engineering like?

Tomoe Engineering is the pioneer in decanter type centrifugal separators in Japan, and we are proud of our advanced technology backed by long-accumulated experience.
This advanced technology allowed us to manufacture the largest centrifugal separator in the world. The high-efficiency, energy-saving centrifugal separator used for sewage treatment and the vertical decanter type centrifugal separator for industrial use adopted in the field of chemistry are original machines, and Tomoe Engineering is the only country in the world that can manufacture them. No other centrifugal separator manufacturers come close to us in technology.