Centrifuge - Types

Types

There are at multiple types of centrifuge, which can be classified by intended use or by rotor design:

Types by rotor design:

  • Fixed-angle centrifuges are designed to hold the sample containers at a constant angle relative to the central axis.
  • Swinging head (or swinging bucket) centrifuges, in contrast to fixed-angle centrifuges, have a hinge where the sample containers are attached to the central rotor. This allows the samples to swing outwards as the centrifuge is spun.
  • Continuous tubular centrifuges don't have individual sample vessels and are used for high volume applications.


Types by intended use:

  • Ultracentrifuges are optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds and are popular in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry and polymer science. This type may include preparative or analytical, fixed-angle or swing head varieties.
  • Haematocrit centrifuges are used to measure the percentage of red blood cells in whole blood.
  • Gas centrifuges, including Zippe-type centrifuges


Industrial centrifuges may otherwise be classified according to the type of separation of the high density fraction from the low density one:

  • Screen centrifuges, where the centrifugal acceleration allows the liquid to pass through a screen of some sort, through which the solids cannot go (due to granulometry larger than the screen gap or due to agglomeration). Common types are:
    • Screen/scroll centrifuges
    • Pusher centrifuges
    • Peeler centrifuges
    • Decanter centrifuges, in which there is no physical separation between the solid and liquid phase, rather an accelerated settling due to centrifugal acceleration.
    • Continuous liquid; common types are:
      • Solid bowl centrifuges
      • Conical plate centrifuges

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