COMPONENTS OF A PURIFIER

The purifier or separator comprises of various components and parts which work together to achieve it’s objective of fuel oil Purification.

These parts includes but are not limited to;

GRAVITY DISC: The gravity disc serves as the outlet passage for separated sludge through the water outlet. The diameter of the gravity disc determines the interface between the water and fuel fed into the separator. The position of the interface can be adjusted by replacing the gravity disc with another with smaller or larger diameter. The gravity disc nomogram shows the gravity disc whole diameter in millimeters and the throughput in meter cube per hour. The throughput is the feed of liquid fed into the separator per unit time. Most engineers tend to ask themselves, what is the capacity of your purifier? This capacity is the through put. Example the Alfa Laval MMB 304 S11 has a throughput of 0.7m^3/hour.
CLARIFIER DISC: In clarification mode, the gravity disc is replaced by a clarifier disc which does not allow water outlet because water seal is not required and there is no interface between water and oil in the bowl. This disc is optional though.
FEED MOTOR: The feed motor is responsible for feeding the fuel oil into the separator for purification.
FEED MOTOR SUPPLY VALVE: The supply valve regulates or stop the fuel oil supply to the feed motor.
BRAKE: The brake is responsible for fastening the separator stop by reducing the kinetic energy formed from the bowl’s high speed rotation.
BOWL: Within the bowl, the actual separation occurs.
DISC STACK: These special plates increase the surface settling area which speeds up the separation process. It works with the distributor to separate the impurities from the fuel oil by separating the fuel stream into many partial streams. This is where the actual separation into the liquid and solid phases take place. The centrifugal force pushes the solid out and slide it through the underside of the disc into the solid chamber of the bowl.
SAFETY DEVICE: The safety device is fastened with a bolt onto the inlet and outlet housing for the fuel oil.
INLET HOUSING: It houses the inlet hose for the fuel oil and serves as the entry point for the fuel oil to be purified.
OUTLET HOUSING: It houses the outlet hose for the purified fuel oil. This is the escape point for the purified fuel oil.
FRAME HOOD: The frame hood is a rigid covering which covers the internal parts or components of the separator. It is the top part of the bowl hood.
LOCK RING: The lock ring secures tightly the gravity disc, leader cone, and pairing chamber cover.
INLET PIPE: The inlet pipe is hollow at one end and has an opening at its joint with the inlet housing which allows fuel oil to go directly into the bowl for separation.
BOWL HOOD: The bowl hood is the rigid covering for the separator bowl, It also serve as a protection (in case of disc stack). These disc stacks are extremely sharp and can cause both minor and major lacerations.
DISTRIBUTOR: The distributor supports and hold the disc stack in place. The inlet pipe connects also to the distributor through the top disc.
TOP DISC: It is heavier and thicker than the any of the disc in the disc stack. The top disc is the first disc and uses it weight to press the other disc together.
SLUDGE BASKET: The sludge basket holds the separated solid sludge. Sludge can be thick, smelly and if left unattended to, tend to become stone hard.
BOWL SPINDLE: The bowl spindle transmit the rotational movement of the separator motor to the separator bowl.
FLAT BELT: Flat belt connects the motor to the bowl spindle. It does the transfer rotational motion to the bowl spindle.
Separator MOTOR: The separator motor generates the energy transmitted to the separator bowl. This mechanical energy is transformed to centrifugal energy in the separator bowl.