Pilot Plant Scale Centrifuge

Pilot plant scale centrifugation is a critical step in the development and scale-up of biopharmaceutical, chemical, food, and mineral processing technologies. Before committing to full-scale production equipment, process developers must demonstrate that their separation process is efficient, reliable, and scalable using representative quantities of material (typically 50-500 liters per hour). Traditional laboratory centrifuges (bench-top units) are useful for screening but often do not accurately predict industrial-scale performance due to differences in geometry, G-force profile, residence time, and solids handling. Conversely, testing on production-scale equipment is impractical due to the large volume of material required (5,000-50,000 liters) and the high cost of production-scale equipment. Our Pilot Plant Scale Centrifuge has been specifically engineered to bridge this gap, providing a geometrically scaled version of our production centrifuges that accurately predicts full-scale performance using small volumes of material (as little as 10-50 liters). The disc stack or decanter design provides the same flow dynamics, G-force profile, and separation characteristics as our production units, enabling reliable scale-up with scale factors of 10x to 500x. The pilot unit is designed for flexibility, with interchangeable disc stacks, adjustable G-force (up to 12,000 x g), variable feed rates (10-500 L/hour), and multiple discharge configurations. The compact, mobile skid design allows the pilot centrifuge to be moved between different process areas or shipped to customer sites for on-site testing. All product-contact surfaces are manufactured from electro-polished SUS316L stainless steel with surface roughness below 0.4 micrometers Ra, ensuring complete cleanability and compatibility with pharmaceutical, food, and chemical applications. The system is fully enclosed with CIP capability and available with optional containment for potent compounds (OEB 4/5). The pilot centrifuge has been validated for a wide range of applications including cell culture clarification (CHO, HEK293, Vero), bacterial harvest (E. coli, Bacillus), yeast concentration (S. cerevisiae, P. pastoris), enzyme recovery, vaccine production, fine chemical purification, pigment classification, starch dewatering, oil sludge treatment, and many others. For each application, the operating parameters can be optimized and then directly scaled to production units using our validated scale-up protocols. The control system provides comprehensive monitoring, automation, and data logging capabilities, built around a Siemens S7-1200 PLC with a 10-inch color touchscreen HMI. The user interface presents key parameters including bowl speed, feed rate, discharge interval, cake solids, and centrate clarity. The system supports full recipe management and data export for process development reports. For pharmaceutical applications, the pilot centrifuge is available in cGMP-compliant configuration with 21 CFR Part 11 audit trail.

The disc stack design at the heart of our pilot centrifuge is geometrically scaled from our production models, ensuring that scale-up is reliable and predictable. The disc stack consists of precision-engineered conical discs with the same angle, gap spacing, and surface finish as production units. The bowl diameter is reduced (typically 50-200 mm vs 200-800 mm for production), but the geometry is maintained. This geometric similarity is critical for accurate scale-up because separation performance depends on the shape of the flow channels, not just the G-force. The pilot unit operates at the same bowl speed (up to 12,000 rpm) as production units for disc stack configurations, or at scaled speeds for decanter configurations. Scale-up from pilot to production is based on the Sigma factor (Σ), a measure of the centrifuge's equivalent settling area. For a given process, the required Σ for production is calculated by multiplying the pilot Σ by the scale factor (production throughput / pilot throughput). Our scale-up protocols have been validated for over 500 applications with scale factors from 10x to 500x, with average performance deviation of less than 5% between pilot and production. For solids ejection, the pilot unit uses the same partial ejection mechanism as production units, allowing accurate prediction of discharge frequency and solids concentration. For decanter configurations, the pilot unit features adjustable differential speed and pool depth, enabling optimization of cake solids and centrate clarity. The pilot centrifuge is available in both manual discharge (batch) and automatic ejection (continuous) configurations. Manual discharge is suitable for small volumes (10-100 L) where solids are removed after the run. Automatic ejection is suitable for longer runs (100-500+ L) where continuous operation is desired. The mobile skid includes all necessary auxiliary equipment: feed pump, collection vessels, control panel, and optional CIP skid. Connection to utilities requires only electrical power, compressed air, and cooling water.

Our Pilot Plant Scale Centrifuge incorporates several advanced features specifically designed for process development applications. The feed system includes a low-shear pump and a small feed tank (20-100 L) with mixing and temperature control. The control system provides comprehensive monitoring, automation, and data logging capabilities, built around a Siemens S7-1200 PLC with a 10-inch color touchscreen HMI. The user interface presents key parameters including bowl speed, feed rate, torque, discharge interval, cake solids, and centrate clarity. The system supports recipe management for different products and scale-up protocols. The combination of robust mechanical design and advanced process control makes our pilot centrifuge the preferred choice for R&D and process development groups worldwide.