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INTRODUCTION
Engine lubricating oil is kept in good condition by coolers and
filters fitted throughout the system.

Even though the filtration is

good, there will always be some small particles of debris that will
pass through.

Normal filters cannot remove water contaminating

the oil, so coalescer filters may be fitted.

These special filters depend on the molecular attraction between
the water droplets and the fibers in the filter being greater than the
molecular attraction between the oil and the fibers.

The water

molecules will eventually increase in size and drop to the bottom of

the cartridge housing where it can be drained off; the oil leaving
the cartridge will be free of water.
By fitting an oil purifier into the system, separation of water and
solids

from

the

lubricating

oil

can

be

carried

out

quickly

and

e f f i c i e n t l y.
The purpose of separation can be:

To f r e e a l i q u i d o f s o l i d p a r t i c l e s

To s e p a r a t e t w o l i q u i d s w h i c h h a v e d i f f e r e n t d e n s i t i e s a n d
do not mix.

Fuel systems might also have a purifier fitted.

It would be used to

clean the fuel oil while transferring from the vessels storage tanks
to the day tanks.
This module will explain the operation and maintenance of an oil
purifier.

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P R I N C I P L E O F S E P AR A T I O N
Separation by gravity
An unsettled liquid in a container will clear slowly as the heavy
particles in the liquid sink to the bottom under the influence of
g r a v i t y.
For example, a mixture of water, oil and solids will eventually
settle-out with the oil on top, water below it and solids on the
bottom.
This is due to the different densities of the mixture components.

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Figure 1

In Figure 1, a container holding a mixture of oil, water and solids

is allowed time to settle.

In the starting position, the liquids and

solids are well mixed up as shown in drawing A.

Over a period

of time the mixture will settle out with the oil on top, the water
below and the solids at the bottom as shown in drawing B.
The

time

that

this

settling

will

densities of the constituents.

take

depends

on

the

relative

If there is a large difference, then

the settling will take place at a faster rate than if there is a little
difference.
Continuous separation of the mixture can take place in a settling
tank having the outlets arranged at levels suited to the density or
density ratio of the two liquids.

An y solid and heavier particles in

the liquid mixture will settle and form a sediment layer on the tank
bottom as shown in Figure 2

DIRTY OIL IN

OIL/WATER INTERFACE

CLEAN OIL

C
B

OIL

W AT E R

WATER
AND
SLUDGE

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Figure 2

The tank is initially filled with water at A until it overflows at B.

The dirty oil is then supplied to the tank at position A.

By

adding this oil, some of the water already in the tank will be
displaced and leave at B.

The amount of water that is displaced

will depend upon the relative density of the oil.

The

relative

density

is

comparison

of

how

compared with the same amount of fresh water.

heavy

the

oil

is

A measure of the

relative density is normally termed the specific gravity.

For

example, the specific gravity of a marine diesel lubricating oil

would be around 0.9.
weighs

This means that the lubricating oil only

/ 10ths of the equi valent weight of wate r.

Any solids in the added oil will drop to the bottom of the tank.
Any water in the oil will drop below the oil/water interface.
This

additional

water

will

cause

an

equal

amount

of

water

to

discharge at B.
Added oil that has no water in it will displace an equal amount of
oil from the tank at C.

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It will be seen from the drawing that it is important that

the position of D is set so that the oil/water interface is
above it.

Otherwise the lubricating oil will leave the

tank from the water outlet port.

The water in the area

between D and B acts as a seal.

C B

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Figure 3
Figure 3 shows the same positions A, B, C and D as seen in Figure
2.

By using this shape and rotating it by 90 0 the position as

shown in Figure 4 can be seen.

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Figure 4
This position shows what the bowl looks like in the centrifugal oil
separator.

S E P AR A T I O N U S I N G C E N T R I F U G A L A C T I O N
If the bowl shown in Figure 4 was made to spin rapidly about its
center

position,

the

force

of

gravity

is

replaced

by centrifugal

force, which can be thousands of times greater.

Sedimentation and separation can be continuous and very fast.
When a mixture of solid particles and liquid are subjected to the
centrifugal force in the separator bowl, it will take only a few

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seconds to achieve what takes many hours in a settling tank under
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t h e i n f l u e n c e o f g r a v i t y.
TITLE:
Oil Purifier
Separators can be set up in two ways depending on the output
requirements.
operator

can

By
set

up

making
the

small

separator

adjustment
to

be

i n t e r n a l l y,

PURIFIER

the
or

CL ARIFIER .

PURIFIER
This set up is the most likely to be found in the engine room.
When the separator is set in this mode, there is one inlet and there
are two outlets from the machine.

Liquid to be processed

Oil outlet

Water outlet

PROCESS LIQUID INLET

OIL OUTLET
WATER OUTLET

OIL OUTLET
WATER OUTLET

PARING DISC
GRAVITY DISC
TOP DISC
DISTRIBUTOR
A
BOWL DISCS

INTERFACE B
LIQUID SEAL

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Figure 5
Figure 5 shows the separator in PURIFIER mode.

The process

liquid (oil/water/solid mixture) flows into the unit to the distributor

and then to the space between the bowl discs.
The water and any solids move towards the outside of the bowl
where the solids will settle on the bowl wall.

Water

will

leave

the

bowl

through

the

outlet

as

shown

drawing.

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Oil will move towards the bowl center and leave through the outlet
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as shown in the drawing
TITLE:
Oil Purifier
To p r e v e n t t h e o i l f r o m p a s s i n g t h e o u t e r e d g e A o f t h e t o p d i s c
and escaping the outer wa y with the wate r, a liquid seal must be
provided in the bowl.
To i n i t i a l l y

make

the

seal,

the

bowl

must

be

filled

with

water

through the process inlet line before the process liquid is supplied.
W hen the bo wl is full of wate r, an y e xtra will be seen lea ving
through the water outlet line.
When the water is shut off and the process liquid introduced, it will
displace some of the water and push it back towards the outer
edge of the bowl.
The

position

of

An interface will form at position B.

the

interface

diameter of the water outlet.

this.
thus

can

be

adjusted

by

altering

the

Altering the Gra vit y Disc does

Changes to the diameter of the hole in the Gravity Disc, and

the

interface,

are

made

according

to

the

relative

density

(specific gravity) of the process liquid.

Selection

of

the

Gravity

Disc

is

very

important

for

correctly

positioning the interface.

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Gravity Disc too small:
water will leave through the oil outlet
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line.
TITLE:
Oil Purifier
Gravity Disc too large:

oil will leave through the water outlet

line.

The gravity disc is selected according to the specific gravity of the

p ro c e s s li q ui d an d c a n b e as c e r ta i ne d b y us i n g th e N OM OGR AM S
supplied by the separator manufacturer.

0C1.0
950.95 0.90
90
80
70
60
50
40

0.85

39.5 41 43

45

48

0.80 0.75

51.5

54

mm

Figure 6

Fi gu r e 6 s h o ws an e xam p le o f a N OM OGR AM .

Example:

Oil Density = 0.91

S e p a r a t i n g Tem p e r a t u r e = 7 5 0 C

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r on p
a g lO
i nf ef i c ferro R
me f 0r e. 9s 1h e o
P O I : B y dE
gp
i ni en egr i n
r nC otuhres et o p l i n e a n d
g i lwPhuerri ef i ei tr i n t e r s e c t s w i t h a l i n e d r a w n f r o m t h e
TITLE:n o t i nO
750C position, it will be seen that the lines meet in
the area of 48.

A Gravity Disc with a hole diameter

of 48mm should be used.

Changing

to

gravity

disc

with

larger

hole

will

move

the

interface towards the bowl edge, whereas a disc with smaller hole
will position the interface closer to the bowl center.
It should now be understood that a high density of the process
liquid would position the interface nearer the bowl edge than a
l i q u i d w i t h a l o w d e n s i t y.
The

throughput

interface.

of

liquid

will

also

affect

the

position

of

the

The interface will be located closer to the bowl edge at

a high throughput than at a low one.

CL ARIFIER

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When the bo wl of the separator is assembled as a CL ARIFIER , the
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only difference is that the gravity disc has the smallest diameter
TITLE:
Oil Purifier
possible (Fig. 7).
This effectively shuts off the water outlet, so the only discharge is
for the oil.
PROCESS LIQUID
INLET
OIL OUTLET

OIL OUTLET

PARING DISC
GRAVITY DISC
TOP DISC
DISTRIBUTOR
BOWL DISCS

Figure 7

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The disadvantage of running the separator in this mode is that if
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the processed liquid contains an y wate r, it will not be separated
TITLE:
Oil Purifier
from the oil and will be carried over with it when it leaves the unit.
Only solids will be separated from the liquid in a bowl assembled
as a Clarifie r.

It is usual to find the separator set as a clarifier

only when it is running in series with a purifier.
The process liquid will first enter the Clarifier where
solids are removed and the outlet from this unit will
be used as the feed for the Purifier.

P AR I N G D I S C
The paring discs function is to discharge the purified oil under
pressure back to the selected system.
the impeller of a centrifugal pump.

In appearance it resembles

The disc is held stationary and

the rotating liquid from the bowl enters from the outside.

The

pressure in the liquid increases as it travels to the e ye of the disc.

The paring disc can, therefore, pump out all the liquid fed to the
paring disc chamber (see Figure 8)

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CLEAN OIL OUTLET FROM PURIFIER

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OIL/WATER/SOLIDS INLET TO PURIFIER

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Figure 8

Rotating liquid from the Paring Chamber forms a ring around the
Paring Disc.

The liquid enters the vanes of the disc, which

c h a n g e s t h e k i n e t i c e n e r g y o f t h e l i q u i d i n t o p r e s s u r e e n e r g y.

CLE ANING THE PURIFIER

The purifiers purpose is to separate oil, water and solids.

The oil

and water leave the unit through dedicated outlets; one for the
heavy phase (water) and one for the light phase (oil).

However,

the solids gather around the periphery of the bowl.

On small units, the unit must be dismantled so that the solids can
b e r e m o v e d b y c l e a n i n g m a n u a l l y.

The frequency of cleaning

depends upon the condition of the liquid being processed; if the oil
is dirty then the cleaning needs to be carried out more often than if
the oil is clean.
On larger units, the bowl is designed so that it can be cleaned of
solids without the need to dismantle it.
Figure 9 sho ws the construction and com ponents of an AL FA
L A VA L s e l f - s l u d g i n g ( c l e a n i n g ) p u r i f i e r .

Bowl Hood

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Bowl Body
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Sliding Bowl Bottom
TITLE:
Oil Purifier

Lower Paring Disc

Operating Slide

Operating Water

BOWL
HOOD

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BOWL
BODY

SPRING

SLIDING BOWL
LOWER
BOTTOM
PAR I N G D I S C

O P E R ATI N G
SLIDE

O P E R ATI N G
W AT E R

Figure 9

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NORM AL
O P E R AT I O N

R1
R2

R3

b
a

Figure 10

The sludge discharge takes place through a number of ports in the

wall of the bowl.

During normal operation these ports are covered

by a large valve slide (a).

S eRe4 F i g u r e 1 0 .

This Sliding Bowl

Bottom is held against a seal ( b) on the bowl hood allowing the

b u i l d u p o f s l u d g e o n t h e b o w l p e r i p h e r y.

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The Sliding Bowl Bottom is forced upward against the seal ring ( b)
by the operating water pressure acting on its underside.

During

rotation

of

of

the

bowl,

this

pressure

increases

because

the

centrifugal force imparted upon the water.

There is also pressure acting on the topside of the Sliding Bowl
Bottom due to the centrifugal force acting on the process liquid.
The upward force caused by the pressure acting on the underside
area of the Sliding Bowl Bottom is greater than the downward force
acting on the topside of the Sliding Bowl Bottom since there is a
larger surface area on the bottom (radius R1) than there is on the
top (radius R2).
The operating water supplied to the underside of the Sliding Bowl
Bottom passes through the Bottom Paring Disc. The Bottom Paring
Disc

maintains

constant

Operating

Water

pressure

due

to

centrifugal force acting on the water at a radius R3.

The Operating Water supplied to the purifier does not need to be
very high pressure, since the centrifugal force acting on it gives
the necessary pressure required to hold the Sliding Bowl Bottom
closed.
tank

This Operating Water supply is generally from a header

situated

between

0.5metres

and

1.2metres

above

the

Operating Water inlet to the purifier.

This feed of Operating Water is through the inner tube and is also
supplied during the discharge cycle, but has little effect at this
time.

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S LUD GE D IS CH AR G E

d
a
c
g

SPRINGS

Fi g u re 11
Sludging of the purifier bowl takes place at regular intervals.

The

length of time between sludges depends on the condition of the

liquid being processed.
Sludging can be carried out manually or automatically using a timer
control

circuit.

In

manual

operation,

the

operating

water

introduced by opening ball valves or cocks in the water line.

is
In

automatic mode, solenoid operated valves are opened and closed

by the control circuit.

R4

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B e f o r e s l u d g i n g i s c a r r i e d o u t , e i t h e r m a n u a l l y o r a u t o m a t i c a l l y,
the process liquid is stopped from entering the purifier by means of
a purifier by-pass valve.
Operating water at a high pressure is supplied through the outer,
wider tube so that it flows over the lower edge of the

paring

c ha mb e r ( r a di u s R 4 ) , s e e F i g u r e 11.
The water then continues through a channel out to the space above
the Operating Slide (c).
Under

normal

operation

of

the

purifier,

the

Operating

Slide

is

pressed upwards by the Springs.

The centrifugal force acting

on

the

water above

the

Operating

Slide creates sufficient pressure to push the Operating Slide down

against the Springs.
The Discharge Valves (d), holding the water in the space below the
Sliding Bowl Bottom, are opened so that the operating liquid in this
space flows out.
When the pressure exerted below the Sliding Bowl Bottom becomes
less than the pressure exerted above the Sliding Bowl Bottom due
to the centrifugal force acting on the process liquid in the bowl,
the Sliding Bowl Bottom is forced downwards.

See Figure 12.

The ports in the bowl periphery will open and the sludge will be
ejected.

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Figure 12
The operating liquid on the top of the Operating Slide (c) flows out
through a no zzle (g).

This no zzle is alwa ys open but is so small

that the flow through it can be ignored since the flow in to the
mechanism is so large.
W h e n t h e b o w l h a s e m p t i e d t h r o u g h t h e p o r t s i n t h e p e r i p h e r y.
The

operating

water

is

shut-off,

so

after

few

seconds,

the

Springs can push the Operating Slide upwards which will close the

c
d i s c h a r g e v a l v e s (gd ) f r o m t h e d i s c h a r g e s p a c e b e l o w t h e S l i d i n g
Bowl Bottom.

Operating liquid is once again supplied through the outer tube, but
only enough to flow to the space below the Sliding Bowl Bottom
(a), and force it upwards so that the bowl is closed.

See Figure

13.

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Figure 13

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When the bowl is closed, the operating water through the outer
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tube is closed off.
Operating water is supplied through the inner
TITLE:
Oil Purifier
tube to the paring disc device; this makes up any water loss and
balances the hydrostatic pressure of the operating water that is
supplied from the header tank

The discharge cycle is completed when the bowl is closed and the
operating water is being supplied through the inner tube.

See

Figure 14.
The unit is ready for the introduction of the sealing water and then
the process liquid.

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Figure 14

TO SLUDGE TANK

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