Comparing centrifuge total cost of ownership

What matters in the process

Include the complete package boundary: pumps, conditioning, conveyors, platforms, controls and civil work where relevant. Normalize operating costs to a useful production basis such as tonne of dry solids processed or tonne of acceptable product. Installed motor power is not the same as measured energy consumption, and a lower chemical dose is not automatically cheaper if solids capture falls.

A practical example

An illustrative option costing more initially could reduce wet-cake transport or product loss enough to justify the difference. Conversely, an apparent utility saving can disappear if cloth replacement, cleaning time or repair access is poor. Test the conclusion against realistic operating hours and a range of disposal or product-value assumptions.

What to check or specify

• Use equal capacity, recovery and quality requirements.
• Separate capital, routine operating and downtime costs.
• Use measured or clearly labelled assumed inputs.
• Run sensitivity checks on the largest cost drivers.

Turn the result into a decision

Request a transparent model with assumptions that can be replaced by actual site data. Do not publish a universal savings percentage for a centrifuge family. The right economic result depends on the material, local costs, operating pattern and the agreed maintenance strategy.