Centrifuges, sometimes called separators, are used to separate two components, one a liquid, that are mixed together by centrifugal force. One familiar example is the spin cycle on a washing machine that forces much of the water out of a load of wash.

Centrifuges may be designed for continuous flow or batch operation.

Batch centrifuges consist of a mesh or perforated basket mounted on a drive motor and contained in a housing. Product such as a fruit pulp is placed in the basket and spun. Juice is expelled through the mesh and collected in the housing. Pulp remains in the basket and is removed at the end of the cycle.

Batch centrifuges are simple and work well with limited production runs. Larger and especially continuous, production runs need a continuous centrifuge.

One type of continuous centrifuge for separating juice and pulp uses a perforated spinning tube. The juice/pulp mixture is pumped into the bottom of the tube at a steady flow rate. Juice is forced out through the perforations while the pulp remains inside. The dried pulp is force out of a discharge at the top of the tube by the continual inflow at the bottom. Scrapers and baffles may be used to direct the pulp to the discharge to prevent clogging of the perforations.