Continuous Sugar Centrifugal Machine | Solving Problems with Rapid Screen Wear

Client: British Sugar
Application: Improving sugar centrifugal screen life
Industry: Sugar

Screen life in continuous sugar centrifugal machines can vary dramatically from mill to mill due to differences in feed material, growing conditions, and process chemistry. In the cane sugar industry, harsh “C massecuite” conditions often drive high wear. Even in the beet sugar sector, where screen life is normally much longer, extreme wear can still occur.

ActionLaser worked with British Sugar on a solution that;

• Extends screen life from weeks to months
• Cuts labour and replacement cost dramatically
• Prevents slot enlargement and purity loss
• Improves operational stability
• Effective even when wear root-cause is unclear
• Resulted in long-term customer adoption

British Sugar experienced exactly this problem in its low raw fugal station, where chrome-nickel screens lasted only one week in Pieralisa centrifuges and two weeks in Buckau-Wolf machines. By comparison, their Broadbent machines were achieving around seven to eight weeks, making the short life in the former centrifugal’s a major cost and reliability issue.

British Sugar trialled ActionLaser’s laser-drilled centrifugal screens, expecting improved wear resistance and reduced slot enlargement over time. The screens were installed and immediately delivered a step-change in performance, operating for months without replacement in both high-wear machine types.

The benefits were significant and ongoing. Longer screen life reduced replacement frequency, labour demand, and unplanned disruptions. Just as importantly, it prevented rapid slot enlargement that can drive purity loss and reduce centrifugal performance. The result was lower operating cost, improved stability, and sustained performance in applications previously defined by extreme wear.

The performance gains came from controlling wear at the point where conventional screens fail. Laser-drilled stainless steel construction prevented slot growth under abrasive, high-speed centrifugal conditions.

By holding aperture geometry stable, screen life extended from weeks to months on Pieralisa and Buckau-Wolf machines. This eliminated frequent change-outs and sharply reduced labour and consumable costs.

Stable slots preserved separation performance, avoiding purity loss caused by wear-driven aperture enlargement. With fewer failures, centrifugal stations operated more predictably and with less unplanned downtime.

The solution proved durable in real production environments. While the original root cause of the chrome nickel wear was never fully identified, the operational outcome was clear: British Sugar never returned to chrome nickel screens in those centrifugals, and has continued using ActionLaser screens for over 20 years.