How a heavy oil purifier work?

Heavy oil purifiers are essentially centrifuges. Oil will enter a spinning bowl from the top or bottom; as the bowl spins (usually several thousand rpm) sediment, water, etc. will move to the outside. This sludge is referred to as the "heavy" phase. As the heavy phase moves outward, the oil itself stays in the center. Pure oil is called the "light" phase. The point where the two contact each other is called the "interface". The heavy phase and the light phase will discharge from the purifier to their own separate reservoirs or systems. One side note: there are clarifiers, and conditioners. Clarifiers remove ONLY solid contaminants from the oil (not water!), while conditioners will remove BOTH solids and water. Hope this answers your question well enough. If you want to learn more, I would see what information you can find from either Westfalia or Alfa Laval. ~M~