A centrifugal separator has a separation chamber housing split into mating, unhinged clamshell sections. One clamshell section includes a pipe extending through the other clamshell section. The separation chamber rotates about the axis of the pipe. A spring secured to the frame of the separator surrounds the pipe, bearing against the second aforementioned clamshell section. This spring yieldingly opposes separation. The pipe and axis of rotation are oriented vertically. The pipe is divided into an upper inlet section and a lower outlet section by a flange or baffle. In alternative embodiments, the inlet pipe is fixed to different components, namely, one clamshell section, the other clamshell section, or to the frame of the machine. A slurry is introduced into the pipe inlet section, falls due to gravity, strikes the baffle, and exits the pipe through holes formed in the wall. The baffle redirects incoming slurry radially, so that when the separator is operated, centrifugal forces immediately act thereon. The denser component of the slurry is slung outwardly, eventually wedging the two clamshell sections apart, and thus forming a gap. This denser component is ejected through the gap into a shroud. The other component of the slurry is forced radially inwardly, and can escape only through the outlet. The outlet is substantially a mirror image of the inlet, having holes enabling the second component to enter the outlet. The second material then falls downwardly due to gravity, and is discharged through the outlet portion of the pipe.