This graphic explains how high-tech centrifuges -- such as the ones developed by Ocean Therapy Solutions, the company funded by actor Kevin Costner -- can be used to separate oil from water. With these devices, the oil-water mixture enters through one of two inlets. The mixture is forced into an inner chamber, where it's spun around at high speed. Heavier water ends up at the outside of the chamber, while lighter oil gravitates to the inside. The oil then exits the centrifuge into a containment tank, while the water can be released into the ocean. British Petroleum intends to buy 32 centrifuge machines from Ocean Therapy Solutions to help clean up of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.