Republic of Iraq

Ministry of Higher Education & scientific Research

University Of Baghdad

AL-Khwarizmi College of Engineering

Biochemical Engineering Department

Cyclone separator

Report submitted by
Hajir saleh jabar
4 th stage

Supervise by
Dr.Sami Al-Bayati

2020/7/7
Abstract
Cyclone is the most commonly used device to separate dust particles from gas and dust flow.
The performance of cyclone separator can be measured in terms of collection efficiency and
pressure drop. Parameters like Inlet Flow velocity, the particle size distribution in feed,
dimensions of inlet and outlet ducts and cyclone affects the performance of cyclone
significantly(1). Advanced design work has greatly improved cyclone performance(4).Various
Mathematical models used for calculation of cut off diameter of separator, flow rate, target
efficiency and no. of vortex inside the cyclone to design and study to check the performance of
existing cyclone separator(1) .The new theoretical analysis of cyclone pressure drop was tested
against measured data at different inlet velocities and gave excellent agreement. The results show
that cyclone pressure drop varies with the inlet velocity, but not with cyclone diameter.(5)

Introduction
Chemical processes consist of reaction stages and/or separation stages in which the process
streams are separated and purified. Such separations involve physical principles based on
differences in the properties of the constituents in the stream. Heterogeneous mixtures consist of
two or more phases which have different composition. These mixtures consist of components
that do not react chemically and have clearly visible boundaries of separation between the
different phases(5). Cyclones separators are the most widely used for air pollution reducted
devices in industries or agricultural processing , without the use of filters The cyclone separator
is a highly effective and strong equipment due to the absence of moving parts, so that it can be
operated in any environments(6). Components of such mixture can be separated using one or
more appropriate techniques. These separation processes includes Gas-Liquid (vapor-liquid)
separation, Gas-Solid separation (vapor-solid), Liquid-Liquid separation (immiscible), Liquid
Solid, and Solid-Solid separation etc. This separation can be done by exploiting the differences
in density between the phases. Gravitational force or centrifugal force can be used to enhance the
separation. The separation units can be either horizontal or vertical. The main techniques used to
separate the phases, and the components within the phases, are discussed in details(5).

The principle methods for the separation of such mixtures could be classified as:

1. Cyclone separator. 2. Gas-Liquid separator. 3. Liquid-Liquid separator.

4. Gravity separator . 5. Centrifugal separator. 6. High speed tubular centrifuge.

7. Scrubbers 8. Electrostatic precipitator. 9. Hydro cyclone.

Cyclone separator
Cyclonic separation is a method of removing particulates from an air, gas or liquid stream,
without the use of filters, through vortex separation. When removing particulate matter from
liquid, a hydro cyclone is used; while from gas, a gas cyclone is used. Rotational effects
and gravity are used to separate mixtures of solids and fluids. The method can also be used to
separate fine droplets of liquid from a gaseous stream(7). Cyclones are somewhat more
complicated in design than simple gravity settling systems, and their removal efficiency is much
better than that of settling chamber. Cyclones are basically centrifugal separators, consists of an
upper cylindrical part referred to as the barrel and a lower conical part referred to as
cone(figure1) .They simply transform the inertia force of gas particle flows to a centrifugal force
by means of a vortex generated in the cyclone body (5).

Figure 1

cyclone separators advantages compared with the other devices, are : (6)

 Capital investment and maintenance cost is low.

 No moving parts. Very strong.
 The particles are separated remains dry and can be used again.
 Very compact to be operated.
 Can be formed from a variety of materials needed or suitable such as : casting metals,
plate steel, aluminum , alloys, ceramics, plastics, etc.
 Can be equipped with coating material to resist corrosion and erosion such as Teflon.
 With appropriate design can separate either liquid particulates , solid particulates or even
both in combination.
Some disadvantages of cyclones are : (2)

 Low efficiency for particle sizes below their „cut-off diameter when operated under low
solids-loading conditions.
 Usually higher pressure loss than other separator types, including bag filters and low
pressure drop scrubbers.
 Subject to erosive wear and fouling if solids being processed are abrasive or „sticky.
 Can operate below expectations if not designed and operated properly.
 Although this problem, as well as the erosion and fouling problem mentioned above, is
not unique to cyclones.

Types of Cyclone
Three different types of cyclone are shown in figure 2. First figure ( 2a) shows a cyclone with a
tangential entry. Figure( 2b) shows the axial entry cyclones the gas enter parallel to the axis of
the cyclone body. Another type of larger cyclonic separator shown in figure( 2c) is often used
after wet scrubbers to trap particulate matter entrained in water droplets In this type, the air
enters tangentially at the bottom, forming vertex. (5)

Figure 2
Cyclone Designs
The basic shape and function of cyclones has not changed much in over 100 years (2). Cyclone
separators provide a method of removing particulate matter from air streams at low cost and low
maintenance. In general, a cyclone consists of an upper cylindrical part referred to as the barrel
and a lower conical part referred to as cone (see figure 3). The air stream enters tangentially at
the top of the barrel and travels downward into the cone forming an outer vortex. The increasing
air velocity in the outer vortex results in a centrifugal force on the particles separating them from
the air stream. When the air reaches the bottom of the cone, an inner vortex is created reversing
direction and exiting out the top as clean air while the particulates fall into the dust collection
chamber attached to the bottom of the cyclone (3). Centrifugal collectors and Cyclone separators
are used in the following industries: wood products, rock products, metal working, combustion
fly ash, chemical, plastic industry, coal mining and handling, metal melting and metal mining.
Usually cyclone separators are uses for the collection of sanding, blending, mixing, grading, for
particle collections, crushing, materials handling dust, conveying, buffing, machining(1).

Figure 3:Schematic flow diagram of a cyclone.

In the agricultural processing industry, 2D2D and 1D3D cyclone designs are the most
commonly used abatement devices for particulate matter control. The D‟s in the 2D2D
designation refer to the barrel diameter of the cyclone. A 2D2D cyclone has barrel and cone
lengths of two times the barrel diameter, whereas the 1D3D cyclone has a barrel length equal to
the barrel diameter and a cone length of three times the barrel diameter (2). The configurations of
these two cyclone designs are shown in figure 4. (3)
Figure 4: 1D3D and 2D2D cyclone configurations.

Previous research (Wang, 2000) indicated that, compared to other cyclone designs, 1D3D and
2D2D are the most efficient cyclone collectors for fine dust (particle diameters less than 100
µm).(3)

Simpson and Parnell (1995) introduced a new low-pressure cyclone, called the 1D2D cyclone,
for the cotton ginning industry to solve the cycling-lint problem. The 1D2D cyclone is a better
design for high-lint content trash compared with 1D3D and 2D2D cyclones (Wang et al., 1999).
(5)

Figure 5

Cyclones by themselves are generally not adequate to meet stringent air pollution regulations,
but they serve an important purpose. Their low capital cost and their maintenance-free operation
make them ideal for use as pre-cleaners for more expensive final control devices such as
baghouses or electrostatic precipitators. In addition to use for pollution control, cyclones are used
extensively in process industries. For example, they are used for recovering and recycling certain
catalysts in petroleum refineries, for recovering freeze-dried coffee in food processing plants,
and for capturing saw dust in a lumber shop (8).

Similarly, cyclone efficiency will decrease with increases in the parameters such as gas viscosity;
cyclone body diameter; gas exit diameter; gas inlet duct area; gas density; leakage of air into the
dust outlet. The efficiency of a cyclone collector is related to the pressure drop across the
collector. This is an indirect measure of the energy required to move the gas through the system.
The pressure drop is a function of the inlet velocity and cyclone diameter. Form the above
discussion it is clear that small cyclones are more efficient than large cyclones(5).

Also there is a classical cyclone design , In order to use the CCD process, it is assumed that the
design engineer will have knowledge of (1) flow conditions, (2) particulate matter (PM)
concentrations and particle size distribution (PSD) and (3) the type of cyclone to be designed
(high efficiency, conventional, or high throughput) (3).

The cyclone design procedure outlined in Cooper and Alley (1994), hereafter referred to as the
classical cyclone design (CCD) process, was developed by Lapple in the early 1950s. The CCD
process (the Lapple model) is perceived as a standard method and has been considered by some
engineers to be acceptable. However, there are several problems associated with this design
procedure. First of all, the CCD process does not consider the cyclone inlet velocity in
developing cyclone dimensions. It was reported (Parnell, 1996) that there is an “ideal” inlet
velocity for the different cyclone designs for optimum cyclone performance. Secondly, the CCD
does not predict the correct number of turns for different type cyclones. The overall efficiency
predicted by the CCD process 5 is incorrect because of the inaccurate fractional efficiency curve
generated by the CCD process (Kaspar et al. 1993).(3)

Velocity distribution inside the cyclone (9):

 Axial velocity
 Radial velocity
 Tangential velocity

Figure 6* :Typical axial velocity profile (a) V pattern and (b) W pattern (Adapted from Harasek
et al. 2008).
Figure 6**a) Contours of radial velocity at a vertical plane (b) Contours of radial velocity at
horizontal cut off section B-B and C-C (c) radial velocity profile at section D-D.

Figure6***a) Contours of tangential velocity at a vertical plane (b) Horizontal cut off section at
Line B-B (c) Example of comparison of numerical and experimental results for tangential
velocities (Adapted from Wang et al., 2006).

Cyclone Separator Costs:

Equipment cost depends on performance requirements, construction materials, special features
and accessories needed for the application. In general, a single, large cyclone designed for a
particular level of performance is less expensive than two or more smaller units operating in
series or parallel providing the same efficiencies and pressure drops (2).

Application of cyclone : Today, cyclone separators are found in (2) :

• Ship unloading installations . • Power stations.

• Spray dryers . • Fluidized bed and reactor riser systems.

• Synthetic detergent production units . • Food processing plants .

• Crushing, separation, grinding. • Chemical industries .

• Fossil and wood-waste fired combustion units vacuum cleaning machines.

• Dust sampling equipment.

Standard Cyclone Dimensions
Extensive work has been done to determine in what manner dimensions of cyclones affect
performance. In some classic work that is still used today, Shepherd and Lapple (1939, 1940)
determined “optimal” dimensions for cyclones. Subsequent investigators reported similar work,
and the so-called “standard” cyclones were born. All dimensions are related to the body diameter
of the cyclone so that the results can be applied generally . The table below summarizes the
dimensions of standard cyclones. (5)

Table 1

The classical cyclone design process is as follows(3):

The Number of Effective Turns (Ne)

Based on equation , the predicted numbers of turns for 3 cyclone designs were calculated and
listed in the table 2

Cut-Point (d50)

Fractional Efficiency Curve (FEC - ηj)

Overall Efficiency (ηo) The overall collection efficiency of a cyclone is the weighted average of
the collection efficiencies for the various size ranges. It is given by:

Table 3 lists cyclone overall efficiencies predicted by the Lapple model and experimentally
measured by Wang et al. (2000)

Pressure Drop (∆P)

References
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