Experimental study on the separation performance of an enhanced cyclone with shunt device

Abstract

To expand the application field of the cyclone, an enhanced cyclone with shunt device (ECSD) is proposed to continuously remove coarse particles from the air. To study the performance of the ECSD, an experimental bench was set up, and a series of analyses were carried out using silica particles, talc powder and light calcium powder to simulate particles in air. The effects of the split flow rate, particles (feed concentration and physical properties), feed flow rate and feed static pressure on the separation performance were investigated. The experimental results show that the separation efficiency of the ECSD is higher than that of a traditional cyclone, and continuous particle separation can be realized. With the split flow rate increasing from 0 m3/h to 5.2 m3/h, the total separation efficiency and reduced separation efficiency increase by 53% and 37%, respectively. However, the split flow rate of this model should be controlled within 5.2 m3/h (split ratio 45%); otherwise, the separation efficiency could not be effectively improved and the energy consumption would increase. The cut-off sizes for talc powder, light calcium powder and silica particle are approximately 3.6 μm, 3.8 μm and 5 μm, respectively. For particles with sizes less than 1 μm, the separation efficiency of the ECSD can still exceed 25%. Note that the ECSD has great potential to apply to the field where particulate matter needs to be removed.