Cyclone Design Descriptions

Assume;

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚, 𝑄2 = 1000𝑚3 /ℎ

Assumptions was based on Mitsui Mining Company, which operating with 1000 m3/h
flue gas.

𝐼𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑉𝑖𝑛 = 10𝑚/𝑠

Inlet velocity ranged from 10 m/s to 20 m/s for single cyclone according to Coulson
Richardson’s Chemical Engineering Vol. 6 Chemical Engineering Design 4th Edition.
Assume minimum inlet velocity.

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝐷𝐶1 = 0.203 𝑚

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑄2 = 223 𝑚3 /ℎ
𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, ∆𝜌1 = 2000 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝜇1 = 0.018 𝑚 𝑁𝑠/𝑚3
The value was taken from Coulson Richardson’s Chemical Engineering Vol. 6 Chemical
Engineering Design 4th Edition, page 451.

𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛, ∆𝜌2 = 2300𝑘𝑔/𝑚3

𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛, 𝜇2 = 0.03 𝑚 𝑁𝑠/𝑚2
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠, 𝜌𝑔𝑎𝑠 = 0.8 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
The density difference, density of gas and viscosity was assumed based on example from
Design of Cyclone Separator to remove fly ash from flue gas from a power plant.

𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠

Size distribution was taken from example of particle distribution size from sawdust
manufacturing plant.

Mean Particle Size (μm) Weight Percent (%)

2 10

3 10

5 30

7 20

9 30
General Design Procedure

All the particles are below 10μm in size, therefore high efficiency cyclone is needed.

𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 = 𝐼𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
0.28𝑚3 /𝑠
= 10𝑚/𝑠
= 0.028 𝑚

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 = 0.5𝐷𝑐 × 0.1𝐷𝑐

= 0.1𝐷𝑐 2

0.1𝐷𝑐2 2 = 0.02 𝑚/𝑠 2

𝐷𝑐2 = 0.527 𝑚

𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝑑2 𝐷 3 𝑄 ∆𝜌 𝜇 1
= (𝐷𝐶2 × 𝑄1 × ∆𝜌1 × 𝜇2 )2
𝑑1 𝐶1 2 2 1

0.53 3 223 2000 0.03 1

=( × × × )2
0.203 1000 2300 0.018
= 1.43
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠

The cyclone ratio and dimension was referred to page 64, Guidance Document for Fuel
Burning Equipment and Air Pollution Control Systems, Department of Environment
Handbook.

Ratio Dimensions (in m)

𝐷𝑐 1.0 0.5
Cyclone Body (Barrel), 𝐷𝑐
𝑊 0.2 0.1
Width of Inlet,
𝐷𝑐

𝐻 0.5 0.3
Height of Inlet, 𝐷𝑐
𝐷𝑒 0.5 0.3
Diameter of Gas Exit, 𝐷𝑐

𝑆 0.5 0.3
Length of Vortex Finder, 𝐷𝑐

𝐿𝑏 1.5 0.8
Length of Body, 𝐷𝑐

𝐿𝑐 2.5 1.3
Length of Cone, 𝐷𝑐

𝐷𝑑 0.375 0.2
Diameter of Dust Outlet, 𝐷𝑐
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒

Coulson Richardson’s Chemical Engineering Vol. 6 Chemical Engineering Design 4th Edition, page 456.

Mean Weight 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒 Efficiency at Collected Particles Grading at Percent at
Partcicle Size Percent (%) 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 scaled size % Exit Exit
(μm) (from
Performance 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 × 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
Curves and 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑠 % 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡
Standard 100 − 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
Conditions of 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦
High Efficiency
Cyclone graph)

2 10 1.4 63 6.3 4 20.4

3 10 2.1 70 7 3 16.6

5 30 3.5 80 24 6 33.1

7 20 4.9 88 17.6 2 13.3

9 30 6.3 90 27 3 16.6

Total Collection 81.9 18 100.0

Efficiency

𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 82%

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠

𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑎𝑠, 𝑓𝑐 = 0.005

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 = 𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 × 𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡

= 0.1 × 0.3
= 0.03 𝑚2

𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝜋(𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦) ×

(𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 + 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒)
= 𝜋(0.5) × (0.8 + 1.3)
= 3.49 𝑚2

𝑓𝑐×𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒

𝜑 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡
0.005×2.095
= 0.017
= 0.63

𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡
𝒓𝒕 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦−( )
2
𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜, 𝒓𝒆 = 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡
0.1
0.5−( )
2
= 0.3

= 1.5

𝐶𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, ∅ = 0.9

(from cyclone pressure drop factor graph)

𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒

𝐼𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑢1 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡
0.28𝑚3 /𝑠
= 0.03𝑚2
= 10 𝑚/𝑠

𝜋×𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 2

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒 = 4
𝜋×0.32
= 4
= 0.05𝑚2

𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒

𝐼𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑢2 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒
0.28𝑚3 /𝑠
= 0.05𝑚2
= 5.09 𝑚/𝑠
 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 2𝑟
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝, ∆𝑃 = {𝑢1 2 [1 + 2∅2 ( 𝑟 𝑡 −
203 𝑒
2
1)] + 2𝑢2 }

0.8 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
= {10𝑚/𝑠 2 [1 + 2(0.9)2 (2 ×
203
1.5 − 1)] + 2(5.09)2 }
= 1.88 milibar
= 18.75 mm H2O
The pressure drop looks reasonable, therefore the proposed cyclone design can be
accepted.

Final Cyclone Design

Parameter (in m)

Cyclone Body (Barrel), Dc 0.5

Width of Inlet, W 0.1

Height of Inlet, H 0.3

Diameter of Gas Exit, De 0.3

Length of Vortex Finder, S 0.3

Length of Body, Lb 0.8

Length of Cone, Lc 1.3

Diameter of Dust Outlet, Dd 0.2