Minerals Engineering 20 (2007) 355–360

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Volume split control of a hydrocyclone group

a,* b,1 b
T. Neesse , H. Tiefel , P. Kaniut
a
Department of Environmental Process Engineering and Recycling, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Paul Gordan Str.3,
D-91052 Erlangen, Germany
b
AKW A+V GmbH, Hirschau, Georg-Schiffer-Strasse 70, 92242 Hirschau, Germany

Received 1 August 2006; accepted 13 December 2006

Available online 5 February 2007

Abstract

Experience obtained with a new hydrocyclone control system is reported. As command variable of the control serves an optical sensor
detecting the underflow shape (rope or spray). These signals are transmitted to the computer and the control loop is completed with the
pump power input, pressure in the feed and in the overflow. A volume split control of the hydrocyclone is performed by regulation of the
overflow using a control valve. Groups of hydrocyclones can be controlled by installing only one control valve in a collecting pipe of all
overflows. This control system stabilizes the separation at the transition point between spray and rope discharge at the cyclone underflow
which in most cases is the operational optimum. One of the first applications was the regeneration of bentonite suspensions in tunnel
driving. Since excavation of the material is discontinuous the solids content of the hydrocyclone feed varies over a wide range. By con-
trolling the 150 mm hydrocyclone group it was possible to compensate for feed fluctuations and to stabilize the separation.
Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Hydrocyclones; Process control; Process instrumentation; Process optimization

1. Introduction throughput and the relatively low capital, operating and

maintenance costs. Since it has no moving parts it is truly
The hydrocyclone is a favored classifying device for sol- a static system.
ids separation, where cut-sizes (d50C) are between 10 and However, the major disadvantages of the hydrocy-
100 l. It finds application not only in mineral processing, clone are problems associated with varying feed condi-
but also to a growing extent in environmental technology tions. Uniform feed properties are a precondition for
(Puget et al., 2004) and biotechnology (Ahmed, 2005). In high separation efficiency of hydrocyclones. Varying feed
oil industry hydrocyclones operate very efficiently as conditions may lead to considerable fluctuations of cut-
liquid–liquid separators (Wengeler et al., 2006). There are size and separation sharpness. Therefore, much effort
also applications of cyclones to multi-phase ternary and has been undertaken recently to compensate these diffi-
quaternary systems involving liquids, solids, vapors and culties by hydrocyclone control. Various methods and
gases (Madge et al., 2004). equipment have been employed in the intention to con-
The advantages of the hydrocyclone include its struc- trol the volume split of the hydrocyclone (Martin,
tural simplicity, ease of operation, high volumetric 1978). These devices include collapsible tubing of resilient
material, flap valves and counterbalanced piping applied
*
to the apex of the hydrocyclone. Use of such devices at
Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 9131/85 23 200; fax: +49 9131/85 23 the underflow has resulted in increasing maintenance and
178.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (T. Neesse),
chocking or plugging. As alternative one may control the
[email protected] (H. Tiefel). separation by manipulating the feed side. Then, the feed
1
Tel.: +49 9622 18 331; fax: +49 9622 18 376. solids content is controlled by water addition (Walters

0892-6875/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2006.12.004
356 T. Neesse et al. / Minerals Engineering 20 (2007) 355–360

and Placha, 2002). This leads to an increased hydrocy- 3. Hydrocyclone monitoring

clone feed rate. Consequently, water addition must be
combined with speed control of the feeding pump and/ Hydrocyclone monitoring includes methods and
or the automatic switch on of additional hydrocyclones. devices which enable save operation and/or process con-
This method is often applied for hydrocyclones in closed trol. Special means have been developed for the identifica-
circuit grinding (Rajamani and Herbst, 1991). However, tion of wear and clogging in the underflow (Hartmann,
the varying feed rate is a disadvantage in the processes 2000).
downstream. A new concept has been developed by To serve as a command variable of process control, a
Neesse et al. (2003a), where the volume split control is monitored parameter of the hydrocyclone performance
performed by the regulation of the hydrocyclone over- has to fulfill the following parameters:
flow using a control valve. The overflow side presents
the following advantages: better accessibility compared 1. sensitivity;
to the underflow and lower wear due to fine particles 2. non-invasive sensing;
in the suspension. Furthermore, a hydrocyclone group 3. on-line sensing with a sampling time <1 s;
can be controlled by installing only one control valve 4. robust sensor that is insensitive to blinding and mechan-
in a collecting pipe of all overflows. Using this system, ical stress;
the operating state of the hydrocyclone can be stabilized 5. cost effective instrumentation.
or optimized by the automatic actuation of final control
elements regulating the volume split and the feed pump The detection of the overflow quality is often applied.
speed. This contribution presents first experiences and The state of the art offers the following measurements:
summarizes results of this hydrocyclone control and
optimization. – Density or solids content in the hydrocyclone overflow
(Casali et al., 1998).
2. Control concept – Viscosity in the hydrocyclone overflow (Kawatra et al.,
1996).
An important function of a process control system in a – Particle size in the hydrocyclone overflow (Coghill et al.,
hydrocyclone plant is stabilization of the cut-size or slurry 2002).
density in the overflow for a feed with varying solids con-
tents and particle size distributions. Depending on feed These signals can serve as basis for the process control if
conditions various process states may be observed. empirical models are elaborated which deliver dependen-
In dilute flow separation with a typical spray discharge, cies with the result of the separation (Rajamani and
a widening air core spreading to the underflow can be Herbst, 1991; Karr and Weck, 1996).
observed. The resultant separation may present a high sol- An alternative is the measurement of the process state of
ids recovery to the underflow, which may be regarded as an the hydrocyclone. These signals deliver the following
advantage, but at low solids concentrations this may result measurements:
in more fines being misdirected to the underflow.
In dense flow separation (high percentage feed solids – Shape of the underflow discharge (Redikultsev et al.,
content) sediment may hold up dynamically in the conical 1991; Petersen et al., 1996; Hubert, 1991).
part of the hydrocyclone. Then, coarse particles may move – Geometry and movement of the air core (Williams et al.,
too much towards the overflow thereby reducing solids 1995; Podd et al., 2000).
recovery to the underflow. It may also happen that the – Vibration of the apparatus (Hou et al., 1998).
air core does not extend over the complete hydrocyclone
length and oscillates intensively or be otherwise unstable. Different monitoring methods have been tested and eval-
The underflow shape is determined by the suspension rhe- uated by Neesse et al. (2004a):
ology. At high dynamic viscosity the free vortex collapses
and the underflow discharge may assume the shape of a – Capacitance sensor for direct spray discharge detection.
rope. This behavior is influenced by particle size and shape – Gravitational method applying a weighing procedure of
distribution as well as by surface conditions and swelling the hydrocyclone filling.
properties of the solid phase. For a given solid phase the – Vibration measurement.
dynamic viscosity is dependent on the solids content. – Optical detection of the shape of the underflow using an
Rope discharge is characterized by high solids content IR-beam.
with less fines. Although it is not often the case, this situa-
tion might be considered advantageous. Up to now, the best results in our hydrocyclone control
A transition state between spray and rope discharge may were obtained using optical detection of the shape of the
show the advantages of high solids recovery as well as high underflow.
solids content in the underflow. This is the objective of the This optical monitoring has the advantage of providing
subject control system. an indirect, non-invasive method.
 T. Neesse et al. / Minerals Engineering 20 (2007) 355–360 357

3.1. Control schema The overflows of all hydrocyclones are collected in a

special pressure chamber where a collecting discharge pipe
The schema for the process control is shown in Fig. 1. with a control valve is installed (see Fig. 3).
The controlled hydrocyclone group consists of a number For high solids content (rope discharge) the system is
of single hydrocyclones being connected in parallel in a controlled by adjusting the throttle valve and the feed
round battery or cyclopac of special design as shown pump speed. The control mechanism actuated by stepwise
in in Fig. 2. The sensor detecting the underflow shape throttling intensifies the pressure inside the hydrocyclone.
(rope or spray) is active at only one of the hydrocy- Consequently, the underflow discharge increases until the
clones. Further sensors are installed at one/two hydrocy- point of breakthrough of the air core is reached.
clones which are automatically activated if disturbances Then, the sensor detects spray and opens the control valve
at the active hydrocyclone are detected. These signals resulting in again more sediment being discharged (rope
are transmitted to the computer and the control loop is
completed with the pump power input, pressure in the
feed and in the overflow. Pressure monitoring is neces-
sary for preventing a maximal value at the overflow
being exceeded.

Fig. 2. Round battery of 150 mm hydrocyclones with special overflow

Fig. 1. Hydrocyclone control using overflow throttling. design.

Fig. 3. Pressure chamber for the overflows and collecting discharge pipe.
358 T. Neesse et al. / Minerals Engineering 20 (2007) 355–360

Rope Transitional state Spray

Lateral Quick change Spray with
deflection of rope / spray small
the rope discharge
angle

Fig. 4. Discharge types of the hydrocyclone underflow.

4. Application

4.1. Hydrocyclone separation in tunnel driving

The control concept was initially applied in bentonite

regeneration for tunnel driving (Neesse et al., 2003b).
Suspensions containing swelling bentonite are used in
hydro-shield tunneling to support the face and remove
the cuttings. The follow-up separation plant has the task
of separating the excavated material so that the bentonite
can be regenerated for further use. A new separation tech-
nology was developed and successfully introduced for driv-
ing the Westershelde Tunnel in the Netherlands. The
plant’s flow sheet is shown in Fig. 6. The suspension con-
taining the excavated fines is transported to the head of
the separation plant by hydraulic means and distributed
on to two parallel operating sections. A special bar sizer

Feed

Bar Sizer
> 100 mm

> 4 mm Rigid screen deck combi

Flip-flop screen deck screen

Fig. 5. Optical sensor of the hydrocyclone. < 30 µm

< 4 mm

discharge). In the following, a new control interval starts.

Thus, the process steadily changes between spray and rope Dewatering Process controlled
screen 150 mm-hydrocyclone
discharge. Actually, this transitional state is an unstable
operating point. However, using fuzzy logic enables the > 30 µm < 30 µm
stabilization of the separation in the transitional range.
As can be seen from Fig. 4, even several transitional states 45 mm-hydrocyclone
> 10 µm
can be differentiated – closer to rope or closer to spray. As
can be seen from Fig. 5 the sensor for detecting the transi- < 10 µm
tional state can be installed at a certain distance from the
Regenerated bentonite suspension
splashing cyclone discharge. Blinding of the optics is pre-
vented by installing a ventilated protecting tube. Fig. 6. Flow sheet for the Westershelde separation plant.
 T. Neesse et al. / Minerals Engineering 20 (2007) 355–360 359

was devised combining feed distribution and the oversize Cs,u. The product of both quantities, taken as an optimal
elimination for material of size >100 mm. The sieves, which criterion (Neesse et al., 2004b) presents a marked maxi-
separate at about 4 mm, must have a high undersize capac- mum at the transition point shown in Fig. 7.
ity to cope with temporary overloading. In addition, high The subsequent classification of the 150 mm hydrocy-
self-cleaning forces should act to prevent blockages caused clones overflow (see Fig. 6) is switched on only for the
by clay chips. These demands are best fulfilled by a combi- treatment of clay-rich sections of the tunneling.
nation-sieve consisting of a first linearly vibrating deck and
subsequently, a flexible deck with high self-cleaning capac- 5. Conclusions
ity. The screen underflow is pumped to the hydrocyclone
plant. Because of the discontinuous excavation of the mate- The volume split control of hydrocyclones by overflow
rial, the solids content of the hydrocyclone feed varies in a throttling is characterised by some remarkable improve-
wide range between 50 and 500 g/l. These fluctuations have ments. Every control should not affect the operation and
been compensated by using two-stage hydrocyclone plants maintenance of the apparatus. Therefore, any manipula-
(e.g. 500-mm hydrocyclones in the first stage and 150-mm tion at the cyclone itself was avoided. As command vari-
hydrocyclones in the second one). The single-stage opera- able serves the angle of the spray discharge in the
tion of a controlled 150-mm hydrocyclone plant is the underflow which is detected by an infrared beam. The sen-
available alternative. It was possible to attain the same sep- sor is installed at about one meter distance from a splash-
aration effect with the controlled single-stage hydrocyclone ing cyclone discharge. The sensor delivers a yes/no – signal
plant as with the two-stage plant. of a selected spray angle. Changing this angle by an appro-
High solids contents >1000 g/l in the hydrocyclone priate adjustment of the beam enables the variation of the
underflow were measured. Consequently, the succeeding cut-size within certain limits. A control device at the over-
dewatering screen functioned properly to produce a mate- flow implements advantages compared with measures at
rial capable of being conveyed on belt. The beneficial effect the underflow or the feed side regarding accessibility, wear
of the volume split control using the overflow throttling is of the control valve and a combined throttling of a cyclone
presented in Table 1. group. Hence, even small diameter cyclones – assemblies
The solids recovery Rm,G in the underflow increases con- can be controlled effectively. The control valve is installed
tinuously with the overflow pressure. Further, the forced in the collecting pipe behind the cyclone or the cyclone
rope discharge still shows relatively high solids contents group. Danger of blocking at the underflow even at high
solids contents is avoided because throttling of the over-
flow leads to increased pressure at the apex and accelerates
Table 1 the underflow. Thus, this control is connected with an
Control of a 150 mm hydrocyclone (Di = 50 mm, DO = 72 mm, DU = increase of the discharge capacity at the apex enabling
29 mm) with a feed solids concentration of 550 g/l (<2 mm) the combination of two hydrocyclone stages. A special pro-
Feed pump Counterpressure in the Split, Solids recovery in gress presents the control concept by operating the cyclone
speed min 1 overflow, p1 (bar), VO/V the underflow (t/h) at the optimal operational point. Usually this is the transi-
throttling (%) tional point between spray and rope discharge. Optimiza-
1080 0 79 54 tion criterion is the product of solids recovery and solids
1140 0.10 78 54 concentration in the underflow. In fact, this is an instable
1200 0.25 74 65
point. However, a fuzzy treatment of the optical signals
1260 0.30 73 70
1310 0.45 68 79 of the sensor enables a correct adherence of the transitional
point. Operating hydrocyclones at the transitional point
spray/rope is particularly recommended in closed circuit
grinding.
Du =29mm Du =35mm

0.25 References
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