Hydrocyclones use centrifugal force to separate solids from liquids or liquids of different consistencies. They consist of a two-part chamber with an internal profile that is cylindrical in its upper part and conical along its lower half. They are commonly used in industrial and manufacturing sectors and require very little maintenance. Typical uses include removing contaminants from paper pulp, separating oil from water, and extracting metal chips from coolants. The centrifugal action in the cyclone drives heavier solids to the cone section and lighter water to the top of the chamber.
A hydrocyclone is a filter or separator mechanism that uses centrifugal force to separate solids from liquids or even liquids of different consistencies. The hydrocyclone consists of a two-part chamber with an internal profile that is cylindrical in its upper part and conical along its lower half equipped with one inlet and two outlet points. When a slurry is pumped into the cyclone, it rotates around within the chamber creating a centrifugal force which causes the suspended solids to separate from the liquid carrier. The water and filtered solids then exit the hydrocyclone, typically at opposite ends. Hydrocyclones are used extensively in the industrial and manufacturing sectors and are suitable for liquid-rich suspensions carrying solids heavier than fluid.
Hydrocyclones are common industrial and manufacturing process separators used to remove solids from carrier liquids or to separate liquids of different consistencies. They are simple but efficient devices, with no moving parts and requiring very little maintenance. Commonly known as cyclones, these devices are usually made of steel, ceramic or abrasion resistant plastic. Typical uses of hydrocyclones are the removal of contaminants from paper pulp, the separation of oil from water, the extraction of metal chips from coolants and the recovery of starch from wastewater in potato processing plants. Cyclones are also found in mining industry processing plants to separate process solids from water.
A typical hydrocyclone configuration consists of a hollow chamber that has a straight-walled cylindrical section at the top and a cone-shaped section that tapers towards the lower end of the unit. The cylindrical section has two pipes, one entering the section in the center and one exiting at the top of the unit. A second exit point is mounted at the bottom of the cone. The suspension is pumped into the center of the cylindrical section under high pressure which rotates it around within the chamber. The centrifugal force created in the suspension by this spinning action is the agent responsible for the efficient operation of hydrocyclones.
The centrifugal action in the cyclone drives the heavier solids in the suspension against the walls of the chamber and down into the cone section. The lighter water is spun into the top of the chamber and out the “lights” outlet. Solids collect in the cone and are pushed out of the “heavy” outlet at its lower end. The same action applies to fluids of different densities with heavier oils and lighter water separated equally. This centrifugal density relationship makes the hydrocyclone more suitable for applications with a high water content in suspensions and a marked difference in density between solids and fluids.
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