Enhancing the efficiency of two-stage cyclones without increasing pressure drop by optimizing inlet and outlet dimensions

Abstract

Efforts to enhance cyclone separators aim to minimize gas energy consumption while improving separation efficiency. This study attempts to achieve this goal for cyclones arranged in series using straightforward methods. Experimental and numerical simulation analyses were performed to study the effect of matching inlet and outlet diameters on the performance of a two-stage tandem cyclone separator. The results show that the matching method, in which the inlet gas velocities of both stages are higher than the outlet gas velocity, has a better separation efficiency. The efficiency and pressure drop models of the two-stage cyclones in series were constructed using the response surface methodology (RSM) to obtain the optimal combination of inlet size and exhaust pipe diameter. Experimental tests showed that the accuracy of this model was reasonable. At different permitted pressure drops, the optimized structure revealed that: (1) The inlet area should be smaller than the outlet area for each cyclone stage. (2) The secondary inlet size (KA) should be as large as possible. (3) dr decreases while KA increases in each step.