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Article in Transactions of the ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) · May 2007
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ABSTRACT. Cyclones are a common air pollution abatement device for separating particulate matter (PM) from air streams
in industrial processes. Several mathematical models have been proposed to predict the performance of cyclones as cyclone
diameter varies. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between cyclone diameter and collection
efficiency based on empirical data and to compare the results to those of four mathematical models. Tests were performed
comparing cyclone collection efficiency of 15.24, 30.48, 60.96, and 91.44 cm (6, 12, 24, and 36 in.) diameter cyclones with
poly-disperse PM having an aerodynamic mass median diameter (MMD) near 10 mm. The PM chosen for this study was
selected to magnify any differences in cyclone collection efficiency due to differences in cyclone barrel diameter. The mass
of PM collected by the cyclones and the mass of PM that penetrated the cyclones was used to determine the collection
efficiency of each cyclone. The collection efficiency of cyclones decreased nonlinearly as cyclone diameter increased, with
statistically different collection efficiencies observed among the 30.48, 60.96, and 91.44 cm (12, 24, and 36 in.) diameter
cyclones. None of the mathematical models analyzed in this article accurately predicted cyclone efficiency.
Keywords. Abatement, Collection efficiency, Cyclone, Dust, Particulate matter, PM, Similitude.
C
yclones are a common air pollution abatement de- method, in which cyclone cutpoint is defined as the particle
vice for separating particulate matter (PM) from diameter corresponding to a 50% collection efficiency. Wang
air streams in industrial processes. Cyclones are et al. (2000) showed that Lapple’s approach does not account
relatively inexpensive, and operational costs and for the effects of PSD on cyclone performance.
maintenance requirements are low. An air stream containing The Lapple (1951) model was based on the terminal ve-
PM enters a cyclone tangentially near the top of the cyclone locity of particles in a cyclone. From the theoretical analysis,
and spirals downward. Inertial and centrifugal forces move equation 1 was derived to determine the smallest particle that
the particulates outward to the wall of the cyclone, where the will be collected by a cyclone if it enters at the inside edge
PM slides down to the trash outlet at the bottom of the cone of the inlet duct:
section and is removed (fig. 1). 9µW
According to Wang et al. (2000), cyclone performance is dp = (1)
πN eVi (ρ p − ρ g )
a function of the geometry and operating parameters of the
cyclone, as well as the particle size distribution (PSD) of the
entrained PM. Several mathematical models have been pro-
posed to predict cyclone performance. Lapple (1951) devel-
oped a semi-empirical relationship to predict the cutpoint of
cyclones designed according to the Classical Cyclone Design
9µW Lb = N b πD (5)
d pc = (3)
2πN eVi (ρ p − ρ g ) where
Lb = travel distance in the cyclone barrel (m)
Several other mathematical models have also been pro- Nb = turns in the cyclone barrel (1.53 for 1D3D cyclones;
posed, including a model by Barth (1956) that predicts cy- Wang et al., 2001)
clone cutpoint based on force balance as a function of D = cyclone barrel diameter (m).
volumetric flow rate, effective cyclone length, and inlet ve- In the cone section of a cyclone, the air stream velocity in-
locity. Barth’s (1956) model was subsequently corrected by creases as the cross-sectional area of the cyclone decreases.
Wang et al. (2003) to more closely match experimental data The tangential velocity in the cone section of a 1D3D cyclone
taken using 15.24 cm (6 in.) diameter 1D3D and 2D2D cy- at time t is described according to equation 6:
clones. Pant et al. (2002) developed an empirical model to
4 D *Vin
predict the effects of changing cyclone geometric parame- Vt , c = (6)
ters. Their model was intended for application with “minia- Z + 2D
ture” cyclones, but the limits of the model’s applicability where
were not clearly stated. Vt,c = tangential velocity at time t in the cyclone cone
The Texas A&M Cyclone Design (TCD) method (Parnell, (m/s)
1996) specifies cyclone dimensions based on the diameter D = cyclone barrel diameter (m)
(D) of the cyclone barrel (fig. 1). The barrel diameter is se- Vin = inlet velocity (m/s)
lected so that the volumetric flow rate of air (determined by Z = travel distance in the axial direction at time t (m).
the application) through the inlet cross-section (D/2 × D/4) Based on these equations, the centrifugal force acting on
results in the TCD design inlet velocity, i.e., 975 ±120 m/min a particle was calculated according to equation 7:
(3200 ±400 fpm) for 1D3D cyclones (Parnell, 1996). The Ds
in the 1D3D designation refer to the diameter of the cyclone v2
F =m (7)
barrel, while the numbers preceding the Ds refer to the rela- r
tive length of the barrel and cone sections, respectively. where
Therefore, a 1D3D cyclone has a barrel length equal to the F = force acting on the particle (N)
barrel diameter and a cone length equal to three times the bar- m = mass of particle (kg)
rel diameter. v = tangential velocity (m/s)
An accurate assessment of the change in cyclone cutpoint r = radius of the particle’s path (m).
with changes in barrel diameter is important when designing The distance traveled in the axial direction at time t can
or evaluating the efficiency of cyclones as PM abatement sys- be found using equation 8, assuming that Z is equal to zero
tems. Given PM with a consistent PSD, the total collection ef- when t is equal to zero:
ficiency of a cyclone will increase as the cutpoint decreases.
The objective of this research was to characterize the change t
4 D *Vin
in cyclone efficiency with changes in cyclone diameter and
compare the results of empirical experimentation to those
Z= ∫ (Z + 4D)π dt
0
(8)
Figure 4. Regression of collection efficiency versus cyclone diameter for conditions tested.
slope of 1.4). The Pant and Barth models underpredicted cy- with diameter on the use of cyclones in industrial applica-
clone collection efficiency when the barrel diameter was tions.
greater than 15 cm, with the underprediction growing more
severe as barrel diameter increased. The energy dissipation ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
model does not account for changes in cyclone collection ef- We would like to thank Cotton Incorporated, the Cotton
ficiency with cyclone barrel diameter. The Lapple model Foundation, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
most closely followed the trend indicated by the results of for their generous support of this research.
empirical testing, but it overpredicted the collection efficien-
cy for the parameters tested.
REFERENCES
Barth, W. 1956. Design and layout of the cyclone separator on the
CONCLUSIONS basis of new investigations. Brenn. Warme Kraft 8: 1-9.
The collection efficiencies of 15.24, 30.48, 60.96, and Faulkner, W. B., and B. W. Shaw. 2006. Efficiency and pressure
91.44 cm (6, 12, 24, and 36 in.) diameter 1D3D cyclones op- drop of cyclones across a range of inlet velocities. Applied Eng.
erated with similar inlet velocities were compared using fine in Agric. 22(1): 155-161.
Lapple, C. E. 1951. Processes use many collector types. Chem. Eng.
PM to maximize differences in cyclone collection efficiency
58(5).
due to differences in cyclone barrel diameter. Collection effi- Mark, D. J., J. H. Vincent, H. Gibson, and W. A. Witherspoon.
ciency decreased non-linearly as cyclone diameter increased, 1985. Applications of closely graded powders of fused alumina
with statistically significant (a = 0.05) differences found as test dusts for aerosol studies. J. Aerosol Sci. 16(2): 125-131.
among the 30.48, 60.96, and 91.44 cm (12, 24, and 36 in.) di- Pant, K., C. T. Crowe, and P. Irving. 2002. On the design of minia-
ameter cyclones. ture cyclones for the collection of bioaerosols. Powder Tech.
None of the mathematical models analyzed in this study 125(2-3): 260-265.
accurately predicted the performance of the 1D3D cyclones. Parnell, C. B. 1996. Cyclone design for air pollution abatement as-
The Lapple (1951) model slightly overpredicted measured sociated with agricultural operations. In Proc. 1996 Beltwide
performance, while the Pant et al. (2002) and Barth (1956) Cotton Production Conferences. Nashville, Tenn.: National Cot-
ton Council.
models underpredicted collection efficiency, becoming less
Wang, L., C. B. Parnell, and B. W. Shaw. 2000. 1D2D, 1D3D,
accurate as cyclone barrel diameter increased. 2D2D cyclone fractional efficiency curves for fine dust. In Proc.
A proper understanding of the relationship between cy- 2000 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. San Antonio, Tex.: National
clone diameter and performance is important for the design Cotton Council.
of air pollution abatement systems in order to accurately pre- Wang, L., C. B. Parnell, and B. W. Shaw. 2001. A new theoretical
dict the abatement efficiency. In future work, the data from approach for predicting number of turns and cyclone pressure
this study will be used to develop a new mathematical model drop. ASAE Paper No. 014009. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.
to relate cutpoint to cyclone diameter. In addition, further Wang, L., C. B. Parnell, B. W. Shaw, and R. E. Lacey. 2003. Analy-
analysis (both engineering and economic) should be done to sis of cyclone collection efficiency. ASAE Paper No. 034114.
determine the impact of changes in cyclone performance St. Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.