Understanding Cyclone Dust Collectors

Cyclone separators are the simplest and least expensive dust collection devices for industrial air pollution control. Operation and maintenance are simple because they have no moving parts. This article discusses the most common cyclone separator design, the involute entry type with a counterflow, coaxial clean air outlet. Operating principle - Dust-laden air enters the cylindrical/conical body of the cyclone tangentially at the top and the flow assumes a vortex pattern as it travels helically downward, Fig. 1.Centrifugal force from the air's tangential velocity causes the heavier dust particles to move radially outward toward the cyclone's wall. When the particles reach the wall, friction and gravity force them to descend and discharge into a receiver. The cleaned air spirals upward and exists at the top of the cyclone. Performance characteristics of a cyclone are determined by its proportions and size and by the properties and flow rates of the air and dust. Performance is described by pressure drop (energy consumption), fractional efficiency (weight percent collected of any particle size), and total efficiency (total collected weight percent).