Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Vol. 41, Nos.

9–10, 2005

PERFORMANCE CALCULATION FOR DRY

AND WET MECHANICAL DUST TRAPS

A. Yu. Val’dberg1 and S. G. Safonov2

Technical data are compared on dust traps where the inertial mechanism of deposition predominates:
centrifugal ones (cyclones) and wet ones (scrubbers). A nomogram is given for determining the dust particle
diameters for cyclones and normalized Venturi scrubbers.

Experts at NIIOGAZ have developed a probabilistic energy method of calculation for mechanical dust traps, which
incorporates the predominant role of the inertial mechanism for particle deposition [1–3], which is widely used in selecting
the best systems for dust trapping.
The method enables one to calculate and devise new designs on the basis of the cleaning specifications for mechan-
ical traps with a given performance. An example of this is the SK-TsN-19 type cyclone, for which industrial tests [4] have
completely confirmed that it meets the specifications for performance laid down in the design.
The method also allows one to compare for performance mechanical dust traps of various types handling suspend-
ed particles identical in parameters.
Here we compare the technical data for dust traps of two types both with dominant inertial deposition mechanisms:
centrifugal traps (cyclones) and wet traps (scrubbers).
The performance can [2, 3] be calculated by means of a probability integral, which is defined as the dependence on
the parameter
log( dm / d50 )
x= , (1)
log σ η + log σ p
2 2

in which dm in µm is the median particle diameter, d50 in µm is the diameter of particles deposited in the given mode with
50% performance, logση is the standard deviation in the distribution of the fractional coefficients for dust trapping, and logσp
is the standard deviation of the distribution of dust sizes at the input.
If dust of identical composition is used in the tests, i.e., with dm = constant and log σp = constant, the performance
is determined by d50 and log ση, with the latter characterizing the type of trap and constituting 0.280–0.364 for cyclones and
0.15–0.29 for scrubbers.
When one calculates the performance, d50 in µm is of particular significance and is given by the following formu-
las [2, 3]:
1) for dry centrifugal traps

d50 = 14.5 ⋅ 10 5 ζ −0.51 Dµ / vρ p ; (2)

1
Moscow State University of Engineering Ecology (MGUIÉ), Moscow.
2
NIIOGAZ OAO, Moscow.

Translated from Khimicheskoe i Neftegazovoe Mashinostroenie, No. 10, pp. 40–41, October, 2005.

0009-2355/05/0910-0557 ©2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 557