Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Vol. 39, Nos.

11–12, 2003

RESEARCH, DESIGN, CALCULATIONS,

AND OPERATING EXPERIENCE
CHEMICAL PLANT

ANALYSIS OF DEGREE OF EXTRACTION OF

SOLID-PHASE PARTICLES DURING SEPARATION
OF NON-NEWTONIAN SUSPENSIONS IN A
CYLINDRICAL DIRECT-FLOW HYDROCYCLONE
WITH FORCED FLOTATION

V. O. Yablonskii

Use of hydrocyclones in different production processes for the separation of heterogeneous systems makes it possi-
ble to lower energy outlays significantly, and reduce the net cost and increase the quality of production. In various branches
of industry, separable suspensions are, in many case, non-Newtonian media, the effective viscosity of which decreases with
increasing strain rate. These suspensions are separated during the production of protein-vitamin concentrates (paprin, gaprin,
meprin), biomass suspensions, glazes, and SiC3, as well as in equipment used to clean waste water of oil, fats, and other sub-
stances. The lack of an adequate model for the separation of non-Newtonian suspensions in a hydrocyclone has, until now,
been the primary obstacle when creating a general procedure for analysis of these vessels.
It is known that the hydraulic resistance in cylindrical direct-flow hydrocyclones is appreciably lower than that in
cylindrical-conical vessels; use of direct-flow cylindrical hydrocyclones, which discharge separation products through a lower
drain is therefore expedient for the separation of non-Newtonian suspensions having significant effective viscosity; this makes
it possible to avoid large pressure differentials in the vessel.
Forced flotation [1, 2], which is carried out when a pre-aerated suspension is introduced to the hydrocyclone under
elevated pressure, is one of the most effective methods of separating non-Newtonian suspensions possessing a finely-disperse
solid phase. On proceeding into the hydrocyclone, the suspension, by rotating, flows downward over its walls at a velocity,
the components of which are the circumferential vϕ, axial vz, and radial vr velocities. As the pressure drops, air bubbles, which
form with solid-phase particles of the flotation complex, and are extracted into a foam by the centrifugal forces acting on the
surface of the film, are liberated from the suspension.
Based on solution of the equation of the radial motion of the particle–bubble complex, Lagutkin and Pavloveskii [3]
and Kutepov et al. [4] have proposed a procedure for analyzing suspension indicators for a hydrocyclone/flotation plant. The
methods developed for the analysis do not, however, account for characteristic features of the hydrodynamics of the attached
film of suspension with a free surface that flows along the walls of the hydrocyclone; this results in significant deviations
from actual indicators. Reliable data on the flow pattern in the vessel are required for analysis of the separation process in a
hydrocyclone; to obtain such data, it is necessary to use complete equations of suspension rheodynamics.
Yablonskii [5] and Yablonskii and Ryabchuk [6] modeled the hydrodynamics of the film flow of a non-Newtonian
suspension in a cylindrical direct-flow hydrocyclone using complete equations of rheodynamics. The Ostwald de Villa expo-
nential rheologic equation was used to describe the rheologic properties of the suspension. Relationships between the thick-

Volgograd State Technical University. Translated from Khimicheskoe i Neftegazovoe Mashinostroenie, No. 12,
pp. 15–18, December, 2003.

0009-2355/03/1112-0697$25.00 ©2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation 697

ness of the film of suspension and the axial coordinate, as well as the distribution fields of the velocity and pressure compo-
nents in the vessel were obtained for different values of determining similitude criteria and rheologic properties of the medi-
um. For further use of the results obtained, the computed data were approximated by analytical expressions over the entire
range of variation in rheologic properties of the suspension and similitude criteria characterizing the flow.
In separating finely disperse suspensions in a hydrocyclone with forced flotation, equations of flow continuity of
solid-phase particles and gas bubbles, which can be written in the following manner, were used for mathematical modeling
of the concentration field:
div(vhch) = –Jh;

div(vgcg) = –Jg, (1)

where vh and vg are the velocity vectors of the solid-phase particles and gas bubbles, ch and cg are the volume fractions of
solid-phase particles and gas bubbles in the suspension, Jh = Bhcgch and Jg = Bgcgch are the bulk-flow rates of the particles
and bubbles, as determined in accordance with [7], in sec–1, and Bh and Bg are kinetic constants of forced flotation in sec–1.
The subscripts denote the following: h – solid-phase particles; and, g – gas bubbles.
The case when a single particle is extracted by several bubbles in a centrifugal-force field is most widely encoun-
tered in flotation processes. Here, the volume fraction of gas bubbles appreciably exceeds the volume fraction of solid-phase
particles in the suspension, i.e., cg > ch, and cg can be assumed constant. For this case, the second equation of system of equa-
tions (1) can be eliminated, and the system reduced to a single equation.
Since the radial velocity components of the solid-phase particles and gas bubbles differ from the radial velocity com-
ponent of the continuous flow of the dispersion medium, and the radial velocity component of the liquid can be neglected in
view of its smallness, we have
1 ∂(rvrh )
div v h = ;
r ∂r

1 ∂(rvrg )
div v h = .
r ∂r

Since use of forced flotation is most effective when the difference in densities of the solid-phase particles and dis-
persion medium is negligible, we can assume with sufficient accuracy that the solid-phase particles move without inertia in
the axial direction, i.e., the axial velocities of the solid-phase particles and dispersion medium are coincident vzh = vzl (the
subscript l denotes the dispersion medium). Under these assumptions, the first equation of system of equations (1) will take
on the form
∂c ∂c  1 ∂(rvrh ) 
vrh h + v zl h = − c h  Bh c g + , (2)
∂r ∂z  r ∂r 

where r and z are the radial and axial coordinates in m.

The boundary condition for differential equation (2) assumes the following form:

z = 0; R – b ≤ r ≤ R; ch = ch0, (3)

where R is the radius of the housing of the hydrocyclone in m, b is the radial dimension of the feed pipe in m, and ch0 is the
volume fraction of solid-phase particles in the feed pipe of the hydrocyclone.
The radial terminal velocity of the particles was determined from the formula [8]
1
   n +1 n
2 d ψ ( n) 
vrh =   h  (ρ h − ρl ) v 2ϕl ,
9  2  rk 
 

698
where dh is the diameter of a solid-phase particle in m, ρh and ρl are the densities of the solid-phase particles and dispersion
medium in kg/m3, vϕl is the circumferential velocity component of the dispersion medium in m/sec, k is the consistency index
in Pa⋅secn, n is an indicator of the nonlinearity of the flow curve, as described by the Ostwald de Villa law, and ψ(n) is a cor-
rection factor [9].
After reducing differential equation (2) to dimensionless form, calculating the derivative in the right side of the equa-
tion, and performing transformations, we obtain

 L −1

  1− r 
 2 L 1 −  
∂c h H (r , z ) ∂c h  1  δ   1 
+ = − ch  − + r −1 1 − ,
n  
(4)
∂r Re n [ ϕ(r , z )]2 / n r −1 / n
s ∂z  Fg [ ϕ(r , z )]2 / n r −1 / n   L 
1− r  
 nδ 1 −  1 −  
   δ   
   

where ch = ch /ch0 is the relative volume fraction of solid-phase particles, r = r/ R and z = z/ R are dimensionless radial and
axial coordinates, H(r, z) = vzl /u0 and ϕ(r, z) = vϕl /u0 are the dimensionless axial and circumferential velocity components
of the dispersion medium, Rens is the Reynolds number characterizing the settlement of solid-phase particles in the centrifu-
gal field in the non-Newtonian dispersion medium

1
   n +1  n 2 −n
2 d ψ ( n) 
Re ns =   h  (ρ h − ρl ) u n ;
9  2  Rk  0
 

Fg = Rensu0 /AgR is a dimensionless group, Ag = Bhcg is a modified kinetic constant of the forced flotation in sec–1, u0 is the
average velocity of the suspension in the feed pipe of the hydrocyclone in m/sec, L is a constant characterizing the shape of
the radial profile of the circumferential velocity component, ∂ = δ/R is the relative film thickness of the suspension, and δ is
the film thickness of the suspension in m.
Boundary condition (3) will assume the following form for differential equation (4):

z = 0; 1 – b ≤ r ≤ 1; ch0 = 1, (5)

where b = b/R is the relative radial dimension of the feed pipe, and ch0 is the relative volume fraction of solid-phase particles
in the feed pipe of the hydrocyclone.
The method of characteristics, which makes it possible to reduce a differential equation in partial derivatives to an
equivalent system of ordinary differential equations, one of which determines the mechanical trajectory of a particle in a sus-
pension, the latter being dependent on where the particle enters the vessel, i.e., the direction of the characteristic is assigned,
while the other determines values of the function, i.e., the relative volume fractions of solid-phase particles for the charac-
teristics, was used to solve differential equation (4) in partial first-order derivatives. The system of ordinary differential equa-
tions was solved by the Runge-Kutta method with a fixed spacing. The maximum error of the calculations amounted to
0.026% when the computational interval along the radius of the hydrocyclone was divided into fifty spaces; this fully ensured
the required accuracy for calculation of the concentration field.
The concentration field of solid-phase particles during separation of a suspension in a hydrocyclone with forced
flotation was modeled on the basis of results of modeling of the velocity and pressure fields during the flow of a non-New-
tonian suspension in a hydrocyclone, which were obtained in [5, 6], and their subsequent approximation. The modeling con-
sisted in numerical solution of the system of differential equations obtained from Eq. (4) by the method of characteristics
with boundary condition (5) for a broad range of values of the determining similitude criteria and rheologic properties of
the suspension. The flow of suspension in the hydrocyclone was characterized by the centrifugal Froude number Fr (sepa-
ration factor), an analogy of the Reynolds number Ren for exponential liquids, and the dimensionless flow rate Q, as well

699
 r
0.8 0.9 1
0 A

1
10
2

3
D C
20
4

5
6 7 8
B
30
z

Fig. 1. Distribution of relative volume fraction c of solid-phase particles in film of

non-Newtonian suspension when Fr = 293.6, Ren = 4000, Q = 3.98⋅10–2, and n = 0.9:
1) c = 0.9; 2) c = 0.7; 3) c = 0.5; 4) c = 0.3; 5) c = 0.2; 6) c = 0.1; 7) c = 0.05; 8) c = 0;
AB) boundary of suspension film; D) region of pure dispersion medium; C) region of
suspension containing solid-phase particles.

as the nonlinearity indicator n for the flow curve [5, 6], which can be calculated from the following formulas: Fr = u02 / gR,
Ren = ρR nu02–n / k; Q = Q / (πR2u0) = ab / (πR2), where ρ is the density of the suspension in kg/m3, a is the axial dimension
of the feed pipe in m, and g is the acceleration of free fall in m/sec2.
Figure 1 shows the distribution of the relative volume fraction of solid-phase particles during the separation of a sus-
pension with forced flotation in the rotating film flowing along the wall of a direct-flow cylindrical hydrocyclone. It follows
from analysis of Fig. 1 that the quantity c in the suspension being separated diminishes along the axis of the vessel with
increasing distance from the inlet pipe; here, the most vigorous reduction is observed in the vicinity of the wall of the vessel;
this is explained by the most complete extraction of particles with air bubbles moving toward the centrifugal-force field. This
law is retained for all values of determining similitude criteria.
To estimate the influence exerted by the determining similitude criteria on the operating efficiency of the hydrocy-
clone, it is necessary to use integral operating indicators of the vessel, the most important of which is the degree of extrac-
tion of solid-phase particles, which characterizes the fraction of solid-phase particles extracted from the suspension in a given
section of the film, and which can be determined from the formula
1
2π ∫ c hH (r , z ) r dr
1− β
S = 1− , (6)
1
a ∫ c h0ϕ0 (r , z ) dr
1− b

where a is the dimensionless axial dimension of the feed pipe, β is the radial dimension of the flow zone in which the vol-
ume fraction of solid-phase particles in the suspension is other than zero in m, and ϕ0(r, z) is the distribution of the dimen-
sionless circumferential velocity component of the flow where the suspension proceeds into the hydrocyclone.
The degree of extraction in different sections of the suspension film over the height of the effective zone of the
hydrocyclone was calculated using formula (6) and the algebra software package Maple 6. Plots showing the variation in the

700
 S
1

0.6
1 2 3 4

0.2

0 16 32
z

Fig. 2. Distrubution of degree of extraction over height of effective space of

hydrocyclone for different Fr numbers during separation of non-Newtonian
and Newtonian suspensions: 1) Fr = 32.6, Ren = 4000, Q = 3.98⋅10–2, n = 1.0;
2) Fr = 32.6, Ren = 4000, Q = 3.98⋅10–2, n = 0.9; 3) Fr = 293.6, Ren = 4000,
Q = 3.98⋅10–2, n = 1.0; 4) Fr = 293.6, Ren = 4000, Q = 3.98⋅10–2, n = 0.9.

degree of extraction as a function of the axial coordinate z were obtained as a result. To obtain the distribution of the relative
volume fraction ch of solid-phase particles in each section of the film, we approximated the distribution of the volume frac-
tion of solid-phase particles by a polynomial, and subsequently integrated the functions numerically within assigned limits in
accordance with formula (6).
Figure 2 shows curves of the degree of extraction S versus the axial coordinate z and different Fr numbers (separa-
tion factor), and the dimensionless flow rate Q during the separation of non-Newtonian (n = 0.9) and Newtonian (n = 1) sus-
pensions with forced flotation in a hydrocyclone.
It follows from Fig. 2 that degree of extraction increases along the axis of the vessel with increasing distance from
the feed pipe, while the rate of its increase diminishes with increasing coordinate z; this is explained by a reduction in the
volume fraction of solid-phase particles in the suspension. It follows from analysis of curves 2 and 4 that degree of extrac-
tion of solid-phase particles decreases with increasing Fr number. At the terminus of the computational flow section where
z = 30, however, the reduction in degree of extraction is insignificant.
The reduction in degree of extraction with increasing Fr number is explained by an increase in the film thickness of the
suspension [5, 6], and by a corresponding increase in the amount of solid-phase particles falling in the axial direction per unit
length of film. The increase in film thickness of the suspension is accompanied, however, by a decrease in the axial velocity com-
ponent of the flow; this leads to an increase in the dwell time of solid-phase particles in the zone of separation, and to a corre-
sponding increase in the number of collisions between solid-phase particles and air bubbles, and also the number of solid-phase
particles extracted from the suspension. As a result, the reduction in degree of extraction with increasing Fr number is negligi-
ble at the terminus of the separation zone where z = 30 and the circumferential velocity component of the flow subsides; this
makes it possible to raise considerably the output of the hydrocyclone where the length of its housing is of the order of 30 of its
radii by increasing the inlet velocity of the suspension into the apparatus without a significant reduction in degree of extraction.
It follows from analysis of curves 1 and 3, and curves 2 and 4 (see Fig. 2) that the degree of extraction of solid-phase
particles increases at a greater rate in the direction of the vessel’s axis for a Newtonian suspension (n = 1). This may be
explained by an increase in the thickness of the Newtonian suspension as compared with the non-Newtonian suspension as a
result of an increase in effective viscosity in the zone of high shear rates, and by a corresponding reduction in the axial veloc-
ity component of the flow of the Newtonian suspension. As a result, the dwell time of solid-phase particles in the separation
zone is increased, and the air bubbles can entrap a greater number of particles per unit of time.
Figure 3 shows curves of degree of extraction S versus the axial coordinate z for different Ren values (curves 2
and 3) and Q (curves 1 and 4), which were obtained as a result of modeling. It follows from analysis of curves 2 and 3

701
 S
1

0.6 1 2 3 4

0.2

0 16 32
z

Fig. 3. Distribution of degree of extraction along length of effective

space of hydrocyclone for different Ren and Q values during separation
of non-Newtonian suspension: 1) Fr = 73.4, Ren = 4000, Q = 1.3⋅10–3,
n = 0.9; 2) Fr = 73.4, Ren = 2260, Q = 3.09⋅10–3, n = 0.9; 3) Fr = 73.4,
Ren = 18070, Q = 3.09⋅10–3, n = 0.9; 4) Fr = 73.4, Ren = 4000,
Q = 9.9⋅10–2, n = 0.9.

that the degree of extraction of solid-phase particles in the film of suspension decreases with increasing Ren number, which
is accompanied by a reduction in the film thickness of the suspension [5, 6] owing to the decrease in its effective viscos-
ity, which depends on the consistency index k, and by a corresponding increase in the axial velocity component of the flow.
This is explained by an increase in the axial velocity component of the flow of suspension, and also by a reduction in the
dwell time of slid-phase particles in the separation zone and the number of impacts between the particles and air bubbles.
Consequently, it is possible to attain a higher degree of extraction during the separation of suspensions possessing a high
effective viscosity.
It follows from analysis of curves 1 and 4 (see Fig. 3) that the degree of extraction of solid-phase particles in the
suspension diminishes with increasing relative flow rate Q, which is accompanied by an increase in film thickness of the sus-
pension [5, 6], the latter being explained by an increase in the ratio of the sectional area of the feed pipe to the sectional area
of the vessel’s housing. This is the result of an increase in the number of solid-phase particles falling in the axial direction
per unit length of suspension film in connection with an increase in film thickness.
The influence exerted by the determining similitude criteria characterizing the hydrodynamics of the flow, and the
rheologic properties of the suspension on the distribution of the degree of extraction of solid-phase particles over the length
of the effective zone of a direct-flow cylindrical hydrocyclone/flotation plant is analyzed in this manner.
As is apparent from the computed data obtained, the relative flow rate Q, which characterizes the relationship
between the basic geometric dimensions of the feed pipe and the hosing of the vessel, exerts the greatest influence on degree
of extraction of solid-phase particles in a direct-flow cylindrical hydrocyclone. Using the curves obtained for the distribution
of degree of extraction over the length of the effective zone of a direct-flow cylindrical hydrocyclone, it is possible, by assign-
ing the required degree of extraction, to determine the length of the effective zone and all basic geometric dimensions of the
hydrocyclone. Results obtained after appropriate experimental confirmation may be taken as the basis for development of a
procedure for the engineering design of a hydrocyclone/flotation plant.

REFERENCES

1. S. L. Orlov, “On collisions between particles and bubbles during pneumatic flotation in a centrifugal field,” Devel-
opment of Methods for Mechanical and Biological Purification of Waste Water: Proceedings of the All-Union Sci-

702
 entific-Research Institute for Water Supply, Sewerage, Hydraulic Structures, and Hydrogeological Engineering
[in Russian], Moscow (1982), pp. 132–136.
2. V. I. Alekseev, I. N. Myasnikov, and V. V. Naidenko, “Analytical description of the kinetics of forced flotation,” Sci-
entific Research in the Field of Physicochemical Cleaning of Industrial Waste Water. Procedure, Automation, and
Analysis: Proceedings of the All-Union Scientific-Research Institute for Water Supply, Sewerage, Hydraulic Struc-
tures, and Hydrogeological Engineering [in Russian], Moscow (1980), pp. 87–95.
3. M. G. Lagutkin and G. V. Pavlovskii, “An approach to flotation analysis during suspension separation in hydrocy-
clones,” Khim. Prom., No. 8, 24–26 (1997).
4. A. M. Kutepov, M. G. Lagutkin, G. V. Pavlovskii, and V. I. Mushtaev, “Separation of disperse systems in hydrocy-
clones with the additional introduction of a dispersed gas,” Teor. Osn. Khim. Tekhnol., 33, No. 5, 571–577 (1999).
5. V. O. Yablonskii, “Hydrodynamics of the flow of a non-Newtonian liquid in a hydrocyclone,” Zh. Prikl. Khim., 73,
No. 1, 95–99 (2000).
6. V. O. Yablonskii and G. V. Ryabchuk, “Development of rotational flow in the film of a non-Newtonian liquid in a
cylindrical pipe of finite length,” Teor. Osn. Khim. Tekhnol., 35, No. 5, 479–484 (2001).
7. N. V. Tyabin, G. L. Dakhina, A. B. Golovanchikov, and A. A. Mamakov, “Design of ideal-substitution equipment for
the separation of fine suspensions by electrolytic gases,” Teor. Osn. Khim. Tekhnol., 13, No. 6, 880–884 (1979).
8. A. G. Shchukina, Mathematical Modeling of the Separation of Heterogeneous Systems with a Non-Newtonian Dis-
persion Medium, Author’s abstract of dissertation for Candidate of Technical Sciences, Volgograd State Technical
University, Volgograd (1996).
9. G. V. Vinogradov et al., “Problem of the free deposition of spherical particles in anomalously viscous liquids,”
Inzh.-Fiz. Zh., 28, No. 3, 435–438 (1975).

703