CDB 3082

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LAB IV

EXPERIMENT 3

MAY 2019 SEMESTER

EXPERIMENT : Double Cyclone System

GROUP : 3

GROUP MEMBER : Pravindeeran A/L Veerasingam 16001993

Jagbeer Singh Khera 16001706

Abdul Remy Bin Mohd Fauzi 16002042

Prashannaah Prabhakaran 16001875

LAB INSTRUCTOR : Ratri Rahmawati

DATE OF SUBMISSION : 24 May 2019

Table of Contents

1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 2

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Cyclone Design .................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Cyclone Operating Parameters ........................................................................................................... 4
3.0 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Experiment 1: To study the effect of cyclone body diameter upon collection efficiency. ................. 7
3.2 Experiment 2: To study the effect of inlet velocity upon collection efficiency. ................................. 8
3.3 Experiment 3: To compare the overall collection efficiency between cyclone and double cyclone
operation................................................................................................................................................... 9
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Experiment 1: To Study the Effect of Cyclone Body Diameter Upon Collection Efficiency ............. 10
4.2 Experiment 2: To Study the Effect of Inlet Velocity Upon Collection Efficiency. .............................. 11
4.3 Experiment 3: To Study the Effect of Cyclone Connection in Series Upon the Collection Efficiency.
................................................................................................................................................................ 11
5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION............................................................................................... 13
5.1 Conclusion. ........................................................................................................................................ 13
5.2 Recommendation.............................................................................................................................. 14
6.0 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 15
7.0 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................... 16

1
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Cyclone is a large system of wind in which it circulates at low atmospheric pressure. It works with
the concept of inertia to eliminates the pollutants in the air. Cyclone separator basically remove
the large size pollutant before the gas is passed through the filter to filter out the smaller particle.

Figure 1.1: Working principle of cyclone separator.

Cyclone works as a centrifuge where the feed of polluted gas is fed into the chamber will
form spiral vortex. The lighter particle will move upwards and the heavier particle will move
downwards due to the inertia of the vortex formed. Cyclone separator is very effective in industrial
use as it is cheap and easy to maintain and also it doesn’t require much space (Cyclone Seperator
, n.d.). Mainly cyclone separator is used in industries like steel production, air capture and biomass.

Efficiency studies on cyclone is important as it is more effective to remove particles from

the polluted air. In this experiment there are several studies are being done on the cyclone separator
which the main objectives are:

- To study the effect of cyclone body diameter upon collection efficiency.

- To study the effect of inlet velocity upon collection efficiency.
- To compare the overall collection efficiency between single and double cyclone.
- To verify the theoretical relationship between pressure, drop and inlet velocity.

2
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Cyclone Design

Cyclones are manageable mechanical devices in removing relatively huge particles from any gas
stream. They are inexpensive to construct, run, and considered to be generally efficient. Essentially
there are two main factors in determining the efficiency of a cyclone as part of a process; design
and characteristics of gas flow. In this experiment, we will focus on the most common type of
cyclone design the; tangential entry cyclone. The design of this type of cyclone consists of a
number of components; the inlet, cyclone body, particle discharge system, and the outlet.

The inlet design is governed by the aim to transform the flow of gas from a straight flow to a
circular pattern to help the formation of a vortex in the cyclone. The design must also consider the
formation of turbulence that comes with the gas flow transformation, which will inhibit vortex
formation. The inlet should be carefully designed in relation to the gas flow rate to make sure that
turbulence can be minimized. Helical and involute designed inlets are considered to be the better
choice to offer a smoother transition of gas flow compared to common tangential entries.

The efficiency of particle removal of a cyclone depends mostly on its body design. The size of a
cyclone should be determined by the volume of gas flowing through the cyclone at a given time,
and the most important dimension governing this is the diameter of the cyclone body. In general,
smaller diameter cyclones are more efficient in collecting particles as compared to larger diameter
cyclones. Smaller bodies create larger separation forces in the cyclone but in turn, makes it unable
to take in a high volume of gas at a time to be efficient. These factors should be considered
carefully to design an optimized and efficient body of the cyclone.

The bottom end of a cyclone is where separated particles settle and are collected. The collection
system must be designed in consideration of the process configuration. For a batch process, it is
possible to equip a simple collection tray that can be removed at the end of the process. For
continuous processes, the design needs to be a bit more advanced. Periodic slide gates and
continuous rotary valve are commonly used as solutions for this type of process as they give non-
invasive mechanisms and automation to the cyclone process.

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In the cyclone, cleaned air travels upwards in a circular pattern through the centre of the vortex
created in the body. Hence the outlet is often positioned slightly above the inlet of gas flow. The
design of the outlet also affects the gas flow throughout the cyclone hence must be considered to
avoid turbulence formation that can cause choking or inhibit the vortex flow in the cyclone body.
Common design solutions include involute scroll outlet and outlet drum.

2.2 Cyclone Operating Parameters

In cyclones, collection efficiency is directly correlated to the pressure drop in the cyclone. As the
pressure drop shows increment, the collection efficiency is undoubtedly will increase too. Another
reason that affects the collection efficiency is the inlet gas speed. High inlet gas velocity results in
a stronger centrifugal force on particles, resulting in better separation and collection efficiency.
The pressure drop and efficiency depend on the relative dimensions of the cyclone (Warren, Julian,
& Peter, 1993). The correlations can be summarized in the table below;

Table 2.2.1: Changes in performance characteristics

Cyclone & Process Pressure drop Efficiency
Design Change
Increase cyclone size Decreases Decreases
(Dc)
Lengthen cylinder (Lc) Decreases slightly Decreases
The exit tube diameter Drops Higher
is enlarged (Dc)
Increase inlet area- Decreases Decreases
maintaining velocity
Increase dust Decreases for large Decreases
concentration increases
Increase particle size No change Increases
and/ or density

Cyclones are designed to remove particles sized 10μm and larger. Regardless of any modifications
on the design, the removal efficiency of cyclones for smaller particles will drop rapidly (Wark &
Warner, 1981). This can be simplified in the figure and table below;

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Figure 2.2.1 shows the graph of fractional collection efficiency against particle size in μm (Stern,
Bush, & Kaplan, 1955).

Table 2.2.2 above shows the overall cyclone efficiency.

Particles (μm) Conventional Cyclone High-efficiency cyclone
<5 < 50 50 – 80
5 - 20 50 – 80 80 – 95
15 - 50 80 – 95 95 – 99
> 40 95 – 99 95 - 99

The collection efficiency, 𝜂 is calculated using the formula below;

Figure 2.2.2: Collection efficiency formula.

5
Where:

𝑉𝑝= inlet velocity 𝑅= cyclone diameter 𝜇𝑔= carrier gas viscosity

𝜌𝑝= particle density 𝑑𝑝= particle diameter 𝑅= cyclone diameter
𝜇𝑔= carrier gas viscosity

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3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Experiment 1: To study the effect of cyclone body diameter upon collection
efficiency.
The main objective of this experiment is to determine the efficiency of two cyclones with
different diameters which are 0.2 m and 0.075 m. Figure 3.1.1 below shows the steps to conduct
the experiment.

The air pump and

The experiment for big needle pump is opened Time is set for 15
cyclone experiment is slowly until boiling minutes before the
prepared phenomena is machine is switched off.
observed.

The empty feed

The machine is switch The dust hopper and
container, dust hopper
on and the inverter feed container is
and 50g of kaolin
controller is adjusted to detached and weighed
powder are weight
achieve 10 m/s separately.
separately

The koalin powder is
poured into feed
container and the feed
container is adjusted to
the holder
The outlet dust filter is The collection efficiency
cleaned and the is calculated using given
connections are formula and the
assembled and experiment is repeated
tightened properly. with the small cyclone.

Figure 3.1.1: Flow diagram on steps to conduct experiment 1.

7
3.2 Experiment 2: To study the effect of inlet velocity upon collection efficiency.
The main objective of this experiment is to determine the efficiency of a cyclone with different
inlet velocities which are 5 m/s and 10 m/s. Figure 3.2.1 below shows the steps to conduct the
experiment.

The air pump and needle

The experiment for big Time is set for 15 minutes
pump is opened slowly until
cyclone experiment is before the machine is
boiling phenomena is
prepared switched off.
observed.

The empty feed container,

The machine is switch on and The dust hopper and feed
dust hopper and 50g of
the inverter controller is container is detached and
kaolin powder are weight
adjusted to achieve 10 m/s weighed separately.
separately

The collection efficiency is

The koalin powder is poured
into feed container and the
feed container is adjusted to
the holder
The outlet dust filter is
calculated using given
cleaned and the connections
formula and the experiment
are assembled and tightened
is repeated with the inlet air
properly.
velocity 3m/s.

Figure 3.2.1: Flow diagram on steps to conduct experiment 2.

8
3.3 Experiment 3: To compare the overall collection efficiency between cyclone and
double cyclone operation.
The main objective of this experiment is to determine the efficiency of double cyclone in series.
Two arrangement was chosen where the first arrangement is connecting the bigger cyclone to the
smaller cyclone and the second arrangement is connecting the smaller cyclone to the smallest
cyclone. Figure 3.3.1 below shows the steps to conduct the experiment.

The air pump and needle

The experiment for Time is set for 15 minutes
pump is opened slowly
cyclone in series before the machine is
until boiling phenomena is
experiment is prepared switched off.
observed.

The two ball valves at

The empty feed container,
DPTX are closed and the The dust hopper and feed
dust hopper and 50g of
machine is switch on and container is detached and
kaolin powder are weight
the inverter controller is weighed separately.
separately
adjusted to achieve 8 m/s

The koalin powder is The outlet dust filter is

poured into feed cleaned and the The collection efficiency is
container and the feed connections are calculated using given
container is adjusted to assembled and tightened formula.
the holder properly.

Figure 3.3.1: Flow diagram on steps to conduct experiment 3.

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4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Experiment 1: To Study the Effect of Cyclone Body Diameter Upon Collection
Efficiency
The main objective of this experiment is to determine the efficiency of the cyclone when we
manipulate the size. Two cyclone size were use in this experiment which are 0.2 meter and 0.075
meter. The air inlet velocity is kept constant at 10 m/s for both sizes. Table 4.1.1 below shows
the results of the experiment.

Table 4.1.1: Raw and calculated data of experiment 1.

Weight
Cyclone Pressure of Weight of
Body Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper, Sample Sample Collection
Diameter, Velocity, Venturi, g Loaded, Collected, Efficiency,
m m/s Pa Before After g g %
0.2 10 15.8 502.76 503.02 50 0.26 0.52
0.075 10 0.4 595.86 602.62 50 6.8 13.6

Based on table 4.1.1 we can observe that there is a different in pressure drop between the small
and big cyclone even though we fix the inlet velocity. This happen due to the size of the cyclone.
Pressure drop in the cyclone happen due to the energy loss in the exit of the cyclone. Increasing
the cyclone size will require us to have higher tangential velocity. Hence, if we maintain the
velocity and increase the diameter of the cyclone, we can observe an increase in pressure drop as
we increase the size. Besides, we can observe that the efficiency in small diameter cyclone is
greater than the bigger diameter cyclone. Centrifugal force plays an important role in the efficiency
of the cyclone. The higher the centrifugal force the higher the efficiency. As the pressure drop in
cyclone increases, the tangential velocity decreases thus causing the centrifugal force in the
cyclone to decrease which lead to low efficiency.

10
4.2 Experiment 2: To Study the Effect of Inlet Velocity Upon Collection Efficiency.
The main objective of this experiment is to determine the efficiency of the cyclone when we
manipulate the inlet velocity. Two air inlet velocity were experiment on which is 5 m/s and 10
m/s. The diameter body of the cyclone were kept constant at 0.075 m. Table 4.2.1 below shows
the results of the experiment.

Table 4.2.1: Raw and calculated data of experiment 2.

Weight
Cyclone Pressure of Weight of
Body Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper, Sample Sample Collection
Diameter, Velocity, Venturi, g Loaded, Collected, Efficiency,
m m/s Pa Before After g g %
0.075 5 0.1 595.79 596.1 50 0.31 0.62
0.075 10 0.4 595.86 602.62 50 6.8 13.6

Based on table 4.2.1, we can observe that the efficiency of the cyclone with higher velocity is more
efficient compare to the lower velocity. This is happened because as we reduce the inlet velocity
indirectly, we are reducing the tangential velocity where it will decrease the centrifugal force in
the cyclone. Based on theory, the higher the centrifugal force in the cyclone the higher the
efficiency. Therefore, in this experiment we have proven that at higher velocity the cyclone will
work best to remove the dust particles.

4.3 Experiment 3: To Study the Effect of Cyclone Connection in Series Upon the
Collection Efficiency.
The objective of this experiment to study the overall efficiency of double cyclone which is
connected in series with two types of arrangement. The first arrangement is connecting the bigger
cyclone to the smaller cyclone and the second arrangement is connecting the smaller cyclone to
the smallest cyclone. Table 4.3.1 shows the raw and calculated data for the first arrangement while
table 4.3.2 shows the raw and calculated data for the second arrangement.

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 Table 4.3.1: Raw and calculated data of double cyclone arrangement 1 (big & small).

Weight Overall
Pressure of Weight of Overall
Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper Weight of Hopper Sample Sample Collection
Velocity, Venturi, 1, g 2, g Loaded, Collected, Efficiency,
m/s Pa Before After Before After g g %
8 10.1 502.55 503.52 593.62 593.66 50 1.01 0.02

Table 4.3.2: Raw and calculated data of double cyclone arrangement 2 (small & smallest).

Weight Overall
Pressure of Weight of Overall
Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper Weight of Hopper Sample Sample Collection
Velocity, Venturi, 1, g 2, g Loaded, Collected, Efficiency,
m/s Pa Before After Before After g g %
8 0.2 593.55 605.33 595.51 595.6 50 11.87 23.74

Based on Table 4.3.1 and 4.3.2, we can observe that arrangement 2 have higher efficiency compare
to arrangement 2. This is due to the diameter of the cyclones. The total surface area of arrangement
one is higher compared to the total surface area in arrangement 2. Bigger surface area cyclones
need higher velocity to obtain the same efficiency as the smaller cyclones due to the maximum
tangential velocity required in the cyclone. As the tangential velocity approaches maximum, the
centrifugal forces will increase thus, increasing the collection efficiency of the dust particles.

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5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion.
In conclusion, small diameter cyclone body is more effective than big cyclone body by noticeable
margin between collection efficiency. This is because small cyclone body produce higher
centrifugal force compare to big cyclone body given that the inlet velocity of air is constant. This
is clearly indicated by the large pressure drop experience by the bigger cyclone body. Inlet velocity
is one of the factors that affect collection efficiency. Higher inlet velocity is better than lower inlet
velocity given at constant cyclone body diameter. Hence, the higher the inlet velocity the higher
the centrifugal force. Lastly, the arrangement of double cyclone is one of the important factors to
design cyclone system. The arrangement 2 (small and smallest) has better overall efficiency than
the arrangement 1 (big and small). The difference is relatively large. The reason is the total surface
area in arrangement 2 is smaller than in arrangement 1. Therefore, arrangement 2 required less
inlet velocity due to the centrifugal force is directly proportional to inlet velocity.

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5.2 Recommendation.
a) Systematic Error
1. Leakage of kaolin.
Error: In the beginning of the experiment kaolin will leak through the connection between
the feed container and the tube connecting the cyclone. This will cause a mess during the
experiment.
Recommendation: To reduce the leakage we should increase the inlet velocity gradually.
In addition, tubing that connect feed container also can fit the feed container precisely
should being replaced the current tubing.

b) Human Error
1. Filling kaolin to feed tube.
Error: During the filling of kaolin in the feed tube, some kaolin was poured out of the
tube as we do not have a proper funnel to funnel it into the feed tube. This cause a mess
at our workspace.
Recommendation: The lab should provide proper funnel so that we can use it to funnel
the kaolin into the feed container.

2. Cleaning the hopper.

Error: During the cleaning of the hopper for the next experiment not all kaolin from
the hopper is being remove as we do not have a proper apparatus. This will cause some
error for the next experiment.
Recommendation: The lab should provide proper apparatus like brush to clean the
hopper.

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6.0 REFERENCES

1. Applied Mathemathical Modelling. 35,4: 1952-1968. Retrieved 2 October 2017 from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0307904X10004178

2. Fuellenkemper, J. (2011). Retrieved November 18, 2017, from How A Cyclone Works:
http://mei.org.uk/files/MAW/Fullenkemper.pdf

3. K. S. Lim, S. B. Kwon, K. W. Lee. (2003). Characteristics Of The Collection Efficiency

For
A Double Inlet Cyclone With Clean Air. Journal of Aerosol Science. 34 (2003). P.
1085-1095.

4. Utikar, R., Darmawan, N., Tade, M., & Pareek, V. (2010). Hydrodynamic Simulation of
Cyclone Separators. Computational Fluid Dynamics. doi:10.5772/7106

5. Advanced Cyclone System. Cyclone Systems for API Recovery. Pharmaceutical

Technology. Retrieved from
https://www.pharmaceuticaltechnology.com/contractors/purification/advanced-cyclone/

6. K. S. Lim, H. S. Kim, K. W. Lee (2003). Comparative Performance of Conventional

Cyclones and a Double Cyclone With and Without an Electric Field. Journal of
Aerosol Science. 35 (2003). P. 103-116.

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7.0 APPENDICES

Raw data of Experiment

Table 7.1: Raw data of experiment 1.

Weight
Cyclone Pressure of
Body Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper, Sample
Diameter, Velocity, Venturi, g Loaded,
m m/s Pa Before After g
0.2 10 15.8 502.76 503.02 50
0.075 10 0.4 595.86 602.62 50

Table 7.2: Raw data of experiment 2.

Weight
Cyclone Pressure of
Body Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper, Sample
Diameter, Velocity, Venturi, g Loaded,
m m/s Pa Before After g
0.075 5 0.1 595.79 596.1 50
0.075 10 0.4 595.86 602.62 50

Table 7.3: Raw data of double cyclone arrangement 1 (big & small).

Weight
Pressure of
Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper Weight of Hopper Sample
Velocity, Venturi, 1, g 2, g Loaded,
m/s Pa Before After Before After g
8 10.1 502.55 503.52 593.62 593.66 50

Table 7.4: Raw data of double cyclone arrangement 2 (small & smallest).

Weight
Pressure of
Inlet Drop in Weight of Hopper Weight of Hopper Sample
Velocity, Venturi, 1, g 2, g Loaded,
m/s Pa Before After Before After g
8 0.2 593.55 605.33 595.51 595.6 50

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The collection efficiency is calculated based on the equation below:

𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (%) = 𝑚ℎ /( 𝑚𝑖 – 𝑚𝑓) × 100%

Where: 𝑚𝑖 = Mass of initial kaolin

𝑚𝑓 = Mass of kaolin left in feeder

𝑚ℎ = Mass of kaolin in dust hopper

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