Analysis of the efficiency of a cloth cyclone: The effect of the permeability of the filtering medium

The cloth cyclone is a solid-gas separation device that consists of a Lapple cyclone whose conical section has been replaced by a conical filtering wall. The present research was undertaken with the aim of examining the influence of a conical filtering section made of three different materials on the performance of a Lapple design cyclone. The overall efficiency and pressure drops of the cloth cyclone and a conventional one were compared. The effect of the filtering medium on the behavior of the cyclone was also evaluated using an equation that correlates the cut size diameter with the operational conditions, the properties of the gas-solid system and the resistance of the filtering medium. The experimental results demonstrated that the overall efficiency of the conventional cyclone was similar to that of the proposed device, with the latter displaying a reduction in pressure drop. Consequently, energy costs are lowered when cloth cyclones are used.