Performance improvement of cyclone separator by integrated compact bends

The enhancement of particle separation is important for aerodynamic cyclones to reduce any extra or downstream capture process. To improve the particle separation performance, a new type of integrated compact-bend cyclone (ICBC) was proposed to achieve a non-homogeneous radial particle distribution at the cyclone inlet and hence reduce radial distance to the cyclone wall before performing the primary separation in the cyclone body. Experimental investigations and numerical simulation were performed to examine the enhancing effect of various integrated compact bends. The results proved the effectiveness of the integrated compact bends for improving particle separation performance. The grade efficiency for 1-5 mu m particles was enhanced by up to 8.5% for 180 degrees ICBC and 22.7% for 360 degrees ICBC at 12 m/s inlet velocity, and by up to 8.0% for 180 degrees ICBC and 20.5% for 360 degrees ICBC at 20 m/s inlet velocity, respectively. Meanwhile, no significant difference in the gas flow pattern was observed for the different ICBCs. Furthermore, the results by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was demonstrated to reflect the enhancing effect of ICBs not included in other cyclonic separation theories. The result may provide a positive reference for cyclone-based intensified separation in the field of chemical and process engineering. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.