Applications of the liquid cyclone in biological separations

Hydrocyclone technology has been suggested as a practical alternative in solid/liquid separations involving biological materials. This paper reviews applications of hydrocyclones in food processing, considering the non-Newtonian nature of most suspensions treated in the food industry. The hydrocyclone is easy to install and operate, and requires very limited space. It represents an unsophisticated piece of equipment, which runs in a continuous manner and it can be operated at lower costs than most solid/liquid separation techniques. Hydrocyclones have been used in the food industry for the refining of starch, to separate gossypol from cottonseed protein in cottonseed oil processing, and for some other applications, such as multi-stage mixer/separator extraction systems for soluble coffee. More recently, some other applications in biological systems, which will be discussed in this article, have also been tested.