Introduction Principle of process Gas solid cyclone separators is a device invented to separate the particles from an air stream,

have been widely used in many industrial processes, such as air pollution control and environmental cleaning processes due to their well adaptability to harsh conditions, simplicity to design, and low costs to operate and maintain. The cyclone designs are generally classified into straight-through, uni-flow, and reverse-flow cyclones according to the purpose in use. Among them, it is known that the use of tangential inlet and reverse-flow is the most common way for cyclone design. As of the above mentioned many merits of cyclone, much attention have been paid on predicting the flow fields in cyclones both by experimental and numerical methods for last few decades. The performance of a cyclone separator is generally characterized by the collection efficiency of particles and the pressure drop through the cyclone. According to the many researches, the cyclone height, diameter, and shape (i.e., cylinder or rectangular), the shape and diameter of vortex finder, and the inlet geometry can influence considerably the performance of the cyclones. The gas cyclone mechanism can be simplified as a device where inlet gas is brought tangentially into a cylindrical body. A strong vortex is created inside the cyclone and any particles in the flow, if they are denser than the carrier gas, are subjected to centrifugal forces. These forces move the particles radially outwards, towards the inside cyclone surface onto which the solids deposit.

Schematic diagram of solid gas cyclone separator

Basic design of solid gas cyclone separator The gas flow is forced into a downward spiral simply because of the cyclones shape and the tangential entry. Another type of cyclone employs an axial inlet with fixed turning vanes to achieve a spiraling flow. Centrifugal force and inertia cause the particles to move outward, collide with the outer wall, and then slide downward to the bottom of the device. Near the bottom of the cyclone, the gas reverses its downward spiral and moves upward in a smaller inner spiral. The cleaned gas exits from the top through a vortex-finder tube, and the particles exit from the bottom of the cyclone through a pipe sealed by a spring-loaded flapper valve or rotary valve. The turbulence of gas flow is obtained by the use of the Reynolds stress model. The resulting pressure and flow fields are verified by comparing with those measured and then used in the determination of powder flow. The separation efficiency and trajectory of particles from simulation are shown to be comparable to those observed experimentally. The effects of particle size and gas velocity on separation efficiency are quantified and the results agree well with experiments. Some factors which affect the performance of cyclone were identified. It is shown that the collision between gas streams after running about a circle and that just entering occurred around the junction of the inlet duct and the cylinder of the cyclone, resulting in a short-circuiting flow. The combination of flow source and sink was distributed near the axis of cyclone, forming a flow dipole at axial section. Particles entering at different positions gave different separation efficiency. A particle with size exceeding a critical diameter, which was condition-dependant, would stagnate on the wall of cyclone cone. This was regarded as one of the main reasons for the deposition on the inner conical surface in such cyclones used in the cement industry.

Process and application of solid-gas cyclone separator The processes in the design of the solid-gas cyclone separator are as follows. The gas flow is forced into a downward spiral simply because of the cyclones shape and the tangential entry. Centrifugal force and inertia cause the particles to move outward, collide with the outer wall, and then slide downward to the bottom of the device. Near the bottom of the cyclone, the gas reverses its downward spiral and moves upward in a smaller inner spiral. The cleaned gas exits from the top through a vortex-finder tube, and the particles exit from the bottom of the cyclone through a pipe sealed by a spring-loaded flapper valve or rotary valve. The physical phenomena involved in the separation of solids from gases are influenced by a number of important factors such as the properties of the gas, and gas-particle and particleparticle interactions. These factors are briefly reviewed here first before addressing the principles of various types of gas-solids separators. Inertial Separators cover devices in which the main property used in recovering particles is their density, so that they are removed by centrifugal action. Deliberate changes in the direction of gas flow causes the particles trajectories to deviate from the gas streamlines, thus concentrating and separating the particles from the gas. Inertial separators are varied in design. Most separators in this category use passive mechanical separation with induced centrifugal motion, such as cyclones. There are however separators in which the centrifugal motion is induced by a rotating propeller. These devices are often used for classification purposes.

Background of company The application of solid gas cyclone separator chosen was when applied in a cement industry, specifically Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS). Literally translated, the Bahasa Melayu expression cahya mata means "the light of the eye" but it is far closer in meaning to the English expression "the apple of ones eye" i.e. a person or group of people in whom you take great pleasure and for whom you feel great pride. Thats why they have adopted "The Pride of Sarawak" as the rallying cry for even greater development and progress, and the theme for their Annual Report 2003. Living up to the meaning of their name, and meeting the expectations it creates, requires them to find opportunities and develop strategies that will make all Sarawakians proud of CMSB proud of their achievements, proud of their performance, and their commitment to accelerate the economic, infrastructure and social development of Sarawak for the benefit of all. Since our inception in 1974, CMSB has grown and developed from a humble manufacturer of a single product, ordinary Portland cement, to become a highly diversified conglomerate playing a key role in Malaysia s financial services and infrastructure development sectors. Our extensive portfolio of businesses, products and services, has made us a leading conglomerate on Bursa Malaysia with an annual turnover of more than RM1 billion. As the largest conglomerate in the State, we play our part as a major contributor to Sarawaks remarkable economic and infrastructure development. Our history is peppered with many noteworthy firsts - the first East Malaysian company to produce Portland cement; the first bumiputra-owned bank in Sarawak; the first Sarawak-based company to be listed on Bursa Malaysia; the first licensed stockbroker of Sarawak; and many more.

Processes of a solid-gas cyclone separator In a solid-gas cyclone separator, particles are suspended in a moving gas stream possesses inertia and momentum and acted upon by gravity. The gas stream is introduced tangentially into a cylindrical vessel at the top. The particles are thrown outwards against the cylindrical wall of the vessel, eventually carried by gravity towards the dust collector at the bottom of the unit. The clean gas move spirally downwards, gradually approaching the central portion of the separator and then rise and leave through the central outlet at the top. Tangential velocity (how fast the gasses are swirling) is lowest near the wall and at the center of the cyclone. It reaches maximum at a point approximately 60% to 70% of the way from the wall to the center. Generally, a decrease in diameter will increase efficiency (<10 inches). Vertical eddies can exist in the cone most troublesome are those in the annular region near the gas inlet. These eddies can carry particles directly from the gas inlet to the gas outlet with consequent detrimental effect on the collection efficiency. Extending the gas outlet into the cyclone can prevent excessive amounts of dust from passing directly from the inlet to the outlet. Usually this extension ends just below the bottom of the inlet.

Process flow diagram

Dirty air enters at inlet

Concentration of dust particles along the wall

Descending vortex

Dust discharge and collected at the bottom

Clean air exits at the top

Conclusion As conclusion, solid-gas cyclone separators are commonly used to separate the particles from a conveying gas. The performance of a cyclone separator is characterized by two parameters, namely pressure drop and collection efficiency. As for the choice for cleaning air or filtering air for large scale industries, solid-gas cyclone separators are inexpensive. Solid-gas cyclone separators are simple in design, little floor space required, dry continuous disposal of collected dusts, low to moderate pressure loss, handles large particles and high dust loading and is temperature independent.

References 1. http://www.muellerenvironmental.com/documents/Fundamentals%20of%20Gas%20Solids%20 Liquids%20Separation.pdf 2. http://www.cmsb.com.my/ 3. http://www.eng-forum.com/recycling/Plastic_Reycling_Cyclone.htm 4. http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/~d30345d/courses/engs37/Cyclones.pdf 5. Industrial process notes