Experimental study of the separation performance of a hydrocyclone with a compound curve cone

The entrainment of fine particles in the underflow and coarse particles in the overflow is a well-known problem in separation using a conventional cylindrical–conical hydrocyclone that reduces the separation accuracy and efficiency. To address this problem, this paper presents a hydrocyclone equipped with a compound curved cone (the CCC hydrocyclone). The CCC hydrocyclone was experimentally compared with a hydrocyclone with a conventional straight cone (the CSC hydrocyclone) in terms of five separation performance metrics, namely, the split ratio, total separation efficiency, concentration and particle size of the products, and grade efficiency. To provide further guidance on the application of the CCC hydrocyclone in real-world production, the effects of three process parameters—the underflow apex diameter and the particle mass concentration and pressure of the feed—on the separation performance of the CCC hydrocyclone were investigated in depth. Moreover, the CCC hydrocyclone was successfully used in a real-world industrial application.