Experimental evaluation of separation performance of fine particles of circulatory circumfluent cyclone separator system

Removal of fine particles from exhaust gases is an importance task currently. These particles, which are hazardous to human health or have to be recovered for products, are difficult to remove by conventional separation technology. In this work, the separation performance of fine dust in a new designed circumfluent circulatory separator system (CCSS) was investigated experimentally. The separator system that we have developed consists mainly of two circumfluent cyclones (CFC) and a separation column. Experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of inlet gas velocity and the refluxing mode on the removal efficiency of fine particles. The separator system showed 100% removal efficiency of particles equal and greater than 1.0 μm, and 97% for particles 0.3–0.6 μm in diameter at the inlet gas velocity range of 17–36.5 m/s when the gas discharged from the second separator returned to the separation column. In addition, the pressure drops of CCSS are only about 20% higher than that of the common cyclone. This work demonstrates that CCSS has a low pressure drop and higher removal efficiency of fine particles. Consequently, it provides an easy, cheap and efficient alternative approach for removal of fine particles from gas steam.