Experimental study on the separation performance of a novel oil–gas cyclone separator

A novel structural scheme involving the use of a multi-layer central channel is proposed in this study to improve cyclone separator performance. Cyclone separators with the central channel having one layer (SEP-1), two layers (SEP-2), and three layers (SEP-3) were experimentally tested in a compressor system. Results showed that SEP-3 had the highest separation efficiency, whereas SEP-2 had the lowest pressure drop under the studied working conditions. At high inlet velocities, the separation efficiencies of the three separators were similar. However, at low inlet velocities, SEP-3 maintained a high performance, whereas the other two structures showed considerably reduced separation performance. The particle size distribution revealed that SEP-3 performed the best in separating small oil droplets. The relative angles of the intake openings of the first two central channels played an important role in the separation performance of SEP-3, which exhibited the best performance when the angle was 30°.