Hydrozyklone

Hydrozyklone, also known as a hydrocyclone, is a device used in mineral processing and other industries to separate particles in a suspension by centrifugal forces. It operates on the principle that denser and coarser particles tend to move toward the outer wall and toward the appliance’s apex, while finer and lighter particles migrate with the center and exit at the top.

In operation, slurry enters the conical chamber tangentially, creating a high-velocity vortex. The resulting flow splits into two streams: an underflow that exits through the apex or a central discharge (the spigot) and a dense, coarse fraction, and an overflow that exits at the top and carries the finer, lighter fraction. The separation efficiency and the cut size depend on variables such as the cyclone diameter, cone angle, apex size, feed pressure, slurry density, and solids concentration.

Hydrocyclones are widely used in mining and mineral processing for tasks such as classification (size separation), desliming, and spiral circuit optimization. They are also employed in coal cleaning, sand processing, and various recycling or waste-water applications where solid-liquid separation or particle sizing is required. Advantages include simplicity, lack of moving parts, and relatively low energy consumption, while limitations involve sensitivity to feed properties, wear of liners, and the need for stable operating conditions to maintain a consistent cut size. Construction materials vary from rubber and polyurethane linings to ceramic wear parts, chosen to match the abrasive environment.