hydrocyclonebased

Hydrocyclone-based refers to equipment, processes, and systems that rely on hydrocyclones for particle separation in liquid suspensions. A hydrocyclone is a centrifugal separator that uses inward swirl to separate particles according to size and density. It consists of a short cylindrical section followed by a conical section, with a tangential inlet, an overflow outlet at the top (vortex finder) and an underflow outlet at the apex. When slurry is pumped into the cyclone, a high-velocity swirl is generated. Heavier and coarser particles tend to move toward the outer wall and exit through the underflow, while finer material reports to the center and exits via the overflow.

Applications of hydrocyclone-based systems are broad. They are widely used in mining and mineral processing for classification and desliming, in coal preparation, sand and aggregate processing, and in the management of drilling fluids for desander and desilter roles. Wastewater treatment and various recycling and paper- and pulp-related processes also employ hydrocyclone-based separation.

Systems may employ a single cyclone or banks of cyclones in parallel or series. In classification circuits, hydrocyclones separate coarse from fine fractions and can be used for desliming to remove fine slimes before downstream processing. Performance depends on feed pressure, solids concentration, particle size distribution, and fluid properties.

Advantages include simple design, no moving parts, robustness, high throughputs, and generally lower energy use compared with some alternative separators. Limitations include sensitivity to slurry properties, potential for suboptimal separation if operating away from the design point, wear of liners and outlets, and the need for appropriate materials and feed conditioning.

Design factors include cyclone diameter, apex size, vortex finder length, and operating pressure. The achievable cut size varies with configuration and materials, typically spanning from microns to tens of microns in many industrial applications.