Geometric optimization of fi ltering cylindrical hydrocyclones

The filtering hydrocyclone is a device designed by our research group, in which the wall of a hydrocyclone section (conical or cylindrical) was replaced by a filtering wall. In the present work, the influence of geometric variables of a filtering cylindrical hydrocyclone (FCyH) on its separation performance was investigated. The performance of FCyH and conventional hydrocyclones of same geometry were compared. The main difference observed between FCyH and conventional hydrocyclones was in the Euler number; some configurations of FCyH showed decreases by 29% for that response. Furthermore, an optimization study was developed using the Differential Evolution Algorithm (DE), which aimed to find two categories of hydrocyclones: Case 1 (minimum Euler number) and Case 2 (maximum total efficiency). The Case 2 optimized hydrocyclone (FCyH-OT2) showed total efficiency 8.1% higher than the equipment with the highest efficiency of the experimental design (FCyH-A), providing in addition, a reduction of 13.2% in Euler number. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of geometric variables on the separation performance of a filtering cylindrical hydrocyclone (FCyH). The main difference observed between FCyH and conventional hydrocyclones was in the Euler number. An optimization study using the Differential Evolution Algorithm was carried out to find two categories of hydrocyclones, resulting in a hydrocyclone with total efficiency 8.1% higher than the equipment with the highest efficiency.