Analysis of the influence of the filtering medium on the behaviour of the filtering hydrocyclone

The filtering hydrocyclone is a solid–liquid separation device patented by the Chemical Engineering Department of the Federal University of Uberlândia [M.A.S. Barrozo, J.J.R. Damasceno, Brazilian Patent No. 9001889, 1991.], which consists of a Bradleyʹs cyclone whose conical section was replaced by a conical filtering wall. The objective of this work was to investigate the effects provoked by three different filtering media on the performance of that equipment. Within the limits of the region investigated — pressure drops in the range 88260–205940 N m−2 — these filtering hydrocyclones were compared to the conventional Bradleyʹs hydrocyclone and displayed increases in both feed flowrates and reduced cut sizes. A dependence of the underflow-to-throughput ratios on the filtering medium resistance was also registered. Based on the experimental results, an explanatory mechanism for the phenomena observed as well as design equations accounting for the influence of the filtering medium resistance have been proposed, allowing the prediction of the performance of filtering hydrocyclones and providing a new alternative in terms of solid–liquid separation devices.