Authors: Cocco, R a, Jacob, K. b
a Solids Processing Lab, The Dow Chemical Company
b The Dow Chemical Company
Abstract: Cyclones have been in operation for over one hundred years. Yet the hydrodynamics of cyclones are poorly understood. Particles entering the cyclone can swirl around the wall of the cyclone several times before exiting through the dipleg. It is this swirling behavior that allows the gas solid separation due to the resulting centrifugal forces. However, the complex hydrodynamics make predicting the gas behavior in cyclones difficult at best. Some gas may bypass the cyclone body and leak directly into the vortex finder and some of the gas is entrained down the dipleg. Arena-Flow simulations were preformed to understand the gas hydrodynamics in a commercial scale cyclone and its implication towards both gas distribution and residence time.