Key Benefits

  • Finer, sharper separation at high capacities
  • Capability to handle extreme conditions and materials
  • Custom Design
  • Accurate separation based on performance prediction
  • Lowered operating cost for downstream equipment

An elegant solution for industrial separation

Cyclones work simply and effectively to simultaneously perform separation duties and protect downstream equipment.

A cyclone, also called a hydrocyclone, or separator is a device with no moving parts that uses centrifugal force for separation. A slurry enters the cyclone through an inlet and centrifugal force causes it to spin. Lighter material moves to the centre of the equipment and then out of the overflow (top), while heavier material moves to the outer wall and down through the underflow (bottom).

 

Industrial processes use cyclones to concentrate slurries, classify solids in liquid suspensions, remove grit from liquids and wash solids. These separation needs are common in conjunction with thickeners, clarifiers and strainers.

 

Equipment such as centrifuges, filters and screens experience heavy wear when the full classification burden rests on them. Wise managers protect these more expensive pieces of equipment with a long-lasting cyclone that pre-treats the feed with an initial separation stage. This step improves the performance and decreases the operation cost of downstream equipment.

 

Cyclones can perform ultrafine separations and handle a large volume with high solids loading. With no moving parts or external power requirements, they operate continuously with few needs for maintenance or adjustments.


High-performance cyclones with low capital cost, long wear life

Finer, sharper separation at high capacities

Our cyclones provide a sharper separation at a high capacity because of the unique gMAX® design that we have engineered. The inlet and cylindrical sections of our cyclones to minimise turbulence and wear, and increase the operation capacity. The combination of sharply angled upper cones and longer angled lower cones maximises tangential velocity in the upper part of the cyclone while providing higher velocities in the lower section. These gMAX® differences work together to result in fewer fines in the underflow and fewer coarse particles in the overflow.

Capability to handle extreme conditions and materials

Our cyclones are designed to handle high temperatures, high pressures, abrasive material and corrosive slurries. We recognize that many plants operate in conditions that are punishing to equipment, and so we put our team of engineers to work creating a design that will hold up longer in the most extreme environments.

Custom Design

When you contact our cyclone specialists, they work with you to customise a cyclone for your application. Using information about the material you are separating, feed rate, separation objectives and other factors, we help you determine the arrangement that you need. More than 90% of the metal industrial cyclones we build are custom designs that are specific to our customers’ specifications. We design our cyclones to ASME Code, Section VIII and Division I, when required for the application.


Accurate separation based on performance prediction

We have the capability to analyse and accurately predict the performance of the cyclones we design. What does that mean for you? We can predict how your cyclone will perform under harsh conditions, in extreme temperatures and under high pressures, and we know whether your cyclone will require a specified throughput. You get the benefit of this knowledge before you customise the cyclone for your needs, so we can provide you with the ideal design and construction materials for the best performance.

Lowered operating cost for downstream equipment

When you contact our cyclone specialists, they work with you to customise a cyclone for your application. Using information about the material you are separating, feed rate, separation objectives and other factors, we help you determine the arrangement that you need. More than 90% of the metal industrial cyclones we build are custom designs that are specific to our customers’ specifications. We design our cyclones to ASME Code, Section VIII and Division I, when required for the application.

 

The only thing better than adding a cyclone to your system that gives all of the above-listed benefits, is adding the cyclone while knowing that it is an inexpensive investment. Because our cyclones are elegantly simple, we can manufacturer them for a low cost and we pass those savings on to you.

Specialty cyclones for a wide range of industrial applications

We have illustrated below a few of our cast-metal and fabricated-metal special industrial cyclones, along with their typical applications.

Small cast-metal cyclone

Diameter Sizes: 12 - 50mm  (0.5-2 in)


Connections:
Standard connections are threaded, but flanged connections can also be supplied.

Materials: Standard material of construction is 316L SS, but other alloys are available upon request.

Applications: These cyclones are used for fine solids removal in chemical and other industrial applications, such as pump seal water, degritting and protecting analysers.

Fabricated-metal cyclone with accumulator tank

Diameter Sizes: 100–660 mm (4–26 in)

Materials: They can be fabricated from any metal. Some cyclones can be designed with replaceable ceramic liners.


Specifications: These cyclones can be built to ASME code specifications if required. The accumulator tank on the bottom accumulates the solids for periodic discharges.

Applications: These cyclones are used in processes that have very low solids concentrations in the feed and where minimising liquid loss is important. They can be used in food and beverage applications to remove grit from purees, juice or wine, and to separate sand from cooked vegetables in the production of purees.

Fabricated-metal cyclone with constant underflow discharge

Diameter Sizes: 100–2300 mm (4–90 in)

Materials: They can be fabricated from any metal. Some cyclones can be designed with replaceable ceramic liners.

Applications: These cyclones are used in applications that require corrosion resistance and where solids loading is relatively high, requiring a constant underflow discharge. They are typically used for scrubber circuits and crystalliser circuits.

Applications for KREBS Industrial Cyclones

Industrial cyclones are ideal for many industries and applications. Learn more about a few of the most common ways our customers have benefitted from using the gMAX® cyclone technology in their plants.

Automotive paint applications:

  • Parts washing and cleaning process: Remove grit from cleaning fluid solvents
  • Coolant degritting: Remove grit from coolant recycling process

Chemical applications:

  • Evaporators and Crystallizers: Recover and concentrate nucleated particles in evaporators and crystalliser circuits. By strategically placing the cyclones upstream from centrifuges or other crystal dewatering equipment, the cyclones can substantially reduce the load on the downstream operations. This results in a more stable operation of the dewatering stage, as well as allowing for the use of smaller dewatering equipment.

  • Filtration: Remove solids before they reach filtration equipment. Cyclones used upstream from a filtration process remove most solids and protect the filter from overloading. With fewer solids reaching the filter, it needs less maintenance and has an extended life.

  • Analyzers: Remove solids ahead of the analyser by processing a side stream through the cyclone. The cyclone overflow reports to the analyser, while the underflow is discarded or sent back to the main process. 

  • Quench Oil: Remove coke particles from quench oil. Very large insulated cyclones are used to remove coke particles from quench oil to protect heat exchangers from plugging.


Food and beverage applications
:

  • Ketchup and Purees: Improve the food quality by cleaning pre-cooked pulp in a separator. Following pre-cooking and pulping, an ultra-high-efficiency stainless steel cyclone is used to clean the stream.

  • Wine processing: Remove seeds, dirt and solids from the crushed grape juice.

  • Jams, Hot Sauces and other Purees: Remove dirt and metal particles prior to milling to protect the milling machine.

  • Cooked seaweed: Remove sand and other grit.

  • Potato starch recovery: Remove starch in cutting circuits, allowing the water to be reused and the recovered starch to be used for additives in animal feed.

  • Crumbs from cooking oils: Remove grit and crumbs from oil to extend the life of the cooking oil.

  • Wash-down water in frying plants: Remove oil from wash-down water, reducing both the chemical oxygen demand (COD) on the waste water treatment and sewer fees.

 

Other industrial applications:

Our cyclones are widely used for many other industries and applications. Contact an industrial cyclone specialist for more information about how we can partner with you to help make your process more efficient and cost effective.

KREBS® Quick Release™ system for pump rebuilds

Read Story

Pumping up productivity

Read Story


Stories from FLSmidth