Effects of Solids Concentration and Underflow Diameter on the Performance of a Newly Designed Hydrocyclone

Solid-liquid and liquid-liquid separations in a hydrocyclone are versatile and require low maintenance costs. The demand for process improvement and cost reduction has motivated numerous optimization studies. The performance of a newly designed hydrocyclone is evaluated. The proposed device was obtained by application of differential evolution techniques and is called optimized thickening hydrocyclone (OTH). The OTH provides promising results, leading simultaneously to low Euler numbers and high solids concentrations of the underflow streams. Compared to the conventional Rietema hydrocyclone, it shows higher efficiency and better thickening power. The effects of solids concentration and underflow diameter on the performance of the OTH are quantified and a design equation for this device is proposed.