406 Removal of Particles from Gas Streams Chap. 7 We can now determine an expression for the collection efficiency of a cyclone Assume that the cyclone has an angle @; All particles that enter the cyclone at r > ry hit the wall over 0 = @ < 6). If the entering particle concentration at-4 gas velocity are uniform across the cross section, the collection efficiency is just that fraction of the particles in the entering flow that hits the outer wall before @ = 6), ” (7.31) mon which is Pr QD56p 9 Wri In (73/71) n(D,) = eee (7.32) Lan/r The value of 8, at which » = 1 is the value of 6; when ry SW tn rele) (2 _ 2) (733) OD ee We had earlier noted a comparison of the centrifugal for that due to gravity. Using F. from (7.25) and F of the centrifugal to gravity force as acting on a patticle to (1/6) p,D3g, we obtain the ratio @ Fe ge W in (ra/ni) (7.34) which, as can be shown, for typical cyclones, F,/F, >> 1. 7.3.2. Turbulent Flow Cyclone Separators ‘The model of the turbulent flow cyclone separator is shown in Figure 7.7. Because of turbulent mixing the particle concentration is assumed to be uniform across the cyclone, and, as in the case of the turbulent flow settling chamber, removal occurs across a thin layer at the outer wall, For lack of a better approximation, we continue to use the in- viscid gas velocity components given by (7.23) to represent the fluid velocity field in the turbulent flow cyclone. Thus the key difference between the laminar and turbulent cyclones relates to the assumption made concerning particle behavior in the cyclone The distance a particle travels in the 6-direction in the laminar sublayer over a time interval dt is vy dt = r, d#, where we can evaluate vy at r = rp. For the particle to be captured actoss the layer of thickness dr, dr = vu, dt = v,ry dB/ty, where v, is also evaluated at r = ry To derive an expression for the change in particle number concentration with 6, we perform a particle balance over the sector of angle d8. The fractional number of particles removed over dé is just the fraction of particles that are in the boundary layer,Sec. 7.3 Cyclone Separators 407 Figure 7.7 One-half complete wm of a turbulent low cyclone Qrdr/(R — 74). Thus Nlo— Novae = yh 7.35 bn Mvw = Gey Ml (735) where we need not include the product of mean velocity and cross-sectional area since it appears on both sides of the equation. Using dr = v,,r, d0/vp, dividing by d@, and taking the limit as d8 approaches zero gives us dN —= 7.36, 20 (7.36) where vp, is vp at r = ry. This equation is to be integrated subject to N = Ny at @ = 0 The result is N(®) = No exp ( ~ 8 (737) on ‘The collection efficiency of a cyclone that has an angle 4; is (9) D,) =1-—* (D,) = 1 = 1 [ Beart ] (7.38 toe T= A 78) Using the explicit expressions for the two velocity components, , _ @ Pe Wry in (ra/n) ee) 2p? POPs (7.40) 18r3W? (In rp/r))408 Removal of Particles from Gas Streams Chap. 7 ‘we can express the collection efficiency in terms of the physical variables of the cyclone, a(D,) = 1 — exp | (741) ‘This equation can be inverted to determine the angle of turn 9, needed to achieve a given collection efficiency for a given particle size 7.3.3 Cyclone Dimensions Cycloue collection efficiency increases with increasing (1) particle size, (2) particle den- sity, (3) inlet gas velocity, (4) cyclone body length, (5) number of gas revolutions, and (6) smoothness of the cyclone wall. On the other hand, cyclone efficiency decreases with increasing (1) cyclone diameter, (2) gas outlet duct diameter, and (3) gas inlet area. For any specific cyclone whose ratio of dimensions is fixed, the collection efficiency in creases as the cyclone diameter is decreased. The design of a cyclone separator repre- sents a compromise among collection efficiency, pressure drop, and size. Higher effi- ciencies require higher pressure drops (i.c., inlet gas velocities) and larger sizes (i.e, body length). The dimensions required to specify a tangential-entry, reverse-flow cyclone are shown in Figure 7.8. In classic work that still serves as the basis for cyclone design, Shepherd and Lapple determined “‘optimum”” dimensions for cyclones. All dimensions were related to the body diameter D.. A common set of specifications is given on the right-hand side of Figure 7.8. Other standard cyclone dimensions are given by Licht (1984) and Cooper and Alley (1986). The number of revolutions that the gas makes in the outer vortex can be approximated by where the dimensions are shown in Figure 7.8. Besides collection efficiency the other major consideration in cyclone specification is pressure drop. While higher efficiencies are obtained by forcing the gas through the cyclone at higher velocities, to do so results in an increased pressure drop. Since in creased pressure drop requires increased energy input into the gas, there is ultimately an economic trade-off between collection efficiency and operating cost. A simple pressure- drop equation for cyclones is given by Cooper and Alley (1986). Cyclone pressure drops range from 250 to 4000 Pa. 7.3.4 Practical Equation for Cyclone Efficiency We have analyzed the collection efficiency of a cyclone assuming that the particles be- have as if they are in either a laminar or a turbulent flow. Actually, the flow pattern in a cyclone is a complex one, and the two models that we have presented represent ex- tremes in cyclone performance. Although a Reynolds number for a cyclone can be de-Sec. 7.3 Cyclone Separators 409 1 B IK) ~ fos f Arbitrary, usually O,/4 oust Figure 7.8 Geometric specifications for the design of a cyclone separator. The dimen: sions given on the right-hand side ofthe igure are those of the classic design of Shepherd and Lapple. This particular set of specifications appears in Perry's Hane. 20k (Perry and Chilton, 1973; Figure 20-96, p. 20-82); reprinted by permission of Mc iraw-Hill Pub- lishing Company. fined as Re,, = (ou/p) (44,/7)'/?, where A. is the cross-sectional area so that (44./7)'/? is an equivalent diameter, and for the velocity it is sufficient to use « = Q/W(r, — r,), a characteristic velocity in the cyclone, a precise criterion for transition from laminar to turbulent flow in a cyclone does not exist. The laminar flow theory predicts a well-defined critical value for the smallest particle size that may be collected completely, whereas the turbulent flow result gives an asymptotic approach to complete collection as particle size increases. Experimentally determined collection efficiency curves generally approach 100% efficiency asymptotically and thus appear to conform more closely to turbulent than to laminar flow conditions. Since operating cyclones do not conform to either of these limiting cases, one must resort to semiempirical design equations to predict cyclone performance. There has been a great deal of effort devoted to predicting the performance of410 Removal of Particles from Gas Streams Chap. 7 cyclones. Our primary goal in this section has been to present the general theoretical approaches to the problem so that the various analyses in the literature will be accessible to the reader. Surveys of design equations are available elsewhere (see, ¢.g., Bhatia and Cheremisinoff, 1977; Licht, 1980, 1984). We will present one such semiempirical de- sign equation that has been applied successfully to cyclone design. If the flow can be considered to be one of the two limiting cases analyzed above, the collection efficiency may be computed as shown earlier for a given geometry, flow rate, and number of turns. Practical design equations are generally derived by consid- ring the particle trajectories under more realistic assumptions concerning the flow in the cyclone, A theory developed by Leith and Licht (1972) has proved useful in practical cyclone design, In that theory, account is taken of the fact that the velocity profile in a eyclone usually does not adhere strictly to the ideal form (7.23). As we noted, a more general form of the velocity profile is uyr" = constant [(7.23) is n = 1], where experimental ‘observations indicate that in a cyclone n may range between 0.5 and 0.9, depending on the size of the unit and the temperature. It has been found experimentally that the ex- ponent n may be estimated from (Licht, 1980, p. 239) n=1-—(1~0.67D° G5) where D, is the cyclone diameter in meters and Tis the gas temperature in kelvin, The collection efficiency is given by (Dp) = 1 — exp (=MDS) (7.42) where N= 1/(n + 1) and KQ Pp(n + 1) \" i ae [B 4 where D, is in cm, py is ing cm~*, Q is the gas volumetric flow rate in m® s~!, wis in gem! 5! and K is a geometric configuration parameter that depends only on the rel ative dimensions of the unit. For the relative dimensions suggested in Figure 7.8, K 402.9; for other dimensions the values of K are given by Licht (1980, 1984). The cal- culation of K is explained by Leith and Licht (1972) and Licht (1980). Example 7.3 Cyclone Collection Efficiency ‘Three design equations for cyclone collection efficiency were presented in this section. We wish to compare the collection efficiencies predicted by each approach. To do so, consider a cyclone having W = 4 mand Q = 20 m' s', inner and outer radii of 0.5 m and 1m, respectively, and an angle of turn of 12x. Assume that the particle size range of interest is, from 1 to 30 4m and that the particles have a density of 2 g cm‘, The relative dimensions of the cyclone are those suggested in Figure 7.8. Assume T = 293 K. Figure 7.9 shows the collection efficiencies for this cyclone predicted by the laminar flow theory (7.32), the turbulent flow theory (7.41), and the theory of Leith and Licht (7.42). We see that the laminar flow theory, which is based on computing particle trajecSec. 7.4 Electrostatic Precipitation an —— Laminar theory —-— Turbulent theory —--= Leith-Licht theory Dp (um) Figure 7.9 Collection efficiency curves for the conditions of Example 7.3 based on assuming laminar low, turbulent low and using the Leith and Licht equation tories across the entire device, predicts that particles larger than about 15 jam are totally collected. The other two theories predict an asymptotic approach to complete collection with increasing particle diameter, a type of behavior that conforms to that observed in operating cyclones, 7.4 ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATION Electrostatic precipitators are one of the most widely used particulate control devices, ranging in size from those installed to clean the flue gases from the largest power plants to those used as small household air cleaners. The basic principle of operation of the electrostatic precipitator is that particles are charged, then an electric field is imposed on the region through which the particle-laden gas is flowing, exerting an attractive force on the particles and causing them to migrate to the oppositely charged electrode at right angles to the direction of gas flow. Electrostatic precipitation differs from mechanical methods of particle separation in that the external force is applied directly to the indi- vidual particles rather than indirectly through forces applied to the entire gas stream (e-g., in a cyclone separator). Particles collect on the electrode. If the particles collected are liquid, then the liquid flows down the electrode by gravity and is removed at the bottom of the device. If the particles are solid, the collected layer on the electrode is removed periodically by rapping the electrode. Particle charging is achieved by gener-