Sizing and Selection of Hydrocyclones Krebs Engineers' approach to sizing hydrocyclones is to first size the hydrocyclone based on the

separation required and then to select the number of hydrocyclones of that size required to meet the flow rate. Krebs uses the Lynch & Rao hydrocyclone model but we have developed all of our own D50 and correction factors internally from our over 60,000 hydrocyclone installations. For more details on the various factors, which affect hydrocyclone separation and capacity, please see The Sizing and Selection of Hydrocyclones. The length of the hydrocyclone affects the separation. The longer the hydrocyclone, the finer the separation. The length of the hydrocyclone can be increased by using longer cylinder sections or by decreasing the cone angle. The cylinder can be increased but if the cylinder is too long the angular velocity of the slurry will decrease and the separation will coarsen. We normally recommend no more than two cylinder sections, which is twice the diameter of the hydrocyclone for 20 inch and smaller hydrocyclones. A finer separation can also be achieved by decreasing the cone angle. This increases the cost of the hydrocyclone and will also reduce the maximum underflow density achievable with the hydrocyclone. We normally recommend 20-degree cones for 10 inch and larger hydrocyclones. In a typical grinding circuit application in the mining industry (and other applications), the separation can be adjusted by simply adding additional dilution water. This change combined with the 20degree cone will maximize the efficiency of the hydrocyclone and result in the lowest possible amount of fines returning to the mill. The use of longer, smaller angle cones is best when the installation does not allow the use of additional dilution water and a finer separation is required or if a fine separation is required and the feed density is already very dilute, as is the case in coal classification applications. A very high-density overflow requirement is common in the gold industry in applications which do not have thickeners. For further details, see The Use of Hydrocyclones in the Gold Industry. The correction factor for hydrocyclone density is not constant. The correction factor for density is to correct for the viscosity of the slurry. In most cases an actual viscosity reading is not possible to obtain so the correction factor is related to hydrocyclone density. As the density increases, the viscosity increases. This relationship is not uniform for all slurries. A slurry consisting of all kaolin clay will be far more viscous at 20% solids than silica sand slurry at 50% solids. Krebs Engineers has the experience necessary to adjust this correction factor for the different slurries encountered in industrial applications. Flat bottom cyclones have gained some acceptance in recent years. The installation of a fully flat bottom in place of the conical section will coarsen the D50 separation by over 2 times. In addition, the sharpness of the recovery curve will decrease significantly. Thus, flat bottom hydrocyclones should only be used for applications in which a coarse separation is required. The flat bottom hydrocyclone produces a very clean underflow but at the expense of a large amount of misplace coarse solids in the overflow. Krebs Engineers has fully flat bottom hydrocyclones along with 90-degree cone angles. Maintenance The replacement of the rubber liners is made easy using the Krebstik adhesive. This adhesive dissolves the old glue, acts as a lubricant while installing the new liners, and does not form a permanent bond thus easing the removal of the old liners. The instructions for replacing liners is straight forward. The only warning is the larger cone liners and cylinders must sit with weight on one end for a few hours in order to allow the adhesive to set. Otherwise the liner will actually push out of the housing. The natural gum rubber liners wear better under compression, thus the liners are designed to be slightly larger than the housings.

Questions and Answers Q: How do you define separation? A: The separation or cut point produced by a hydrocyclone is normally defined in three possible ways: 1. The D50 point is the size of particle which has a 50% chance of reporting to the hydrocyclone underflow. This is the most common way to define separation when modeling a hydrocyclone. 2. The mesh of separation or D95 or D98 is the particle size which has a 95% (or 98%) chance of reporting to the hydrocyclone underflow. This is often called the cut point. 3. 3. Finally the separation is often defined as being a certain percent passing in the overflow. A P80 separation is the micron size in which 80% of the hydrocyclone overflow is finer than that size. A P95 separation is the micron size in which 95% of the hydrocyclone overflow is finer than that size. The P80 (or P95) produced by a given hydrocyclone will be determined by the D50 produced by the hydrocyclone, the sharpness of the separation and the size distribution of the hydrocyclone feed. Q: What is the lowest and highest pressure drop that can be used when operating a hydrocyclone? A: The lowest pressure drop is the minimum pressure drop required to produce a strong vortex in the middle of the hydrocyclone. For small diameter hydrocyclones (4 inch to 10 inch) this is 3 to 4 psi. For larger diameter hydrocyclones it is 5 to 7 psi. There is no theoretical maximum pressure drop. The higher the pressure drop, the finer the hydrocyclone separation and the greater the hydrocyclone volumetric capacity. However as pressure drop is increased, the energy used by the pump increases and the wear in the hydrocyclone and pump increases. In most applications the pressure drop does not exceed 30 to 40 psi for small diameter hydrocyclones (4 inch to 10 inch) and 20 to 25 psi for larger diameter hydrocyclones. Q: What is the range of vortex finders that can be installed in the hydrocyclone? A: The vortex finders normally range from a minimum of 20% of the hydrocyclone diameter to a maximum of 45% of the hydrocyclone diameter. Q: What affect does the apex have on the separation achieved by the hydrocyclone? A: The apex is sized to discharge the underflow solids at the maximum possible density and to handle the full range of operation without roping or plugging. The affect of the apex size on the separation is minimal if the apex is not constricting the underflow discharge and if the apex angle has been properly designed. If the apex is too large the underflow density will be reduced. This does not affect the separation but it will lead to more displaced fines in the underflow. Q: Does Krebs have specific manifold designs for multiple hydrocyclone installations? A: Krebs has over 1,500 different manifold general arrangement drawings. Q: Is the involute feed better than the standard tangential feed? A: The involute feed is now recognized as the standard for high efficiency hydrocyclones compared to standard tangential or pinched tangential type feed designs. This type of hydrocyclone entry preclassifies the solids prior to entering the hydrocyclone. This reduces the coarse bypass of solids to the overflow as most of these solids are already along the outside wall of the hydrocyclone and thus are less likely to be pulled to the hydrocyclone overflow. It also reduces wear on the inlet head liner as impingement against the far wall is reduced. Q: Can Krebs perform testwork on my sample? A: Krebs has a hydrocyclone pilot plant for doing customer testwork in Tucson, Arizona.