Application of traditional cyclone with spray scrubber to remove airborne silica particles emitted from...

The traditional cyclone with spray scrubber was developed for the removal of airborne silica particles from local exhaust ventilation (LEV). The objective of this research is to evaluate the efficiency of this process for removing silica particles in LEV. After designing and installing a traditional cyclone and spray scrubber, air samples were obtained at the inlet and outlet of the apparatus. The mass of each collected sample was determined gravimetrically using EPA method. The efficiency of the cyclone with spray scrubber for the removal of dust particles from the LEV system was determined to be in the range of 92-99%. There was a high correlation between the inlet concentration of dust particles and the efficiency of the apparatus. The total pressure across the system was 772.17-1120.90 Pa. It was concluded that a traditional cyclone with a spray scrubber can effectively remove a very high percentage of the incoming silica particles from an LEV. The total pressure drop across the current process is less than the pressure drop across other treatment equipment, which means that our process can effectively remove silica particles while using less electricity than other processes.