Inlet Particle-Sorting Cyclone for the Enhancement of PM_2.5 Separation

Many cities are suffering from severe air pollution from fine particulate matter. Cyclone is an effective separator for particulate pollutant but has low efficiency for those with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM_2.5). In this research, four novel inlet particle-sorting cyclones were first developed to enhance the separation of PM_2.5. The energy consumption, overall separation efficiency, particle grade efficiency,outlet particle concentration and size distribution were compared with common cyclone (CM-C). It was found that the vertical reverse rotation cyclone (VRR-C), which made the smaller particles enter cyclone from radially outer side and axially lower side at the rectangular inlet, had the best separation performance, especially for PM_2.5 separation. The mean diameter of inlet particles was 15.7 μm and the particle concentration was 2000 mg/m³, the overall separation efficiency of the VRR-C reached 98.3%, which was 6.4% higher than that of CM-C. PM_2.5 grade efficiency of the VRR-C exceeded 80%, which was 15∼20% higher than that of CM-C. The PM_2.5 content at the VRR-C outlet was 30.8 mg/m³, while that of CM-C was still 118.4 mg/m³. The novel inlet particle-sorting cyclone is an effective separation enhancement for PM_2.5 source control in the process of industrial production and environment protection.